Land Tenure and Tenure Governance Reform Specialists

Sep 12, 2019 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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Organizational Setting 

The Partnerships Division (PSP) is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the identification, strengthening and stewardship of strategic partnerships with non-state actors in support of FAO's Strategic Objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including parliamentarians, civil society, private sector, academia and research institutions, family farmers’ and indigenous peoples’ organizations, through developing capacities, fostering dialogues, sharing knowledge, scaling up programmes and advocating for FAO’s corporate positions.  It ensures that multi-stakeholder processes and engagements at global, regional and country level are an integral part of FAO’s work, and provides targeted support to ensure secure tenure rights and capacity development (including through e-learning programmes) to contribute to the SDGs.  It drives the development of FAO’s blended finance models, mobilizes resources from the private sector to advocate responsible agricultural investments and sustainable development to move the 2030 agenda forward, and promotes the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI).  The Division has the lead responsibility for the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT), the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028), the FAO Policy on Indigenous Peoples, and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact.

The Organization frequently engages specialists to work on regular programme activities and/or projects as Consultants or Personal Service Agreement (PSA) Subscribers, who provide qualified and competent technical support services for the performance of specific impermanent assignments.  These assignments, – lasting from one up to eleven months, – may require the discharge of full-time or part-time duties from the home station, or in various locations including possibly Rome headquarters and/or duty travels.  Any possibility of eventual extensions would be subject to compliance with the FAO Manual, a continuing demand for the services, the availability of FAO budget resources, and satisfactory performance of the incumbent.

The objective of this global Call for Expression of Interest (EOI) is to attract suitable individuals to carry out B-level Consultancies and/or PSA Subscriptions in the thematic areas of land tenure and tenure governance reform, undertaken by the Land Tenure Unit (PSPL) within PSP.  Only individuals meeting or exceeding the requirements of the EOI will be contacted and interviewed.  Successful interviewees will eventually be registered in the Partnerships Division Roster, and would be considered whenever relevant openings arise that match their individual profiles.

Reporting Lines

The Land Tenure and Tenure Governance Reform Consultants or PSA Subscribers will work under the general guidance of the Land Tenure Unit (PSPL) Team Leader and/or the Coordinator of FAO global VGGT implementation programme, and the direct supervision of the pertinent FAO (Senior) Technical Officer.  If the work will be carried out from decentralized duty stations, the incumbent will be required to work in close collaboration with the FAO Representation Office in the relevant country of assignment, as well as the relevant FAO Regional and/or Sub-regional Office.

VGGT implementation support for policy, legislative, institutional, organizational, operational and capacity development reforms affecting the Governance of Tenure of Land and natural resources, including, but not limited to:

  » Land Policy and Legal Frameworks, Land and Property Law, Spatial Planning Regulations:
› recognition and protection of legitimate tenure rights in statutory, customary, traditional and indigenous land tenure systems;
› allocation and transfers of land and property rights, and regulation of pertinent land and property markets;
› gender equality in access to land and natural resources;
› dispute resolution related to land (and natural resources) tenure; land adjudication;
› expropriation of land and other natural resources and equitable compensation of legitimate tenure right holders;
› land-use governance and regulation.

  » Land Administration and pertinent service delivery:
› land registration;
› legal (juridical) cadastre (of land tenure rights);
› land valuation;
› regulated spatial planning;
› land information systems;
› land-use cadastre; land tax cadastre; base mapping; multi-purpose cadastre
› land reforms, land consolidation; land banks/land funds; land readjustment; land tenure regularization;
› land markets services and regulation of related professions (land lawyers, notaries; land / cadastral surveyors; valuation surveyors; real estate agents / brokers; land and property managers; spatial planners, land developers) and mortgage lending institutions;
› land, cadastral and valuation surveys; land tenure adjudication;
› mapping tenure and land-use rights; cadastre index mapping;
› mass valuation, computer-aided mass appraisal (CAMA) systems.

  » Integration of Land Tenure Governance in FAO's work on food and nutrition security, sustainable integrated land and natural resources management and development; climate change; environmental, social and economic resilience; sustaining peace, conflict prevention and resolution; migration and urbanization management; and other topical global issues:
› land economy, including land valuation and land taxation;
› state land management;
› tenure governance and land management of commons, pastures, community lands and forests;
› responsible land-based investments; land value capture;
› land-use planning, zoning, transferable land development rights;
› land tenure and land markets statistics;
› improved governance of tenure impact on food security and nutrition, poverty eradication, and other FAO priorities;
› monitoring land related SDG and various state-of-tenure indicators.

  » Technological Modernization and Innovation in land (and natural resources) governance and tenure administration;
› geomatics and geospatial technology in land administration and land governance;
› automation, application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in land administration and land governance;
› land and geospatial information management and location-based services for evidence-based governance and resilience;
› development of (national) spatial data infrastructures (NSDI); standardization and interoperabilty of geospatial information.

The Land Tenure and Tenure Governance Reform Consultants or PSA Subscribers will work closely with FAO staff and non-staff collaborators. 

Their assigned tasks and responsibilities can include one or more elements of the following:

• Support countries in their efforts to reform governance of tenure in the framework of the VGGT and CFS-RAI through the provision of strategic and technical support / analysis to various assessments, studies and initiatives;
• Provide technical backstopping to field projects at headquarters and in the field;
• Facilitate knowledge exchange, capacity development and the collection of good practices by elaborating tailored capacity development and knowledge exchange programmes and tools and organizing meetings in support of the efforts of member countries and partner institutions to reform governance of tenure;
• Support project management, liaison and awareness raising activities in the framework of FAO's support to the VGGT implementation;
• Promote awareness and dissemination of the VGGT, as a means to improve food security, livelihoods, peace and security;
• Organize and facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue and processes to contribute to the implementation of the VGGT principles and good practices at global, regional, country and local levels in an inclusive and participatory way;
• Undertake research and analyze technical, social, economic, environmental, institutional, and technology related information to support the delivery of programmes, projects, products and services;
• Draw lessons and prepare reports documenting field experiences on land tenure governance reform approaches and practices, their impact, strengths and areas for (further) refinement;
• Contribute to producing a variety of technical information, data, statistics and reports, as well as inputs to technical documents and web-pages;
• Collaborate in the development of improved / updated tools, systems, processes, and databases related to governance of tenure;
• Participate in multi-disciplinary teams, working groups, international workshops and conferences, and collaborate with other departments and partner institutions to ensure collaboration across land and natural resources sectors, stakeholder groups and disciplines;
• Contribute to the preparation of clear and concise reports on land tenure, land governance, land policy and legal framework, land administration, and technological modernization and innovation.

• Advanced university degree in (for Consultants) / University degree (only for PSA) in a discipline relevant to land tenure and its administration, land and property law, agricultural sciences, development, communication for development, economics, social or rural development, gender issues, international cooperation, or any field related to FAO’s mandate.
• five (5) to ten (10) years of relevant experience in reforms of Land Tenure, Land Administration, Tenure Governance, Land Governance, Land-Based Investments, Land Economy, Land Policy and Law
• For Consultants: working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian;
  For PSA Subscribers: working knowledge of one FAO language (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian).

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

• Extent and relevance of experience and theoretical knowledge in land tenure, land administration, tenure governance, land governance, land policy and law, responsible land-based investments, land economy, and VGGT implementation with particular emphasis on developing countries.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the analysis and formulation of projects on land tenure and tenure governance, land and property law, responsible land-based investments, land administration, particularly within the framework of the VGGT.
• Extent and relevance of experience in navigating and facilitating politically sensitive and potentially controversial issues related to reforms or development of any aspects of land tenure and tenure governance.
• Relevance of experience in elaboration of training and capacity development programmes and materials on land tenure issues, with an emphasis on VGGT implementation and outcomes.
• Relevance of experience in analyzing and integrating diverse information from various sources, and level of mastery in preparing technical reports, guidelines, manuals and communication materials in the field of land tenure and land administration within the context of the VGGT.
• Ability to provide assistance in the organization of workshops, technical meetings and learning events.