Mozambique: Niassa REDD + Stakeholder Engagement Liaison

Sep 6, 2021 | Wildlife Conservation Society
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The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US-based non-governmental organization founded in 1895 that protects wildlife and wilderness by understanding critical issues, creating science-based solutions and promoting conservation actions that benefit nature and the humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 countries and experience in helping to establish more than 150 protected areas worldwide, WCS has accumulated biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant places, with flora and fauna, thrive together with local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, this knowledge is applied to address issues of management of species, habitats and critical ecosystems to improve the quality of life of rural poor people, whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources.

Program Overview:

WCS is leading the evaluation and development of a jurisdictional REDD+ project covering the Niassa Special Reserve of Northern Mozambique. Employing innovative interventions, including fire management, this landscape level project will seek to reduce the ongoing degradation across the over 4 million hectares of the Niassa Special Reserve resulting in significant emission reductions. WCS is seeking an experienced Prorgram Director to lead the development and implementation of this REDD+ program. WCS created a national program in Mozambique in 2012, with two main objectives:

  • Increase the protection of the Niassa Special Reserve (NSR), a vast landscape in the north of the country and improve the conservation status of its elephants through co-management of the Reserve; and
  • Strengthen the management of protected areas at the national level, contributing to improving policies and strengthening the government's capacity to implement legislation on crimes against wildlife through the strategic involvement of government agencies in Maputo. WCS Mozambique continues to work towards these objectives but has also commenced projects related to sustainable financing of conservation through the development of mechanisms for reconciling economic development with biodiversity conservation, including biodiversity offsets, the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and marine/coastal conservation.

Mozambique’s Niassa Special Reserve (NSR), covering over 4 million hectares stands as one of the most intact tracts of Miombo woodland in Southern Africa and constitutes one of Africa’s largest contiguous wilderness areas. Its globally significant Miombo woodland supports some of the largest unfenced lion and wild dog groups with a stable population in all of Africa , as well as Mozambique’s largest elephant population. The Niassa Reserve, which WCS co-manages under a 20-year agreement with the Mozambican government under a Public Private Partnership, employs over 500 people through its administration and includes nine private sector tourism concessions operated by various concession operators in the Reserve.

One of WCS’s responsibilities as a co-manager of the NSR is to ensure long-term financial support for reserve management. Thus this position will be working in collaboration with the Niassa Reserve Project Manager and Country Director to determine the potential for carbon finance to create long term funding for the NSR. The expansive landscape of Niassa has the potential for carbon sequestration through a blend of avoided deforestation and forest restoration through fire management. The Niassa REDD+ Program will first conduct an assessment to determine the feasibility of developing a Jurisdictional Nested REDD+ project, while co-designing the potential governance structure of such a project jointly with ANAC and other stakeholders.

As the Niassa Stakeholder Engagement Liaison, the position will be responsible for leading the design and implementation of the needed stakeholder engagement. This role will work in close coordination with the Niassa REDD+ Program Director, the Niassa Reserve Project Manager, the Country Director, and the East Africa Regional Carbon Expert. The position will be based in the Mozambique country programme office.

Position Responsibilities:

The following represent an overview of the responsibilities of the Stakeholder Engagement Liaison, however, the exact responsibilities will need to be modified overtime to reflect the changing needs and circumstances throughout the life of the program. Specific responsibilities of the Stakeholder Engagement Liaison will include, but not limited to:

  • Provide overview of different government agencies and departments and their roles and responsibilities on REDD+ • Develop pathway for securing government support and lead all government support and approval needs
  • Identify policy and regulation requirements
  • Develop and implement a stakeholder engagement and collaboration approach o Establish and maintain communication channels with the key regulatory agencies
    • Facilitate relationships between WCS project staff and regulatory agencies
    • Establish and maintain regular communication and exchanges with NSR conservation partners, district governments and and local Community Based Natural Resource Management groups in NSR
    • Identify key knowledge and capacity gaps and propose approaches for improving REDD+ understanding across partners
  • Work with WCS and partners to develop potential project governance structure, including across project partners
  • Contribute to the development of the proposed REDD+ Niassa Program:
    •     o Work with partners to create carbon credit generation potential models
    •     o Examine appropriate business model and project intervention costs
    •     o Identify complementary consultancies as needed, including legal review and advisement
    •     o Serve a key point person for WCS in all engagement with Government and all other stakeholders

Qualification Requirements

  • Minimum 5 years of experience in natural resources management, conservation development management, or related field. Experience in climate finance arena required, carbon accounting knowledge strongly preferred.
  • Good knowledge of stakeholder management, in particular engaging CSOs and private sector entities. 
  • Facilitation skills and ability to conduct and build collaborative programs among different stakeholders
  • Strong understanding of REDD+ history in Mozambique and Government of Mozambique REDD+ framework development and legislation. 
  • Good understanding of carbon crediting processes, voluntary market mechanisms, and national (Mz) and international governance processes covering forest carbon emissions, sequestration and storage. 
  • Willingness to travel extensively to field sites, engage in field data collection, stakeholder meetings, etc.

Languages: 

  • Portuguese - Excellent spoken and written 
  • English - Good spoken and written 
  • Proficiency in Swahili, Yao or Macua would be an advantage

Application Process:

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, should apply by emailing an application letter and CV and the names and contact information of three references to africaapplications@wcs.org by the deadline of 30 September, 2021. Please include "Niassa REDD + Stakeholder Engagement Liaison, Mozambique" in the subject line of your email.

In addition, please note that all candidates must also apply online via the WCS career portal at: http://www.wcs.org/about-us/careers