South Sudan: National Forestry and Charcoal Value Chain Consultant

Jul 12, 2020 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
View Original

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. FAO works closely with the Government of South Sudan to improve food and nutrition security and eradicate hunger in the country. FAO provides support in three priority areas: sustainable increase in production and productivity, agriculture-based economic growth, and increased resilience of livelihoods to threats and crisis.

FAO in South Sudan under the Humanitarian and Resilience in South Sudan (HARISS) project is conducting a study on the charcoal value chain. With a view to informing poverty reduction, climate change and conflict-resolution-related programming the suggested study aims to provide information on the relevance, driving forces, key players and opportunities and constraints of the charcoal sector in South Sudan. It thereby aims to provide a sound basis for policy development and community action that reduces the negative impacts of the sector on the forest sector.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and Deputy Representative, the direct supervision of the Juba-based International Natural Resource Management (NRM) Specialist and in close collaboration with relevant technical experts, area coordinators and field-based NRM Officers.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will perform desk research, liaise with partners for key informant interviews and develop the first draft outline and text for the analytical parts of the study.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will carry out the following tasks and duties:

• Compile information: Develop an overview of existing information resources, initiatives, institutions and stakeholders in the field of forestry and charcoal production across the value chain. (If applicable, identify immediately apparent gaps in this regard.)
• Demonstrate overall relevance through a thematic outlook: Provide an overview of the relevance of the charcoal value chain in South Sudan, looking at issues, such as overall economy and income, food security (cooking), deforestation and the overall environment, disputes and conflicts. (If applicable, identify study gaps in this regard.)
• Illustrate and analyze the elements of the value chain: Provide an overview of the charcoal value chain in South Sudan and analyze the respective driving forces, the key players, stakeholders and existing constraints and opportunities for each part of the domestic and international value chain: Feedstock production, Feedstock collection, Charcoal production, Transportation, Wholesaling, Retailing, Consumers. This will include a thorough examination of selected factors where each chain-link is examined for the underlying causes and mechanisms, which encourage or constrain sustainable charcoal production and charcoal consumption. For the case of feedstock production and collection this may include assessing tree species used in charcoal production.
• Legal, policy and institutional analysis: Provide an overview of existing laws, policies and regulations (statutory and customary).
• Draft recommendations: Develop a draft overview of concrete recommendations / response strategies, for the national and community-level. The interventions should combine approaches such as sustainable natural forest and land management, policy & legal-regulatory reform, and investment promotion. The recommendations should also outline areas / regions within South Sudan where interventions could have an impact on reducing deforestation and forest degradation, such as how to replenish degraded areas.
• Perform any other NRM related duties as required

Candidates Will Be Assessed Against The Following

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Natural Resources Management (NRM), Agricultural Science, Plant science, Forestry or related field.
• Working knowledge of English (level C) and Arabic. Candidates with knowledge of other local languages spoken in the region will get preference.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in charcoal and forestry including proven experiences in conducting participatory research and focus on topics such as forestry conservation and regulation programs, feedstock production, feedstock collection, charcoal production, transportation, wholesaling, retailing and energy consumption.
• National of South Sudan or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

Technical/Functional Skill

• Ability to organize and implement directly project activities, work in hardship context and guide implementing partners and beneficiaries organizations.
• Ability to operate effectively in a team, contributing positively to a team operations and working relationships.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural background.  High degree of self-motivation and initiative.
• Willingness to learn and apply new methodologies and approaches.
• Good interpersonal, communications and facilitation skills.
• Sound knowledge and experience in illustration and analyzing value chain elements.
• Good knowledge of the UN system, procedures and operational activities would be an advantage.
• Ability to effectively use standard office software, such as MS Office (Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, Power Point) etc.
• Understand and adhere to FAO goals and principle and the FAO South Sudan strategy and objectives