The National landscape restoration and management specialist will work under the general supervision of the FAO representative in STP and the direct technical supervision of the Forestry Officer for Central Africa, LTO of the project.

Technical Focus

• Forestry, ecosystem restoration, environmental sciences, natural resource management and related field

Tasks and Responsibilities

The National landscape restoration and management specialist will perform the following tasks:

• Gather, document, and analyse data/information on available assessments/analyses (or their proxies, such as, for example, a topography map) of the long-term land potential to sustainably generate ecosystem services at various scales (national, sub-national, land type, land use system, point scale, etc.).
• Assess the information and propose ways to update the assessments in Sao Tome e Principe’s pursuit of Ecosystem Restauration, specifically focusing on areas where the anthropogenic factors or natural disturbances have altered the fundamental land characteristics;
• Building on the information in the PIF, if additional information is available, provide further details on a) how the existing land management approaches in the target districts will further lead to degradation, b) ecosystem degradation status (see project Theory of Change) in the targeted landscape, c) develop a short list of most appropriate Ecosystem Restauration options for target landscapes in pursuit of Ecosystem Restauration.
• List on- and off-site impacts of the proposed Ecosystem and d) propose ways to update the assessments of land degradation conducted in the past.
• Summarize the existing land use planning processes and tools in the country at various levels (e.g. administrative, bio-physical, local, landscape, land information infrastructure,…).
• Building on the summary and other baseline studies propose ways to strengthen land use planning processes in pursuit of Ecosystem Restauration (such as, for example, mainstreaming of Ecosystem Restoration into UNCCD NAP or national development plans…);
• Building on the information in the PIF, refine participatory field indicators that can be used in a local and national Ecosystem Restoration monitoring system. Propose a methodology for quantifying and monitoring Ecosystem Restoration indicators at landscape level in collaboration with relevant national institutions;
• Provide technical inputs and actively participate in the national and local level consultations and focus groups with government institutions, NGOs, CBOs, traditional leaders, local communities, private sector companies, research institutions in order to collect required information to produce high quality reports (e.g. details on the drivers of degradation, target beneficiary profile, etc.);
• Summarize the current level of awareness of local communities regarding land degradation and Ecosystem Restoration and propose ways to improve their participation in ecosystem restoration;
• Define interventions to address identified knowledge gaps including the number of beneficiaries for each intervention, assess costs for these interventions, and propose their implementation strategy;
• Perform other related duties, as required.

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in project management, forestry, ecosystem restoration, environmental sciences, natural resource management and related field with working experience in this area.
• Minimum of 5 year of relevant professional experience in forestry, ecosystem restoration, environmental management and natural resource management.
  Working knowledge of (level C) of English or French and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO language (French, Spanish, Arabic, English, Chinese, or Russian).
• National of Sao Tome e Principe

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in organizing technical workshops and stakeholder consultations.
• Excellent communication and analytical skills.
• Knowledge of Portuguese is an asset
• Work experience in in forestry, ecosystem restoration, environmental management and natural resource management projects;
• Practical experience in organizing technical workshops and stakeholder consultations.
• Relevance and extent of experience in communication and collaboration with stakeholders and development partners.