Director (Forest Sector Transformation Unit)

• Overseeing the establishment Forest Sector Transformation Unit and support implementation of the REDD+ Investment in Ethiopia;
• Setting high-level direction, strategy and approach for the Forest Sector Transformation Unit;
• Providing substantive guidance and oversight to all advisors and specialists that are recruited under the project;
• Serving as a strategic advisor to MEFCC senior leadership on issues related to the forestry situation in Ethiopia;
• Oversee the recruitment of key staff of the FSTU;
• Building the strategy, approaches and core processes of the FSTU;
• Familiarization of the FSTU’s mandates, partnership and management arrangements to various stakeholders;
• Provide overall guidance and leadership to the Unit towards the attainment of the set goals.

• Work closely with regions, the Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Steering Committee and the CRGE Facility, other partner Ministries, development partners, and the private sector to fulfil the mandate of FSTU and strengthen its role within the forest sector;
• Monitoring of results across forest sector initiatives and reporting of those results to key stakeholders; 
• Continuously engaging key stakeholders (in government, regions, donor agencies, private sector, NGOs and others) to ensure that the FSTU approach and strategy are aligned with developments in the forestry sector; 
• Organizing high level engagements and dialogues with REDD+, such as CRGE Management Committee, REDD+ Steering Committee; 
• Lead the design and implementation of partnership building strategies and knowledge management initiatives. 

• Supporting the REDD+ Secretariat and Regional REDD+ Coordination Units in implementation Ethiopia’s REDD+ Plan and strategy through tracking of milestones, capability-building activities, and ‘secondments’ of personnel from the FSTU into project teams to accelerate implementation;
• Building a portfolio of new private-sector and civil-society partnerships and programs that will accelerate achievement of Ethiopia’s forestry sector goals contained in the national policies, plans and strategies and forestry related global commitments that the country entered; 
• Providing guidance in the scaling-up of FSTU activities;
• Managing forest sector portfolio projects, including piloting and scaling-up new private-sector and civil-society partnership identified, identifying success factors for fast redeployment in other projects, and managing overall portfolio performance and risk;
• Rendering support to implementation of ongoing programs under the REDD+ Plan both at the federal and regional levels.

• Maps relevant stakeholders and their potential contribution to future programming;
• Participates in and substantively contributes to consultations and relevant meetings with stakeholders;
• Engages in coordination efforts related to relevant donor and other stakeholders’ initiatives dealing with forestry; 
• Identifies opportunities and contributes to the overall resource mobilization efforts in line with priority areas of MEFCC/FSTU intervention;
• Identifies and supports the realisation of synergetic initiatives and/or contribution from various stakeholders, which would add value and maximise the specific results.   

• To pledge to national and regional authorities, in collaboration with the MEFCC and partners, on the best practices and experiences implemented in the framework of Forest Sector Transformation;
• To strengthen the national and regional capacities in collaboration with the partners of MEFCC, through the mobilization of best expertise in the field of forestry;
• To share Forest Sector Transformation Unit results and lessons learned with other stakeholders in the forestry sector that are implementing similar programmes. 

• Ability to make new and useful ideas work;
• Building support and political acumen;
• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Building and promoting effective teams;
• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
• Fair and transparent decision making.

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

• Researches linkages across programme/projects activities to identify critical points of integration;
• Monitors specific stages of programme/projects implementation;
• Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
• Analyses country situation to identify opportunities for project development and helps drafting proposals;
• Participates in the formulation of project proposals.

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;
• Promotes UNDP’s agenda in inter-agency meetings.

• Anticipates client needs;
• Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service provider;
• Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective;
• Solicits feedback on service provision and quality.

• Developing new approaches seeks a broad range of perspectives in developing project proposals;
• Generates innovative ideas and effective solutions to problems;
• Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations.

• Master’s degree in forestry, natural resource management, forest economics, environmental studies, agricultural sciences, climate change, economics, development studies or any other relevant field.

• Minimum 10 of years’ experience with M.A. Degree (12 years with B.A./B.Sc. Degree) in the area of forest management, agriculture and/or environment including management of complex projects including private sector exposure;
• Superlative leadership, management and communications skills, and an ability to translate the CRGE vision into real and tangible progress would probably have prior experience from leading a large or dynamic organization in the state or private sector;
• Proven record of experience working on forest management and environmental management with sound technical and business knowledge and familiarity with market analysis in the forest industry;
• Experience related to private sector engagement, including with multi-stakeholder platforms and in working with private sector companies;
• Experience in establishing partnerships and networks with partners in the private sector;
• Relevant working experience with UN agencies or INGOs is an added advantage;
• Strong communication, facilitation and coordination skills.

• Fluency in English (written and spoken).

Important applicant information

All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

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