National Project Coordinator on Addressing forest crime through improved forest governance in the Lower Mekong region

Organizational Setting

The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD ) in developing countries. The Programme was launched in 2008 and builds on the convening role and technical expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The UN-REDD Programme assists developing countries to prepare to implement REDD , including the development of National REDD Strategies, following guidance issued by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). As part of the Technical Assistance component of the UN-REDD Programme, the Government of Norway requested the partner agencies, coordinated by FAO, to develop and implement an initiative on Addressing Forest Crime through Improved Governance in the Lower Mekong Region (LMR), covering the countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. The overall impact of the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative will be to reduce deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable management of forests across the LMR, by tackling forest crime, improving forest governance and boosting legal and sustainable trade and investment in wood products across the LMR and China. The UN-REDD Mekong Initiative is part of a portfolio of investments under the Norway International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) to reduce forest crime and illegal trade in forest products across Asia, and will be coordinated with other institutions contributing to this portfolio. Within the Forestry Division of FAO, the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative will be coordinated closely with the activities of the Legal and Sustainable Wood team.

Reporting Lines

The National Coordinator reports formally to the Assistant FAOR-Programme in the FAO Representation in Viet Nam. Operationally and technically, the National Project Coordinator will work with the responsible Forestry Officer (based in Lao PDR), the UN-REDD regional teams of FAO, UNEP and UNDP, as well as other colleagues within the UN-REDD team. The incumbent operates independently and takes decisions on work priorities and exercises initiative.

Technical Focus:

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) for Vietnam, under the technical supervision of the responsible Forestry Officer, UN-REDD and forestry teams in FAO Headquarters and at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP), with guidance from Government of Vietnam focal points within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and in coordination with the REDD regional advisor for UNEP in Asia-Pacific, the national project coordinator will be responsible for the overall management and implementation of activities under the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative in Vietnam, specifically as below:.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Support the implementation of all activities (FAO-led and UNEP-led) under the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative in Vietnam, as part of the UN-REDD Global Technical Assistance (TA) programme for Asia-Pacific;
• Serve as a focal point for liaising with government and partners for the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative in Vietnam, in close collaboration with the UN-REDD Regional Asia-Pacific team and the FAO-EU-FLEGT Programme;
• Draft inception workplan, combined annual and semi-annual work plans and budget updates for the Vietnam component of the Initiative, in consultation with the UN-REDD Regional Asia-Pacific team, and counterparts at country level, monitor and prepare transparent reports against work plans in approved inter-agency format;
• Organize, and provide secretarial functions for, meetings of national stakeholders for coordination of the Initiative, and liaise regularly with designated national counterparts;
• Organize, manage and report on all national-level workshops and technical events planned under the Vietnam component of the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative;
• Participate in recruitment and supervision of the work of national specialists and service providers as appropriate;
• Coordinate establishment of data-sharing agreements, and in-country compilation of data and information as required under the work plan of the Initiative;
• Support the identification and preparation of national counterparts for participation in regional events and meetings organized through the UN-REDD Mekong Initiative;
• Undertake any other relevant tasks assigned by FAO and UNEP in the context of the UN-REDD Programme.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• The incumbent should be a national of Vietnam.
• University degree in Forestry and Natural resources.
• At least 10 years of relevant experience in forestry land and natural resource.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION