Technical Advisor on Forest value chains

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Organizational Setting

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Cancun in 2010 agreed that countries should collectively aim to slow, halt and reverse forest cover and carbon loss. The policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD ), encourages developing countries to contribute to mitigation actions in the forest sector. A number of countries have reached advanced stages in their REDD readiness efforts (phase I). An increasing number of countries are moving into REDD implementation (phase II), achieving concrete results in emission reductions and accessing result-based payments (phase III).

Zambia is one of the countries, which has already made much progress on REDD readiness in phases I and II. The country has completed its first REDD safeguards summary of information in 2018 and made significant progress in the development and operation of the safeguard information system since then. In addition, it submitted the Forest Reference Emission to the UNFCCC Technical Assessment in 2021. Finally, Zambia is implementing a significant number of phase II activities. Still, conclusive evidence on emission reductions against Zambia’s FREL, which would facilitate access results-based payments (phase III) and then to climate finance at scale.

With the aim to step up mitigation efforts and reduce emissions, Zambia is working at a subnational level and specifically boosting local climate action through community-based forestry, as well as developing several jurisdictional programmes. Many of these programmes seek to foster low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways, in which forests are preserved and revalorized, enhancing related livelihoods and ecosystem services.

In this framework, the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in the Developing Countries (UN-REDD) will provide technical assistance (TA) to the countries through the Forestry Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In Zambia, the UN-REDD TA during 2023-2024, will be orientated towards enabling jurisdictional programmes and local climate action, combining mitigation and adaptation objectives, specifically in the most forested province of the country (North Western province) through:

• Assessment of existing and potential community forest management groups (CFMGs), which could be supported to catalyze local climate action.
• Assessment of the relations between forest cover and water-related ecosystems in the framework of developing the forest-water-climate nexus.
• Assessment of forest value chains, focusing on those with more potential to be developed/strengthened and contribute to low-emissions and resilient community livelihoods.
• Assessment of rural finance in the North Western province to enhance the sustainability and replicability of local climate action.

Reporting Lines

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the FAO Representative in Zambia, the technical supervision of REDD programme officer at FAO HQ; and working closely with colleagues in the REDD and National Forest Monitoring teams of the FAO Forestry Division, FAO-Zambia and national counterparts.

Technical Focus

• be age-sensitive, with particular attention to youth, including assessment of youth-friendly business and livelihoods, aiming to mitigate the risk of perpetuating poverty and inequality
• be gender-sensitive, integrating measures to address gender inequalities and promote women empowerment
• be food security and nutrition-sensitive, and consider Zambia’s national efforts to diversify diets
• consider principles of workers’ safety and health, decent work and productive employment
• pay particular attention to the risk that livelihoods are associated with child labour and/or forced labour
• be oriented to a broad view of sustainability beyond economic benefits

Tasks and responsibilities

The UN-REDD Technical Advisor on forest value chains assessment will carry out the following tasks:

• Lead, coordinate and technically support the implementation of the different activities planned under UN-REDD TA 2023, in close collaboration with country counterparts, UN-REDD agencies and technical partners.
• Work closely with the FD of Zambia, ensuring that FD experts are practically engaged in the planning and implementation of UN-REDD TA activities
• Develop national capacities to facilitate future replication of the UN-REDD activities by FD officers in other provinces, contributing to country ownership.
• Coordinate, technically supervise and advice the team of FAO international and national experts, as well as implementing partners, involved in UN-REDD TA 2023.
• Develop reports on UN-REDD TA activities in Zambia, consolidating inputs from the team members and implementing partners.
• Lead the assessment of the forest value chains, working together with national consultants and partners, specifically:
- Review the identification of non-wood forest products (NWFP) collected in the North Western province.
- Finalize the literature review on forest value chains, the list of country key actors on forest-based value chains (experts, Universities, research institutes, NGOs, etc.) and the proposed methodologies for assessing value chains, considering targeted interviews/consultations with experts' views and lessons learned from past/relevant initiatives.
- Train national team on the forest value chain assessment methodology and guide them during field work.
- Undertake the selection of NWFP value chains to be prioritized applying the methodology, including interviews with relevant actors to get and crosscheck information, and the consolidation of results from different assessments undertaken to fill the gaps. The prioritization will be undertaken on the basis of social, economic and environmental criteria.
- Provide guidance and technical support to the national experts who will undertake the NWFP value chain and market assessments, as per agreed methodology, including through further data analysis, questionnaires, interviews and consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The methodology will include the identification of main actors, the mapping of the value chain, (local, national, regional) markets, quantification of the physical material flows and of value accumulation, identification of the socio-economic structure and typical relations between actors, the drivers of the value chain.

- Provide guidance and technical support to the national experts who will undertake the charcoal and artisanal timber value chains and market assessments.
- Lead and coordinate the identification of entry points for strengthening the value chain, and related livelihoods development interventions.
- Provide support in the preparation and delivery of training modules in the area of forest products value chain development and business planning and operations.
- Organize and undertake a validation workshop with the relevant country stakeholders, ensuring women’s participation and facilitating that they can express their views, knowledge and concerns freely.
• Support the formulation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) concept note and project proposal for Zambia.
• Other tasks related to forests and climate in Zambia, as requested.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in the field of forestry, forest products, marketing, rural livelihoods and/or related field
• Professional experience of at least 7 years in a relevant field (value chains assessment and development, rural development, market assessment and NFWP)
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). For PSA, working knowledge of English is required

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria

• Professional experience in market and value chains assessment, forest products statistics and/or analysis of rural livelihoods;
• Knowledge and experience of working in Zambia, Southern Africa subregion and/or developing countries;
• Extent of experience in implementation and coordination of field projects, demonstrating good sense of organization, and ability to prioritize tasks to meet deadlines;
• Ability to lead a team of experts, in a harmonious and effective way;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to maintain effective working relationships with multiple stakeholders, including government counterparts, implementing partners and local communities;
• Strong analytical and writing skills;

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency