Organizational Setting
Background
The Forestry Division (NFO) leads FAO's work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction and food security and nutrition. It liaises with member countries, civil society and the private sector in aspects ranging from development of effective forest policies to forest conservation and management issues and strengthens the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation.ย
This position is based at the FAO regional office in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, and will work in close collaboration with the Forest Monitoring Team of the Forestry Division (NFOM). The NFOM Team supports FAO member countries on all aspects of forest monitoring to provide reliable information for national forest and land use related policy development, planning and sustainable management. The data collected is also used by countries for satisfying international reporting requirements under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement and for accessing results-based payments and carbon credits. The NFOM Team also supports countries on technical issues related to National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS), Restoration Monitoring in support of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and the development of cost effective and high integrity Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) that meets carbon accounting standards. The NFOM Team develops and maintains Open Foris and SEPAL (Digital Public Goods for forest and land use monitoring). The NFOM Team works closely with the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) and REDD Teams.ย
The specialist will report to the FAO Representative, in close collaboration, Forestry Officer NFO, Forest and commodity legal and policy specialist NFOM.ย
Reporting Lines
Under the overall supervision by the FAO Representative, technical supervision by the Forestry Officer, Forestry Division in FAO Rome, day-to-day management by Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and in collaboration with the Project Coordinator at FAO in Vietnam and the international consultant for the project.ย
Technical Focus
The objective of this assignment is to support the NFOM team and FAO regional office in Viet Nam, in the training of local actors and deployment of the FAO Open Foris Ground solution in Quang Tri, Son La and Gia Lai provinces. ย The incumbent will work to ensure the timely implementation of the project and timely providing all relevant deliverables of the project. ย ย
Tasks and responsibilities
โข ย ย Develop and provide training materials and relevant documentation in the Vietnamese language
โข ย ย Deliver training sessions on the use of Open Foris Ground for 5 rubber and 10 coffee cooperatives in Quang Tri province
โข ย ย Deliver training sessions on the use of Open Foris Ground in coffee cooperatives covered by the SAFE GIZ Viet Nam project in Son La and Gia Lai provinces
โข ย ย Provide technical support for the design of Open Foris Ground surveys
โข ย ย Provide technical support during field data collection
โข ย ย Conduct a follow-up evaluation mission three months after initial deployment
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements ย ย
โข ย ย Advanced university degree in forestry, environmental science, geography, natural resource management, geoinformatics, or a related field
โข ย ย At least 2 years of relevant experience in forest monitoring, land use mapping or geospatial data collection and analysis
โข ย ย Working knowledge of English and Vietnamese
โข ย ย National of Viet Nam or resident in the country with a valid work permit.
FAO Core Competencies
โข ย ย Results Focus
โข ย ย Teamwork
โข ย ย Communication
โข ย ย Building Effective Relationships
โข ย ย Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
โข ย ย Demonstrated ability to develop training materials and conduct capacity-building activities with diverse stakeholder groups, ideally including smallholder farmers and local cooperatives
โข ย ย Familiarity with geospatial solutions for environmental monitoring
โข ย ย Knowledge of market-based and deforestation-free regulations (e.g. EUDR) is a strong asset
โข ย ย Fluency in Vietnamese and English, with the ability to translate technical content between both languages
โข ย ย Strong interpersonal communication and facilitation skills, including experience working with government agencies and international institutions
โข ย ย Willingness and ability to travel to rural provinces for fieldwork and training sessions