Organizational Setting
FAO has a representation office in Armenia accredited with the Government of Armenia and responsible for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the country programme as well in close consultation with the respective technical support from the Regional Office or Headquarter units. The FAOR also monitors the policy developments in the Armenia related to the agrifood system sector in close collaboration with the other national and international stakeholders including the United Nations Country Team (UNCT).
A project funded by the Green Climate Fund “Forest resilience in Armenia enhancing the adaptation and rural green growth via mitigation” has been approved and started in December 2021. The total funding including co-financing is USD18.7 million.
The FAO representation office in Armenia (FAO Armenia) and the Environmental Project Implementation Unit (EPIU) are the Executing Entities (EEs) of the project. FAO will be responsible for the overall implementation of the project and also supervise the work of the EPIU of the Ministry of Environment of Armenia. The project is co-financed by the Government of Armenia, Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Autonomous Province of Bolzano, WWF Armenia and FAO.
Therefore, staff capacity of Hayantar SNCO will be further developed in order to ensure high seedlings’ survival in all planting operations of the project as well as to upgrade and sustainably manage degraded coppice forests.
In order to organize effectively the knowledge transfer to the Hayantar staff a national Expert on Forest Governance and Capacity Development will be hired for following up and backstopping of activities in Tashir nursery as well as forest restoration sites. It is expected that the Expert will deliver specific trainings to selected workers who will act as foremen to coordinate the works in each of the sites selected for forest restoration investments. The selected workers will participate in a hands-on training (training of trainers), organised in Lori and Syunik Marzes, to learn the different planting techniques to ensure high survival rates of seedlings, as well as silvicultural approaches to upgrade and sustainably manage degraded coppice forests employed by the project in the context of climate change.
The position is based in Vanadzor, with local travel to the project sites in Lori Marz and possibly other relevant areas (e.g Syunik Marz).
Reporting Lines
The National Forest Governance and Capacity Development Specialist works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Armenia, direct supervision of National Project Coordinator and the technical guidance GCP/ARM/008/GCF project Lead Technical Officer in close cooperation with Project Team.
Technical Focus
The incumbent should deliver hands-on training session for Hayantar employees and other stakeholders involved in the planting and coppice forest related management activities under the project.
The incumbent should support conducting follow-up, backstopping and monitoring of planting activities and silvicultural operations in the field, mainly at the restoration sites in Lori Marz.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Support conducting of tree marking in compliance with the “selective upgrading” instructions.
• Support Hayantar SNCO and respective community-based stakeholders on selecting sites for “selective upgrading” in various consolidated communities in Lori Marz and related tree marking on the selected sites, as well as in subsequent step of planning and implementing tree harvesting operations.
• Support conducting on-the-job training for Hayantar SNCO and local community members on adaptive management measures (“selective upgrading”) in degraded coppice forest stands (knowledge sharing, “learning by doing”, discussions and feedback).
• Assist day-to-day on-site technical implementation of silvicultural measures (tree harvesting operations) by the local workforce in degraded coppice forests following the “selective upgrading” instructions, as well as the implementation of tree planting work on restoration sites in Lori Marz, assess the progress, identify challenges and provide recommendations for improvements as appropriate.
• Support the project team in collaboration with project stakeholders to ensure proper implementation of silvicultural measures in degraded coppice forests and of tree planting activities on restoration sites.
• Follow up and backstop activities in Lori nursery based on the instructions provided by the national seedling production expert.
• Provide technical guidance and technical support to address any issues related to adaptive management of degraded coppice forests and forest restoration as appropriate.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• University degree in agriculture, engineering, forestry or related fields
• At least 5 years of experience in planning and implementing silvicultural measures at field level
• Working Knowledge of English and Armenian languages
• National of Armenia or resident of the country with valid work permit
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Experience with methods and techniques in relation to forest and landscape restoration;
• Demonstrated ability to adopt new ideas;
• Demonstrated commitment to participatory and bottom-up approaches;
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, including advocating to government agencies;
Selection Criteria
• Experience in supervising day-to-day on-site technical implementation of forest management work