Job Detail

Project Background:

Combating land degradation and biodiversity loss by promoting sustainable rangeland management and biodiversity conservation project is a five year intervention of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) funded through the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This project aims to improve the sustainability of agriculture, forest, and land-use management through rehabilitating degraded rangelands, biodiversity conservation and enhancing and maintaining the livelihoods of Afghan rural communities in Khost, Laghman and Nuristan provinces in          Afghanistan by employing the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach. The project has three major components: (i) capacity-building at the national, sub-national, and district levels in community based natural resources management for sustainable rangeland and forest planning; (ii) Integrated management and restoration of degraded landscapes for biodiversity conservation and sustainable/regenerative rangeland management; (iii) Systematic creation and sharing of knowledge, project coordination, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and institutional capacity development. 

The Senior GIS specialist will be responsible for all the geospatial data creation and management which would facilitate the implementation of participatory assessment and mapping of natural resources of the target districts. In addition, they will be preparing land-use/land-cover, watershed and topographic maps for RMAs and FMAs and target areas. 

The Senior GIS specialist will closely work with appointed specialists and support the project task team in preparing maps of land-use/land-cover, rangeland hotspots, FMAs and RMAs, mission maps etc which would facilitate in devising strategies and plans for implementation of sustainable natural landscape planning. They will provide technical guidance for the implementation of forest restoration and management, agroforestry and small-scale greenhouses.

FAO is looking for qualified national staff fill the position of senior GIS specialist. This position will support the work of the GEF-funded” Combating land degradation and biodiversity loss by promoting sustainable rangeland management and biodiversity conservation” project in Afghanistan. 

Job Posting 17/Oct/2022

Closure Date: 07/Nov/2022

Organizational Unit: FAAFG

Type of Requisition: NPP (National Project Personnel)

Primary Location: Afghanistan-Kabul

Duration: 6 months (with extension subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

This National Project Personnel position is SB4.

Reporting Lines

The Anticipatory Action Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, under the technical supervision of the Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer and direct supervision of Head of Risk Analysis, Agriculture and Food Security.

Technical Focus

The Anticipatory Action Specialist will be part of the Risk Analysis, Agriculture and Food Security Unit. This engagement aims to support the mainstreaming and implementation of early warning and anticipatory action at the country level. FAO’s EWEA (Early Warning Early Action) programme is part of a growing number of anticipatory approaches to crises being implemented by organisations worldwide.

Tasks and responsibilities

Support in the development of Anticipatory Action Protocols

• Analyse existing vulnerability and disaster risk information to identify risks to agriculture and food security, priority areas and livelihoods.
• Consolidate early warning information on the priority risks and support the selection of key indicators for primary climate risks.
• Identify early warning triggers, i.e. the risk level thresholds beyond which financial resources should be rapidly allocated to prevent and mitigate the impact of a forecast hazard on agriculture and food security.
• Formulate crisis timelines overlaying seasonality, livelihood impacts information to identify timings for early warning and anticipatory action.
• Define, with support of international Anticipatory Action consultants, the protocols and standard operating procedures for linking early warning to anticipatory action, including precise roles and responsibilities for risk monitoring and implementation.
• Support the operational and timely implementation of anticipatory action at country level by conducting field missions, advising on appropriate actions and operational arrangements as well as accessing the Anticipatory Action Fund.
• Lead efforts to embed Anticipatory Action into the national and local disaster risk management (DRM) systems.
• Support the Anticipatory Action Impact Assessment including Return on Investment (ROI).

Support linking Anticipatory Action and with cash preparedness

• Liaise with social protection experts in HQ to further explore the link with Anticipatory Action and assess with the cash unit in Kabul the feasibility to use cash transfers as one of the Anticipatory Actions.
• Provide technical support and advice to social protection and cash experts to carry out feasibility studies and establish recommendations to move forward in relation to Anticipatory Actions activities.

Lead collaboration efforts both with key partners

• Strengthen partnerships and inter-agency efforts on Anticipatory Action at country level. This includes fostering collaboration on early warning (e.g. common triggers, joint alerts and appeals) as well as coordinated anticipatory action implementation on the ground.
• Support efforts to engage donors and new partners on the Anticipatory Action agenda.
• Externally represent and advocate Anticipatory Action with technical partners and UN Agencies.

Lead Anticipatory Action capacity building and communication efforts

• Support efforts to institutionalize Anticipatory Action with key humanitarian and development partners.
• Support capacity building activities at country level, including the delivery of FAO Anticipatory Action learning programme.