Job Title: District Technical Assistant, WWF Zambia

Department/Projects: Climate Change Adaptation in Forest and Agricultural Mosaic Landscapes

Location: Petauke, covering Lusangazi

Reports to: Project Manager, WWF Zambia

Contract Tenure: 2 years with a possibility of renewal

Supervises : None

CONTEXT

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has awarded World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to implement the Climate Change Adaptation in  Forest and Agricultural Mosaic Landscapes Project. The project will use a landscape approach that  engages and strengthens uptake and diffusion of technologies and practices for adaptive capacity  through Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs), Farmer Field Schools, viable cooperatives,  and other community-based organizations within local communities, including community forestry.  The project will be implemented in six districts that are vulnerable to climate risks and hazards  (droughts in particular) and have high rates of forest degradation and deforestation, and these are  Petauke, Lusangazi  and Nyimba in Eastern Province and Sioma, Wandi  and Sesheke in Western Province.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia will be responsible for executing the project, in close  collaboration with the Zambian Forestry Department (FD), Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and  Agriculture Organization (FAO). WWF Zambia will coordinate activities with national bodies related  to the different project components, as well as the project partners. The project will be guided by the Project  Steering Committee on policy issues and linkage to relevant national bodies. The project will be guided by the Technical Committee, one in Eastern Province and one in Western Province as the main bodies  governing the project activities undertaken in the respective provinces.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The District Technical Assistant will under the supervision of the Project Manager lead and facilitate  the implementation of actions to strengthen the management capacity of key district level stakeholders  within productive landscapes for climate resilience actions to ensure community managed forests and  agricultural landscapes are resilient to climate change. These actions will be undertaken at district level  in consultation and participation with Community Leaders, Forest and Farm Producer Organizations,  District Farmers Associations, government forestry and agriculture extension services, partner NGOs  and other support institutions.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Particular responsibilities of the District Technical Assistant are listed below.

• Lead and facilitate implementation of capacity assessments for forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs), District Farmers Associations, government forestry, partner NGOs and other support institutions to implement participatory approaches at landscape level, including community forestry
• Develop  and  implement  plans  to  strengthen  the  capacity  of  forest  and  farm  producer organizations, District Farmers Associations, government forestry, partner NGOs and other support institutions
• Participatory assessments and community engagement at landscape level to reach a common understanding of landscape components and their actual and potential use including markets.
• Facilitate  the  implementation  by  the  target  communities,  and  the  FFPOs  within  them, community  forestry  management  and  other  climate  adaptation  measures  including,  as appropriate:  climate  smart  agricultural  practices,  landscape  level  planning,  participatory  climate   risk   assessments,   woodland   restoration,   water   catchment   management, and agroforestry.
• Prepare and implement work plans for district level activities
• Monitor and report performance of district level activities
• Contribute to the creation and sharing of knowledge by synthesizing and documenting findings and lessons learned, success stories and best practices, strategies and approaches of the project, drafting relevant materials for dissemination.
• Work closely with the M&E and Knowledge Management Expert to monitor planned activities in order to identify best practices as well as constraints/implementation bottlenecks and to take necessary actions to overcome the constraints.
• Contribute to implementation of Environmental and Social safeguards
• Produce district level technical reports and contribute to overall project technical reporting

REQUIRED QUALIFICATION  

• A Bachelor’s degree in Environment, Forestry, Natural Resources Management, Agriculture or a closely related field.
• A Master’s degree in the relevant field will be an added advantage
• A minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience working on community-based projects in relevant sectors.
• Experience in at least four of the following: Sustainable Land Management/Sustainable Forest Management (SLM/SFM), climate smart agricultural practices,  agroforestry, woodland restoration, and water catchment management
• Knowledge of landscape level planning and participatory climate risk assessments
• Excellent Coordination and facilitation skills
• Fluency in oral and written English
• Excellent interpersonal and general communication skills in local languages
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages, (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, etc.).
•  Willingness to travel
•  Excellent report writing skills and regular reporting

Reporting to the Project Manager, the District Technical Assistant will work as part of the PMU. The  District Technical Assistant will ensure the availability of information on progress and performance  regarding the implementation of the technical components of the project at district level. The District  Technical Assistant will deliver progress reports on a monthly basis. These reports will include: i) status  of district level activities; and ii) challenges encountered on the ground during execution of the project  component.