Forestry officer (arid zones)

Post Number: C/0627836

Duties and responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Director, FOM and the direct supervision of the Chief, FOMC, will participate in the planning, development, and implementation of forest conservation and environmental issues in arid and semi-arid zones. In particular, the incumbent will:

• participate in promoting the use of forestry techniques in sustainable rural development in arid zones, poverty alleviation, degraded ecosystem restoration and in combating desertification;
• monitor developments in arid zone land reclamation, sand dune fixation, shelterbelt and greenbelt establishment, including physical and socio-economic surveys, site diagnosis, species selection, nursery and plantation techniques, maintenance, water harvesting practices in the light of new developments in tree and grass ecology and conservation engineering;
• develop training material and participate in the conduct of training courses, expert consultations and meetings;
• liaise closely with multi and bilateral counterparts in donor institutions regarding the implementation of projects in dry zones;
• participate in the identification, design and implementation of programmes and projects and, as requested, provide technical backstopping to field projects;
• identify experts and consultants for possible work assignments;
• perform other related duties as required.

Minimum requirements

• Advanced University Degree in Forestry and/or related discipline
• Five years’ relevant experience in one or more of the followings: arid land vegetation management and reclamation, arid land forest plantations, shelterbelt design and management, sand dune fixation and forest and range management, which included working experience in developing countries
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two

Selection criteria

• Relevance of academic qualifications
• Relevance of experience in arid zone forestry and in forest and range management
• Extent of field experience in developing countries
• Extent of experience at international level
• Demonstrated ability to plan and organize work
• Quality of both oral and written communication skills

NOTE: Please note that all candidates should possess computer/word processing skills and should be capable of working with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.