Job Opportunity at IUCN
Programme Officer, Forests
Vacancy #: 6235
Unit: Asia – Science and Strategy Group
Organisation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Location: Asia Regional Office, Bangkok, Thailand
Reporting to: Senior Programme Officer, Species/ Programme Coordinator, SSG
Work percentage: 100%
Grade: P2
Expected start date: 01 February 2023
Type of contract: Fixed-term (24 months with possibility of renewal)
Closing date: 25 December 2022
BACKGROUND
The Science and Strategy Group (SSG) is considered one administrative entity, and has evolved from the previous Ecosystems
and Livelihoods Group, Asia construct. It brings under one umbrella all component thematic programmes in IUCN.
IUCN aims to support the role of trees and forests in building resilience to climate change, regulating ecosystems, protecting
biodiversity, playing an integral part in the carbon cycle, supporting livelihoods, and supplying goods and services that can drive
sustainable growth.
Framed by IUCN’s global agenda on forests, the Asia regional programme seeks to:
1. Combat deforestation and forest degradation in areas of high biodiversity and cultural significance through the application of
methods such as Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), as well as Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs) approaches.
2. Restore forest landscapes to help enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation, particularly under the Bonn Challenge –
a global effort to bring 350 million hectares of deforested and degraded land under restoration by 2030.
3. Enable rights-based land use to ensure community involvement in land-use outcomes, in contributing to more inclusive
governance and sustainable management of forests.
4. Unlock forest benefits for sustainable and equitable supply of forest goods and services, engaging the private sector, and
striving those benefits – such as those from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) – are
equitably shared
To ensure the effective coordination, implementation and continued growth of IUCN’s global agenda on forests, SSG is now
looking for a dynamic, results-driven person to take on the role of Programme Officer, Forests for IUCN Asia.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Programme Officer, Forest serves as the lead technical specialist for IUCN Asia’s Forests sub-programme area in seeking
to address biodiversity, climate change, economic, area-based conservation and other societal challenges. As member of SSG
team, he/she drives the regional agenda for integrated forest landscape and land-use management through generating
knowledge on and scaling the use of innovative approaches, tools and standards.
SPECIFIC DUTIES:
The position is primarily responsible to:
1. Provide strategic, methodological and operational expertise on FLR design including the governance and institutional arrangements, as well as forest carbon credits for delivering biodiversity, livelihood and climate change benefits.
2 Coordinate and support a portfolio of country, sub-regional and regional projects, manage an integrated programme agenda
and strategy for Asia, and contribute to forests-related results of the IUCN global programme.
3 Serve as technical resource person and member of the regional task management team for IUCN’s implementing agency role
in the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other multi-lateral financing schemes.
4 Lead project development and resource mobilisation by working closely with SSG and ARO teams, directly supporting
country/sub-regional units, and liaising with global teams to grow the Forests regional project portfolio.
Vacancy Details – IUCN HR Management System (https://hrms.iucn.org) Page 1 / 2
5 Facilitate partnership building, enhance external engagement, and perform representational functions — with IUCN
constituents, policy and advocacy platforms, knowledge-sharing networks, and public communications outlets.
6 Train, build capacity of and provide technical assistance to regional team and partners for them to effectively deliver projects
and achieve target results.
Others:
Carry out other relevant tasks assigned by, and mutually agreed with, the line manager/ senior management team.
REQUIREMENTS
• Master’s degree in relevant academic areas (e.g., forestry, ecology, natural resources management, environmental
sciences, socio-economics); or bachelor’s degree with additional professional training/work experience.
• Comprehensive technical knowledge on forest conservation, restoration and management and their strategic contribution
to environment, biodiversity and/or climate programme agendas of key stakeholders in Asia.
• Work experience of at least five years in applying approaches, methodologies and tools for: FLR and ecosystem
restoration, biodiversity conservation planning and action, carbon assessment and climate mitigation, protected and
conserved areas management, natural resource governance and/or sustainable finance.
• Proven track record in conceptualising, designing and supporting implementation of collaborative projects for field action,
knowledge product development, and influencing policies and investment.
• Multi-country work experience in Asia region in a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment of regional or
international organisations.
• Demonstrated capacity to work in teams and facilitate task-groups, as well as mobilise and support multi-stakeholder
partnerships.
• Ability to deliver quality outputs within agreed deadlines to meet institutional and donor requirements.
• Excellent written and spoken English; proficiency in an Asian language is an advantage.
• Willingness to travel for domestic and international duty missions, and flexibility to render service beyond usual working
hours if urgently required.
About IUCN
IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private
and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and
nature conservation to take place together.
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources
and reach of more than 1,300 Member organisations and some 10,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data,
assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best
practices, tools and international standards.
IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local
communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental
challenges and achieve sustainable development.
Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide.
Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss,
restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.
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