Project Officer, BDR (Building Drought Resilience) Job Opportunity at International Union for Conservation of Nature

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Job Title: Project Officer, Building Resilience to Drought in the Karamoja Region
through Sustainable Natural Resources Management in the Okok Subcatchment

Position: Project Officer, BDR (Building Drought Resilience)
Location: Karamoja, Uganda

Background
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic
solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN works on
biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by
supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing
governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best
practice. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,200 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world.
The Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) of IUCN that coordinates the
implementation of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Program (ESARP) is based in
Nairobi under an Agreement between IUCN and the Government of Kenya. The BDR Karamoja project is one of the projects within ESARP. The project is financed by European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) through Action Against Hunger (ACF). The project is a response to an assessment carried out in 2011 that highlighted the need for the completion and implementation of an Integrated Land and Water Resources Development and Management Plan that was developed in order to sustainably respond to water demands in agriculture, livestock production, human consumption and ecosystems. The project seeks to improve understanding of the status of the natural resources, and the underlying causes of vulnerability in the area of Okok sub-catchment, improve institutional capacity of local people to develop and implement natural resources management plans to address the identified causes of vulnerability and degradation, and advocate for integrated natural resources management within policy forums and region-wide learning groups. The project will link with ongoing project on building drought resilience in Kenya (Lower Tana sub catchment), and Uganda (the Upper Aswa-Agago sub catchment) which is focusing on the improvement of water and land management by local communities and government. In addition, it will also build on interventions undertaken which provided the basis for further action in improving natural resource management to improve disaster risk reduction.

Duties & Responsibilities
The Project Officer will coordinate and implement the project activities in the project operational area in Uganda. He or she will link project activities to the Uganda country programme and the Eastern and Southern Africa regional programme where relevant. Specific responsibilities entail:
a.      Facilitate the development of integrated natural resources management (NRM) plans for Okok sub-catchment through carrying out the following tasks:
b.      Design and conduct training and awareness sessions on natural resources management and planning for the local communities and local government to build capacity of traditional institutions and local government bodies in NRM,
c.       Facilitate community consultations to develop resources use maps for rangeland
planning purposes. The rangeland plans to identify risk reduction strategies, ecosystem-based priorities and zoning of water resources for each type of activity,
d.      Strengthen multi-stakeholders dialogue  between different natural resource users and facilitating exchange mechanisms across sectors and governance levels to strengthen diverse natural resources users to engage in negotiations on appropriate
and sustainable decentralized NRM governance systems.
e.      Facilitate the implementation of ecosystem based priority actions within the management plans that will strengthen social and ecological resilience.
f.        Document the best practices and lessons from the project, through the production of
progress reports and a guideline summarizing the requirement for implementing integrated NRM plans in Drylands catchment areas.
g.      Carry out any other relevant tasks as required by, and mutually agreed with, Uganda Water and Wetlands Programme Officer, Regional Water and Wetlands Coordinator and Regional Drylands Programme Coordinator.
h.      To operationalize the above mentioned duties under job the description framework, develop and implement an annual work plan (performance agreement) as well as carry out the appraisal as per the IUCN requirement.
Competencies
·         A minimum of an MSc. degree in Natural Resources Management, preferably Water
Resources Management, Dry lands or Rangelands Management
·         At least 7 years work experience in planning and implementing project activities in water resource management or drylands management including project management, monitoring and evaluation, and managing relationships with partners including the government
·         Experience with community participation activities
·         Familiarity with the Ugandan Catchment Based Water Resource Management approach and associated policy and laws
·         Familiarity with Uganda Rangeland Management Policy
·         Good verbal and written communication skills in English
·         Working knowledge of Ngakarimajong language
·         Demonstrated skills in computer literacy, technical writing and communication
·         Demonstrated ability to work with government agencies, research institutions and NGOs

Personal attributes
·         Strong inter personal skills, cultural sensitivity, and a very good communicator
Innovative and dynamic, with ability to take initiative and provide creative solutions to project management problems
·         A proactive and self-motivated individual with good interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to work in a team and capacity to pay attention to detail.
·         Excellent analytical skills and ability to work with little supervision and function in a
multicultural and multidisciplinary environment.
·         Willingness to travel as needed.
·         IUCN staff are required to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that is compatible with their responsibilities and in accordance with the standards of conduct expected by IUCN as set out in the IUCN Staff Rules.
How to Apply
Applicants are asked to submit their CV and a supporting letter of motivation and provide the names and contact details (including e-mail addresses) of three referees. The letter must be submitted on or before 24th July 2012 to: earohr@iucn.org

NB: Only Shortlisted Candidates Will Be Contacted
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