Consultant, Forest Concession Data in Central Africa Republic

Job Summary:

Your main responsibility as the consultant will be to update data-related information to logging concessions (allocated and unallocated) and forest companies in the Central African Republic and to initiate their participation in the OTP. More specifically, it involves increasing the number of forest operators in CAR that are active on the OTP and the number of documents uploaded and validated. As the consultant, you will also provide training to forest companies on the latest features of the site, convincing them to share their legality documents on the portal as well as helping them to put their documents online and keeping them up to date. In this role, you will have to propose an approach in order to establish a regular dialogue with the forest administration and operators in the CAR. Visits to company sites must be planned and included in the consultant’s budget. The proposal must specify the number of proposed missions, their duration, and their location.

Your meetings may take place in Bangui for companies with representatives based permanently in this city or passing through. In this role, you will be in direct contact with forest operators in CAR, the Minister of Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing (MEFCP) as well as with the National Agency that has the necessary information to update the Forest Atlas of the CAR. As the consultant, you will be under the supervision of the OTP coordinator for the Congo Basin, based in Kinshasa.

This is a Limited/Short-Term position, with an end date of 12/20/2022

Job Responsibilities:

 The main objective of these visits will be to:

• Establish contact with the administration to designate a contact person within the cartographic service and the General Directorate of Forests to update the Forest Atlas’ data
• Make an inventory of the data that is currently available on the Forest Atlas
• Obtain from the administration in charge of forests up-to-date shapefiles on forest concessions, forest reserves and protected areas as well as their up-to-date metadata
• Obtain from the administration in charge of forests up-to-date shapefiles on the annual allowable cuts (assiettes annuelles de coupe) as well as their up-to-date metadata
• Organize field missions in the prefectures to compare the data obtained at the Central level with that available in the decentralized services and forest operators
• Organize a workshop with the relevant administrations to validate the Forest Atlas data mentioned above;
• Present the concept of the OTP to managers of forest companies and obtain a signed publication authorization from them
• Train focal points within each company on how to use of the OTP and assist them in creating their accounts, updating their profile and uploading their documents
• Collect any comments that they may have on the tool and/or on the list of documents requested and shared these with the OTP team
• Ensure that, over time, companies keep their documents up to date on the portal and that the list of OTP documents remains compatible with the APV FLEGT legality grid
• Document companies’ perception of data from independent observers and the quality control process
• Propose possible gateway options with existing systems to save time for OTP users:

• For companies that already have internal traceability systems with a robust due diligence system and
• For an eventual integration with the national traceability system.

Job Qualifications:

• Graduate degree (Masters or PhD) in forestry, geography, environmental science, natural resource management, natural resource law or significant demonstrated experience in these or related fields
• At least 5 years of experience working with forest management and/or timber trade in the Congo Basin
• Professional competency in French
• Excellent attention to detail, dedication and diplomacy
• Strong written and oral communication skills, particularly when it comes to communicating technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Understanding of the forest/natural resource/land-use sector in Central Africa Republic and beyond (e.g., forest policies and laws, forest management and law enforcement practices, governance and institutional context, forest and land tenure regimes, timber harvest and trade)
• Ability to deliver on clear priorities

How to Apply:

The consultant must send a detailed proposal with a methodology, a budget and a timetable (four pages maximum) to [email protected] before October 30, 2021. All proposals must be in U.S. Dollars. The available budget for this consultancy must not exceed $40,000 USD, tax included.

Program Overview:

The Forest Legality Initiative (FLI) is designed to increase the demand for legal forest products and to mitigate the trade of illegal timber.

To this end, FLI pursues a series of activities including:

(a) evaluating, promoting, and developing tools and technologies used by industry and stakeholders to practice due care and to deter the entry of illegal forest products into supply chains;

(b) strengthening and building capacity of civil society and independent monitors to increase accountability for and to eradicate illegal logging; and

(c) convening a wide range of stakeholders to discuss, share knowledge, and collaborate on ideas and projects aimed at exercising due care and eliminating the illegal timber trade.

WRI Overview:

World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade in order to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean.

We are passionate. We value our diversity of interests, skills, and backgrounds. We have a flexible work environment. And we share a common goal to catalyze change that will improve the lives of people. Our shared ideals are at the core of our approach. They include: integrity, innovation, urgency, independence, and respect.

The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.

We have been growing rapidly: our staff has doubled in size over the past 5 years, and our operating budget is now $150 million. Founded in 1982, WRI has a global staff of 1,000+ people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.