Adeso Technical Advisor-Natural Resource Management & Disaster Risk Reduction

Salary Grade Scale C, Starting Salary $48,000 - $52,000 (net)

Benefits Includes; Housing Allowance, Education allowance, Medical Insurance plus other competitive benefits

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT Adeso, formerly known as Horn Relief, is an expanding and vibrant African based international development and humanitarian organization. At Adeso, we work with African communities who are yet to realize their full potential; working inside these communities to create environments in which Africans can thrive. Our belief that economic, social and environmental security is the bedrock of a healthy community drives the nature and intent of our programming. We work to prevent and overcome situations that adversely affect community well-being by: reinvigorating the economy, developing skills for life and work, providing humanitarian aid, and influencing policy.

For the past 20 years we have strengthened rural livelihoods through environmental awareness, training, technology transfer and innovative humanitarian projects in pursuit of a peaceful, self-reliant, and greener future. Currently, Adeso has programs in Somalia, Kenya and South Sudan. Our current donor portfolio includes the European Commission, USAID, SIDA, CIDA, UNICEF, and the Government of Netherlands, among others. Adeso is an exciting and dynamic organization experiencing managed rapid growth. It offers sound employment conditions with opportunities for personal growth and development.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The REGAL IR program is a 5 year initiative aiming to reduce hunger and poverty, increase social stability and build strong foundations for economic growth by strengthening social, economic, and environmental resilience in pastoral and transitioning communities in Kenya’s arid lands. It has six strategic objectives including diversifying livelihoods, im proving value chain inclusiveness, natural Resource management, conflict management, disaster risk reduction, and improving nutrition. The program will be based in Isiolo County and implementing activities in Isiolo, Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit, and Turkana.

PROJECT SUMMARY Under the NRM objective of REGAL-IR, Adeso proposes a combination of governance strengthening, improved land and water management, ecosystem services, and carbon market incentives. Our development hypothesis is that if governance institutions and arrangements are optimally configured, and if management of land and water resources is improved through evidence-based knowledge, and if communities and pastoralists are sufficiently strengthened, informed and incentivized to sustainably manage herds and environmental resources, then natural and human-induced threats to the environment can be managed and mitigated, rangeland and water resources restored, and resilience to drought and floods increased. NRM activities will target at least 270,000 beneficiaries (45,000 households) throughout the five counties.

Under the improved drought management objective, our goal is to build the capacities of communities and local institutions to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of drought. Our development hypothesis is that if vulnerable populations receive full and objective information concerning drought early warning preparedness and prevention, and if community drought infrastructure is effectively governed, then at-risk communities will be better able to anticipate and withstand natural shocks including the impacts of drought. Drought management activities will target at least 48,000 beneficiaries (8,000 households) throughout the five counties

The Technical Advisor – Natural Resource Management and Disaster Risk Reduction (TA-NRM/DRR) will be responsible for technical leadership of the project in the area of NRM and climate change adaption. S/he will oversee land and water management activities and will provide leadership in formulating innovative and sustainable land management approaches and designing project interventions in ways that contribute to the enhancement of the natural resource base of selected sites in 5 counties in the arid lands of Kenya. The TA- NRM/DRR will coordinate with other REGAL-IR TAs to maximize synergy between strategic objective areas.

POSITION PURPOSE

The TA NRM will be responsible for technical support to an experienced team focusing on the following key objectives: 1. Identify existing NRM governance models in Kenya and the role of different actors; 2. Strengthen the capacity of local community-based NRM institutions; 3. Increase water storage capacity in arid lands, through improving natural and artificial storage; 4. Improve community management of water resources; 5. Coordinate biophysical landscape research to develop a Land Degradation Surveillance Framework incorporating soils, plants, pasture, forage and water; 6. Manage data collection (GIS, maps) and the development of comprehensive watershed maps incorporating information on grazing patterns, water points, rainfall, conflict, etc. 7. Oversee the work of our partner, Carbon Zero Kenya, on low carbon communities (e.g. fuel efficient stoves); 8. Capacity building of community institutions in disaster contingency planning; 9. Monitoring trigger indicators for the Crisis Modifier in the event of a serious drought.

SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Facilitate community engagement, program coordination on NRM and advocacy, including technical assistance for multi-stakeholder participation, clarifying land and resource rights, and inclusion of climate change adaptation and mitigation;
2. Support analyses required to inform spatial planning, land-use decisions, and climate change adaptation in pastoralist areas, including costs/benefits of alternate land use options, perverse or unintended consequences of policies and regulations, ecological appropriateness for intended use, likely impacts of climate change, and identification of low carbon options for development;
3. Support development/strengthening of local-level NRM governance institutions;
4. Oversee capacity building of communities in the integration of natural resource management and climate change activities, in particular, USAID’s Climate Change and Development Strategy;
5. Provide technical advice to program management, partners, and field-based staff on NRM strategies, climate change adaptation and sustainable land management methodologies;
6. Develop tools for tracking impact of project NRM interventions on a large spatial scale;
7. Lead Environmental Impact Assessments on all construction/rehabilitation micro-projects, ensuring compliance with national standards;
8. Manage and train field teams in data collection, participatory methods, and community-based NRM.

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS ESSENTIAL

1. Master's degree in range land management, environmental studies, natural resource management or related subject.
2. “Not-for-profit” experience and/or development partner/donor experience.
3. Experience of project development, management and implementation.
4. Minimum five years of progressively responsible work experience in technical areas of range land management, natural resource management or climate change adaptation.
5. Partnering with like-minded organizations on the definition of objectives and deliverables and monitoring and evaluation of results.
6. Prior experience in managing field teams and developing capacity of staff through mentorship and participatory training methods.

DESIRABLE

1. Research experience in a government, academic or international research center setting.
2. Certified by Kenya National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA) to conduct Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
3. Technical expertise in Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
4. Advocacy experience in pastoral areas in relation to NRM or land management.
5. Prior USAID project management experience.

How to apply:

APPLICATION PROCESS

This is a challenging opportunity for a dedicated and highly motivated professional. If you would like to join this dynamic team and be part of building resilience and economic growth in Africa, please submit your application to jobs@adesoafrica.org please submit your application quoting the position in the subject matter by Wednesday 13th February 2013 Your application should be addressed to the Human Resources Manager and include the following:

1. An updated CV
2. An application letter which should include remuneration requirements and contact information for three work-related referees.

Applications not including all of the above information will not be reviewed. Women candidates are encouraged to apply

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Adeso is an equal opportunity employer