PROGRAMME SPECIALIST, ESIA FOR POVERTY ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE (DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FUNDED) - UNDP - LAO PDR

Location : Vientiane, LAO PDR
Application Deadline : 01-Nov-12
Type of Contract : FTA International
Post Level : P-3
Languages Required : English
Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 15-Dec-2012
Duration of Initial Contract : One year
Expected Duration of Assignment : One year (renewable)


Background
Lao PDR is situated at the heart of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) bordering all the other five GMS countries (Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam). Although currently classified as a ‘Landlocked and Least Developed Country’ (LLDC), Lao PDR is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia with an estimated per-capita income of US$1010 (2010) and a population of around 6.5 million.

Lao PDR has significant natural resources in minerals, hydropower potential and forestry. At the national scale, the natural resource sectors contribute to three quarters of the per capita GDP, over 80 percent of employment, almost 60 percent of exports and foreign exchange earnings, and account for just under a third of government revenues. The recent rapid influx of Foreign Direct Investment has been an important source of government revenues and a force for accelerating economic growth. The value of approved private domestic and foreign direct investments totalled over 12.5 billion USD over 2006-2010 alone, of which almost 70% are in the mining, hydropower and agriculture sectors. Ambitious goals for continuing high rates of GDP growth and increasing demand from other countries for the country’s abundant land and natural resources is further accelerating the pace of the exploitation of these resources and increasing pressure on the environment and the natural resource base upon which many rural people rely for their livelihoods.

Lao PDR is currently faced with key environmental challenges including deforestation, biodiversity loss, depleting fish stocks, inadequate access to clean water and sanitation to rural populations, inappropriate use of chemicals and climate change and natural disasters. The Millennium Development Goals 2008 Mid-Term Report for Lao PDR indicates that MDG7 is unlikely to be met by 2015 without significant and substantial efforts on behalf of the Government of Lao PDR and donors. Given the close linkages between environmental health and poverty, levels of malnutrition, health, income and others, sustainable growth and natural resource management will be critical for the Lao PDR to achieve the MDGs.

In order to support the efforts of the Government of Lao PDR in addressing these poverty-environmental challenges, the joint UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI) will focus on strengthening capacity of targeted central and provincial authorities to integrate poverty-environment concerns and opportunities in key development planning processes. The Initiative is not one stand-alone project but has been designed primarily to provide targeted support to ongoing programmes. The PEI Framework outlines five outputs to achieve the expected outcome of PEI Lao PDR:
Output 1: PEI will work with the Department of Planning (DoP) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to strengthen poverty-environment linkages in the implementation of 7th National Socio Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and in the overall planning cycle at national and local levels, providing policy relevant information in a manner that places environmental sustainability at the core of the government’s development planning practices.
Output 2: support is provided to the Investment Promotion Department (IPD) of MPI and provincial authorities to manage investments in a manner that seeks to minimize social and environmental impacts.
Output 3: a programme of support to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) seeks to strengthen Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) processes.
Output 4: PEI targets the National Assembly to enhance their awareness of poverty-environment issues and to actively integrate poverty-environment considerations when reviewing policies and legislation.
Output 5: PEI supports the National Economic Research Institute (NERI) to carry out environmental economic research to support informed decision-making for sustainability.
The timeframe for PEI Phase II Lao PDR is 44 months: April 2012 to end December 2015.

Under the overall guidance of the Department of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (DESIA) of MONRE, the ESIA Advisor will provide technical and managerial input and advice to the effective implementation of the Output 3, particularly in the development of ESIA technical review and monitoring guidelines for the agriculture and forest plantation sector to address the rapid expansion of commercial plantations in the country. The ESIA Advisor will be situated within DESIA of MONRE to support the day-to-day management of the Output 3 (70% of time).

The ESIA Advisor will also support the PEI Senior Technical Advisor based in Output 2 on effective coordination and delivery of the overall PEI programme, providing inputs to DoP and the existing NSEDP project as outlined in Output 1, the Joint UN programme on support to effective Lao PDR National Assembly (SELNA) as defined in Output 4, and NERI on environmental economic research as defined in Output 5 (30% of time).

The day-to-day work of the ESIA Advisor will be guided by the Director General of DESIA to ensure effective implementation of the project work plans and enhance national ownership and results. The management of the ESIA Advisor performance assessment will be the responsibility of the PEI Senior Technical Advisor (based in Output 2), in consultation with the project stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities
Summary of Key Functions:
Provide strategic guidance and advice (based on rigorous analysis) to the Government of Lao PDR to effectively consider poverty-environment and sustainable land and resource use issues in order to reduce negative impacts from development projects.
Provide technical, capacity building and institutional support to the Government to ensure effective and timely delivery of the Poverty-Environment Initiative Framework in Lao PDR, with a particular focus on the Output 3
Provide expert inputs on sustainable land and resource use, and environmental issues within the UN and strengthen partnerships/coordination with key stakeholders for better coordinated support for pro-poor natural resource management.
Detailed description of responsibilities:

Provide strategic guidance and advice (based on rigorous analysis) to the Government of Lao PDR to effectively consider
poverty-environment and sustainable land and resource use issues in order to reduce negative impacts from development
projects.
Conduct training needs assessment and provide technical, capacity building (conduct training) and institutional support to the Government on poverty, sustainable natural resources use and environment linkages.
Draft necessary strategic and technical documents on poverty-environment issues, such as policy papers or other analytical products (in collaboration with Senior Technical Advisor in Output 2).
Provide policy advice, strategic guidance and knowledge-sharing related to poverty, sustainable natural resources use and environment linkages to the Government.
Ensure the development of cross-project linkages with other relevant projects and programmes for mutually reinforcing impact.
Facilitate information sharing and dialogue within the donor community.
Provision of management and coordination support to the Government to implement the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI)
in Lao PDR, across all outputs (supporting the leadership of Senior Technical Advisor in Output 2):
Ensure the participation and involvement of relevant stakeholders in project activities.
Ensure the timeliness and quality of the outputs as well as timely preparation of reports on achievements and challenges faced within the project.
Ensure the development of linkages across the PEI outputs and PEI communications.
Identify and develop synthesis of best practices and lessons learned (with focus on ESIA process) for organizational sharing and learning (in collaboration with Senior Technical Advisor of Environment in Output 2).
Key activities to be undertaken by the ESIA Advisor under Output 3 of the PEI Framework include, but are not restricted to:
- Review available data and carry out case study assessments of existing agricultural plantations and their impacts on
soil, water, air and biodiversity as input to the technical guidelines.
- Review best practices with respect to technical guidelines for ESIAs of agricultural and forestry investments, including
examples within the region;
- Develop technical guidelines for the review of environmental and social impact assessments related to agricultural and
forestry projects;
- Develop guidelines for monitoring associated environmental and social management plans;
- Support capacity development in MONRE and MAF through training in the use of the review and monitoring guidelines
at national and provincial levels and produce supporting tools, such as review and monitoring criteria and checklists,
user-friendly training material, etc.;
- Develop social and environmental obligations for the agriculture and forestry sector as part of a contract concession
template (in coordination with MAF as part of ongoing work undertaken in Output 2);
- Produce policy briefs, analytical reports and other documents, as required.
Other key activities to be undertaken under the other outputs of the PEI Framework include:
- Undertake awareness raising activities to improve National Assembly members’ awareness and understanding of key
poverty-environment linkages in planning, budgeting and legislative processes, and strengthen oversight and
monitoring role (Output 4)
- Support the identification and implementation of policy-relevant research with NERI on, e.g. economic valuation of
ecosystem services, cost-benefit analysis, environmental fiscal reforms, community-based natural resource
management and support the transfer of research findings into policy decisions (Output 5);
- Coordinate PEI’s support to the Investment Promotion Department of MPI, in collaboration with Senior Technical
Advisor (Output 2)

Advocacy and Partnerships:
Strengthen partnerships/coordination with key stakeholders and line ministries, particularly the donors, private sector, and the government to identify opportunities, formulate joint initiatives with maximum impacts and efficiency, minimize duplication of efforts and reduce transaction costs.
Provide technical input on sustainable natural resources use and environment issues within the UN in collaboration with other key UN partners.
Promote information sharing and facilitate dialogue within the donor community and prepare briefs and policy papers on poverty, sustainable natural resources use and environment linkages.
Perform other duties related to PEI, as assigned by Management.
Impact of Results

The key results will have an impact on:
Achieving the anticipated results of the PEI programme in Lao PDR
Strengthening national and local capacity for the effective review of ESIA reports and monitoring of the implementation of associated environmental and social management plans.
Increasing institutional awareness and capacity among relevant stakeholders to manage Foreign Direct Investments towards a more sustainable and inclusive trend.
Creating partnerships among key stakeholders to ensure maximum impact and improve sustainability of results

Competencies
Corporate Responsibility & Direction:
Serves and promotes the vision, mission, values, and strategic goals of UNDP and UNEP
People Skills:
Recognizes and responds appropriately to the ideas, interests, and concerns of others; gives credit to the contributions of others
Managing for Results:
Plans and prioritizes work activities to meet organizational goals
Partnering & Networking:
Builds and sustains relationships with key constituents (internal/external/ bilateral/ multilateral/public/private; civil society)
Innovation & Judgment:
Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate
Generates creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations
Devises new systems and processes, and modifies existing ones, to support innovative behaviors
Communication:
Demonstrates excellent and effective written and oral communication skills
Demonstrates effective communication skills in a multidisciplinary working environment
Demonstrate respect to knowledge and culture and religion in a multidisciplinary working environment
Job Knowledge & Expertise:
Applies the required depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise to meet job demands
Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Master degree or advanced degrees in agriculture, forestry, environmental science or other related fields.
Experience:
A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in agriculture and forestry management
Experience in producing and/or reviewing environment and social impact assessments (ESIAs), development of legal and policy frameworks for ESIAs, and providing policy advice at senior level
Knowledge and professional experience working in agricultural and forestry investments. Private sector experience is an advantage
In-depth understanding of environmental sustainability issues, and their practical implications for sustainable development processes
Proven experience in conducting training for Government officials
Proven record in the writing of research papers, policy analysis and recommendations, reports and publications
Previous work experience in South-East Asia or developing countries is desirable
Excellent computer skills, including full working knowledge of standard word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software packages
Language Requirements:
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; knowledge of Lao language is an asset.

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