[ETAN-key] Job Vacancy: Climate Change Advisor

[Martin Browne]

Climate Change Advisor,   Seeds of Life program in East Timor


Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, East Timor  


Location:                                          Based in Dili with travel
to the districts.

Duration:                                          3 years with possible
extension of two years  

Commencement date:                  1 February, 2011

Closing date for applications:    26 November, 2010

Remuneration:                                A competitive package will be
offered

Description of the organisation:

Seeds of Life (SoL) is a program within the Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries (MAF) in East Timor (Timor Leste).  The third phase of Seeds of
Life (SoL III), 2011-2016, aims to improve food security in East Timor
through increased productivity of food crops.  The Governments of East Timor
and Australia collaboratively fund the program.  Australian funding is
provided through the Australian Agency for International Development
(AusAID) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
(ACIAR) and is managed by ACIAR.  The Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean
Agriculture (CLIMA) within The University of Western Australia (UWA)
coordinates the Australian funded activities. 

 

SoL III will commence in February 2011 with a team consisting of more than
60 professional Timorese staff plus 9 international advisors.  The Climate
Change Advisor (CCA) will work closely with the Directors and staff of the
National Directorate for Agriculture and Horticulture (NDA&H) and the
National Directorate for Research and Special Services (NDR&SS) to assess
the likely impacts of climate change on foodcrop production in Timor Leste,
and developing appropriate responses.  He/she will report to the SoL
Australian Team Leader (ATL).

General description of position

The CCA will:

 

*	establish and maintain close counterpart relationships with the
Directors of the NDR&SS and NDA&H;
*	Provide technical support to these Directorates in relation to
assessing the likely impacts of climate change on foodcrop production in TL,
and developing appropriate responses.

 

Key tasks and responsibilities

 

The CCA will:

 

*	Establish a close working relationship with the Directors of the
NDR&SS and NDA&H as primary counterparts, and actively guide and mentor
staff of these Directorates on climate change issues.
*	Analyse how climate is likely to change in TL in the medium term as
a result of global warming, and how this is likely to impact on food crop
production and national food security. Spatial variation of climate change
within TL will also need to be considered.
*	Lead the MAF/SoL Program in identifying strategies and priorities
that build national food security by buffering farming systems from
projected climate change impacts. Specific response strategies might
include:

*	advise on the selection of species/ varieties that are better
adapted to climate change; 
*	use of a more diverse range of species/ varieties;
*	adjustment of sowing dates, seeding rates, ratio of various crops
grown and production areas;
*	soil improvement through incorporation of N-fixing legumes into the
system and crop residue retention;
*	improved weed control, intercropping and other adaptive agronomic
practices.

*	Ensure that reports are produced in a form that can be easily
accessed, understood and applied by key target audiences.
*	Actively promote key results and findings to target audiences, both
within and outside MAF. 
*	Correlate SoL's multi-year on-farm demonstration trial (OFDT) yield
data with local climate data to provide a field-based assessment of the
actual impacts of climate change on yields, providing a possible basis for
crop yield and food security projections.
*	Assist MAF/SoL to coordinate with other research groups (especially
UNTL), as well as with suitable international R&D agencies, to support
priority areas of research related to climate change.
*	Contribute to the development of a formal climate change adaptation
policy and implementation strategy within MAF, and liaise with donors
regarding potential assistance for implementation of the strategy.
*	Identify the need for, plan and manage the implementation of
targeted capacity building activities designed to support the professional
development of MAF staff in relation to assessing the potential impact of
and planning for climate change. 

 

Skills and Experience 

(Qualifications/Experience/Skills/Knowledge)

 

The successful candidate will have:

 

Essential

 

*	A graduate degree in environmental science or agricultural science.
*	Demonstrated understanding of and experience in analysing available
data sets to assess the likely nature of climate change in a particular
area.
*	Demonstrated understanding of and experience in assessing the
possible impact of climate change on crop production and development of
strategies responding to these impacts. 
*	Strong communication skills.
*	Strong analytical and report writing skills.
*	Advanced computer literacy.
*	Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team.
*	Fluency in English.

 

Desirable

 

*	Experience in SE Asia or East Timor.
*	Training or capacity building experience.
*	Post-graduate qualifications in environmental science or
agricultural science.

 

Apply:

Interested candidates can submit a short covering letter, CV, names of three
referees and a document addressing the required skills and experience
electronically to Dr Harry Nesbitt, Adjunct Professor, University of Western
Australia (h.nesbit at bigpond.net.au).  Further enquiries can be addressed to
Professor William Erskine, tel. (+61 8) 6488 1903. For further information
on the SOL II program, SOL III design and Terms of Reference for advertised
SOL III advisors positions see http://www.seedsoflifetimor.org/

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