International Consultant in Value Chains at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment". Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UN Environment's Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. UNEP is a key partner in the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD), which builds on the combined convening role and technical expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme and UN Environment Programme.

The UN-REDD Programme supports nationally led REDD+ processes to curb deforestation and forest degradation, which accounts for approximately 17 per cent of carbon emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector. It is now clear that stabilizing global average temperature rise within two degrees Celsius will be practically impossible to achieve without reducing emissions from the forest sector.
This position is homebased under the supervision of Programme Management Officer, Climate Mitigation Unit and in close collaboration with the Climate Finance Unit and Finance Initiative, the main goal of the consultant will be to provide new technical elements to the 1for20 partnership through this study to prepare and encourage a REDD+ implementation at jurisdictional level but also by engaging actors to do so and invest in REDD+. More specifically, he/she will perform the following tasks:

Deforestation-free value chain for cocoa:

• Identification of potential jurisdictions where the agroforestry-based models previously identified by UNEP can be implemented with strong justification keeping in-mind that the regional level seems to be the most appropriate and that Cavally, Bélier and la Mé are engaged through UNDP and EFI activities,
• Identification of additional data and information needed to complete the model following an assessment of the 1for20 partnership reports,
• Screening of private sector actors to replace BNPP and see how they could fit/contribute to the initiative,
• Once actors and localities are being identified, start discussions to engage them to implement the model in the jurisdiction,

Timber value chain:

• Using findings from the preliminary report on business opportunities for agroforestry-based timber models, identification of existing value chains and their geographical location to inform the selection of priority landscapes for deforestation-free value chain for cocoa,
• Evaluation of supply chain gaps and areas of underinvestment across production, transformation and distribution channels. Estimation of investment needs required to develop or expand required value chains to meet the commercial needs of the deforestation-free value chain model at jurisdictional level,
• Like 1. identify and engage timber value chain actors to evaluate the potential of their contribution to the initiative, in terms of existing initiatives, available resources, challenges and barriers.

Restoration Factory:

• Conduct a rapid assessment of the potential for the development of community-based forest enterprises amongst cocoa farmers engaged in (or supportive of) a sustainable agroforestry model, both in terms of number of mobilizable farmers and geographical distribution at jurisdictional level,
• Evaluate the opportunity for the implementation of the Restoration Factory incubation program to support the creation of timber ventures to supplement sustainable agroforestry cocoa programs,

Qualifications/special skills

• Academic Qualifications: An advanced-level university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in environmental sciences or related field is required, a postgraduate specialization in a field directly related to REDD+ is an advantage,
• Experience: At least 5 years of professional experience in value chains assessment, collaboration with the private sector and markets evaluation is required.
• Experience in agroforestry and decentralization is an advantage,
• Professional experience acquired within international organizations, national agencies and donor agencies with analytical capacity in a donor-funded environment is an advantage
• Knowledge and experience of REDD+ stakeholders of Côte d’Ivoire is an advantage.
• Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this assignment, fluency in English and French, both oral and written is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is an advantage.