Consultancy - Support to the coordination of the Rangelands Observatory

Consultancy announcement

Introduction

The International Land Coalition is a member-based coalition that brings together diverse intergovernmental and civil society organisations with the common mission of working together to promote secure and equitable access to and control over land for poor women and men through advocacy, dialogue, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and empowerment. ILC promotes people-centred land governance that can strengthen the livelihoods of poor women and men. ILC believes that a long-term approach based on local and global innovation is crucial to ensuring secure and equitable access to land, and sustainably reducing hunger and poverty through stronger, more resilient livelihoods. Tenure of common-pool resources, particularly in rangelands, is an established focus of ILC’s work.

Over the past five years, commercial pressures on land have increased tremendously. The land Matrix project of ILC, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Centre for Developemnt and Environment at the University of Bern, CIRAD and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has documented deals and expressions of interest amounting to over 200 million Ha globally since 2000, or eight times the size of the United Kingdom. These are acquisitions of over 200ha that involve a conversion of land use from community use or provision of ecosystem services to commercial production. In many cases, such land is made available by governments to investors on the assumption that such land is unused or underutilized.

Rangelands are particularly vulnerable to such perceptions. The emerging data in the Land Matrix suggests that 20% of the recorded deals are in ecosystems defined as shrub and grassland. Moreover, the data demonstrates as well that investors target productive land with good access to water, high soil fertility, etc. In rangeland ecosystems, in which mosaics of water  points or more productive areas may enable the use of a much wider area by herders, losing access to key points in the landscape may result in the whole landscape becoming unusable to herders. Increased demand for land has greatly accelerated the longer-term trend of conversion and fragmentation of rangeland ecosystems, and magnifies challenges to the viability and resilience of pastoral production, land management and livelihoods.

Background

The Rangeland Observatory  is a pilot project designed to mobilise a network of organisations to actively contribute to building a global observatory with quantitative and qualitative data on land and investment in rangelands. This will provide an information base which in turn can be used to create opportunities for more informed and participatory decision making on tenure, land use and investments in rangelands, and the trade-offs involved. The project links monitoring of trends in rangelands use and conversion with securing land rights for rangeland users.

The Rangeland Observatory project has the following objectives:

1. To mobilise a network of global, national and local organisations with an interest monitoring land acquisitions and tenure securitisation in rangelands, and using data generated to inform policy dialogue
2. To begin building a web-based database of land acquisitions and securitization of tenure rights in rangelands, linked to the land matrix and OLA
3. To publically present emerging information, with a particular focus on best practice and recommendations for policy-makers, key change agents and other practitioners.

The initial phase of the project is twelve months, after which a proposal for a second phase will be proposed.

This  announcement is to invite applications for a part-time consultant to provide coordination support to the establishment and implementation of the Rangelands Observatory project .

Responsibilities

The consultant will carry the following responsibilities during the contract period

1. Develop a workplan and detailed budget for the project, based on the components of the project document
2. Coordinate implementation of project activities as per the workplan during the contract period, ensuring high standards
3. Establish partnerships with organisations and individuals who are interested in collaborating in the project, at global, regional and national levels. Priority will be given to members and partners of ILC listed in the project document
4. Pay particular attention to ensuring gender disaggregation and the needs of women in data collection and policy dialogue
5. Ensure the linkage of the project with the wider Land Observatory project, including development of tools, participation in joint activities and sharing of lessons and experiences
6. Ensure the linkage of the project with the Securing Rangelands Learning Initiative and other activities relating to rangeland tenure
7. Provide reports to donors as requested

Expected skills and competencies

The Consultant will have:

• Advanced degree in Environmental Sciences, Rangeland Ecology, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics, or a related field.
• A well-developed network with organisations working on rangeland tenure, at local and international levels.
• At least ten years work experience on land tenure in rangelands.
• Work experience in different regions of the world.
• Self-motivation and an ability to work effectively in a multi-local and multi-cultural team, as well as develop collaboration with partner organisations in different regions.
• Excellent verbal and written skills in English. Knowledge of French and/or Spanish would be an added advantage.
• Excellent computer literacy, and familiarity with web-based tools for improving participation and transparency.

Terms

The consultancy will be offered on a retainer  basis for an average of 12 days/month from January 2013 for a period of one year. The contract may be renewed or extended based on availability of funds and satisfactory performance.  The consultant will report to the Programme Manager Global Policy in the ILC Secretariat. Office space will not be provided and the location is to be decided by mutual agreement. Regular travel will be required.

Application deadline and procedure

Interested candidates should send their Letter of Intent and Curriculum Vitae (CV) to ILC Secretariat(l.angelucci@landcoalition.org )

The position is open to all nationalities, and ILC offers equal opportunity for both women and men. 

Applications are to be submitted by 7 December 2012.