The National Forest Inventory Advisor will report to the Sustainable Forest Management Technical Advisor under the overall guidance of the Chief Technical Advisor- Natural Resources Management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Provide the technical assistance and support to the National Center for Vegetation Cover and Combating Desertification (NCVC) General Directorate for Forests (GDF) within the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) in KSA in implementing National Forest Inventory (NFI) for KSA including methodology development, capacity building, institutional strengthening and database development. Tasks and responsibilities:
Support NFI field data collection which involves backstopping field data collection exercise, identifying solutions to challenges encountered, undertaking on-going quality control of the data generated by field crews, and providing advisory and technical guidance as necessary.
Assist in the finalization and validation of Al Baha vegetation base maps including land cover and forest areas based on agreed upon strata and vegetation classification systems.
Assist in the preparation of a technical proposal based on the review of the NFI data in Al Baha pilot to identify gaps and needs for improving sample coverage and representation, in particular on how to improve the representation of the forest land use strata including possible methods of conducting measurement in the inaccessible sample plots.
Support the updating and revision of NFI training course based on the experience gained from Al Baha pilot. Contribute to the delivery of NFI training to NCVC, FAO, MoEWA, and other stakeholders depending on demand.
Support the processing, consolidation, and analysis of Al Baha pilot NFI data and contribute to the compilation of technical reports and preparation of relevant information and knowledge products.
Work closely with FAO KSA team to design and implement data validation and checking procedures and rules into Open Foris Collect tool.
Support the Software Developer and work together with FAO KSA Forest and geospatial team to build the NFI data analyses and calculation tools into Open Foris toolkit and Open Foris Collect Mobile.
Prepare the Quality Assurance framework, guidelines and working instructions for NFI, covering the whole NFI process from field measurements, through data input, validation, calculation to dissemination of final results.
Support preparation, presentation, and validation of a comprehensive KSA NFI framework based on the outcomes, lessons, and experience gained from Al Baha pilot.
In collaboration with FAO experts in KSA (Forest and Geo-spatial teams) and NCVC (GDF and Technical Support unit), support the design and implementation of an integrated geo-spatial database of KSA forests and trees outside forests.
Support the preparation of a concept for KSA long-term forests monitoring programme to support sustainable forest management. This involves identifying priority monitoring areas, tools and methods, and implementation arrangements.
Strengthen the capacity of NCVC to collect, analyse, update, and manage data and information related to forests and trees. This is aiming at supporting forest resources inventory, monitoring, sustainable management, and decision support.
Consolidate the experienced gained from Al Baha pilot by supporting mainstreaming integration of NFI approaches and processes, methods, tools, analysis, and communication in NCVC HQ and field offices.
Candidates Will Be Assessed Against The Following: Minimum Requirements:
Advanced University degree in Forestry, Natural Resources Management, or a related discipline.
A minimum of seven years of working experience related to the above disciplines, including the implementation of forest inventories/forest monitoring.
Working knowledge (level C) of English for Personal Service Agreement. For COF, working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish or Russian).
Technical/Functional Skills:
Relevant experience in providing NFI support to developing countries.
Significant experience in NFI design and implementation and/or large data analysis and reporting.
Knowledge of issues related to measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of REDD activities.
