Vacancy Announcement

Junior Advisor for peatland management

for

The “Sustainable peatland management for people, climate and biodiversity (Peat4People) project”

About GIZ and the project

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.

During the government negotiations between the Governments of the Republic of Rwanda and the Federal Republic of Germany in 2024 in Berlin, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) announced the commissioning of a new global project “Peat4People” to promote approaches for sustainable use of peatlands and to contribute to the regeneration of peatlands.

Peatlands play a crucial role in climate change and biodiversity, yet they are among the most threatened ecosystems due to agricultural expansion, drainage, and climate change. Enhancing the technical and financial capacities of stakeholders is essential for developing effective management strategies that can mitigate these threats and promote conservation and restoration efforts. By empowering local communities, small enterprises, academia and governments with the necessary tools and knowledge, the project aims to foster sustainable peatlands management that balance economic development with environmental benefits. Developed tools, approaches and capacities will also facilitate advanced peatland monitoring, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. Ultimately, addressing the global challenges facing peatlands will contribute to climate change resilience, long-term emission reductions and biodiversity preservation in the partner countries and at the same time to global learning especially in the fields of paludiculture and sustainable financing of peatland protection.

The project is financed within the framework of the BMZ budgetary title International Climate and Environmental Protection (Internationaler Klima und Umweltschutz, IKU). This IKU title specifically promotes projects with a focus on climate protection and climate adaptation, including the preservation of forests and other ecosystems. It enables entry into particularly innovative approaches and political initiatives for the implementation of the international climate and sustainability agenda.

By supporting sustainable peatland management, the project creates synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation, conservation of biological diversity and sustainable development. It contributes to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) 2022-2030 under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The project supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 (Climate Action) and 15 (Life on Land) as well as SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 5 (Gender Equality), 6 (Clean Water) and 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production).

The project will focus on the following activities:

1. improving technical capacity to take policy decisions regarding the sustainable management of peatlands,
2. demonstrate sustainable value creation with paludiculture from restored peatland landscapes
3. develop the foundation for a financing mechanism for the sustainable management of peatlands and
4. strengthen regional and international exchange on the topic of sustainable peatland management.

The main partners include:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized UN agency that provides technical assistance to its 192 members (countries and regions) on agrifood systems, including forests and peatlands.

The Greifswald Mire Centre (GMC), Germany is an internationally renowned science-policy-practice interface providing science-based solutions for all peatland related questions – locally and globally and the Rwanda Ministry of Environment (MoE) serves as the primary coordinating body for the environment and natural resources sector, focusing on sustainable development and the management of water, land, and forests to promote a green and climate-resilient economy.

For the effective and efficiency of the implementation of the above-mentioned project, GIZ-Rwanda/ Burundi is recruiting a Junior Advisor with a technical background in the below mentioned fields and project management skills (see below C. Required Qualifications).

The Junior Advisor position, allocated within GIZ Rwanda’s Cluster on Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development, will be responsible for supporting the technical implementation of the Rwandan component of the project (another component will be implemented in Uganda), while closely cooperating with the project partners.

Candidate Profile

Location: Kigali, Rwanda

Term: 12 Months (with possibility of renewal)

Position: One (1)

Start date: 1^st March 2025

Under the supervision of the Commission Manager of the Peat4People project, the Junior Advisor for Sustainable peatland management is responsible to:

Core tasks

• Support in the implementation of project activities on the topic of sustainable peatland management.
• Provide technical backstopping on sustainable peatland management, including technical assessment reports.
• Development (and dissemination) of regional best practices for sustainable peatland management with special focus on carbon markets, biodiversity credits, and payments for ecosystem services.
• Support in the organization of stakeholder consultations and workshops, both with other GIZ projects as well as external partners.
• Coordinate with other GIZ projects to develop (and disseminate) regional best practices for wise use of natural resources
• Support the team in portfolio development with a focus on sustainable biodiversity and nature conservation.
• Perform other duties and tasks at the request of the Commission Manager.

Main activities

Project planning and Oversight

• In coordination with the National Technical Advisor and Commission Manager, managing project activities that principally fall under all the 4 activities mentioned above.
• Supporting the National Technical Advisor and Commission Manager (AV) in coordinating the activities of GIZ financial agreements, this includes Monitoring and Evaluation of financing agreement deliverables, holding coordination meetings, and ensuring financing agreements are effectively coordinated with concerned entities.
• Assisting project initiatives to provide professional advisory services and cooperate with stakeholders in Ministry of Environment (MoE), Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB), Development Partners, Private Sector operators and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
• Assist and monitor the development and implementation of project plans and activities in close consultation with counterparts from the institutions.
• Contribute to preparing and implementing work plans within all the four outputs and support coordination and oversight of GIZ financing agreement work plans
• Manage the design, preparation and implementation of meetings, workshops, seminars, writing project reports and plans and other events on issues connected with project activities.

Networking and cooperation

• Support cooperation, regular consultations and dialogue with partners based on technical expertise, mutual trust, and respect.
• Assist communication teams within GIZ and public relations work and cooperates with Government institutions, on-governmental agencies, and individuals within the project and other sister projects to improve and maintain good working relationships.
• Communicate biodiversity conservation interests and efforts, forwards these and encourages sharing ideas and information for the benefit of the project’s beneficiaries. 
• Support the preparation and presentation of best practices in national, regional and international fora

Knowledge management

• Organize, coordinate and moderate knowledge sharing events such as
  biodiversity fora, workshops, and conferences.
• Ensure proper knowledge transfer from the peat4people project, environment conservation and protection, catchment management committees and land committees, as well as within and between GIZ and its grantees and government partners.
• Prepare appropriate input for various project reports including annual reports
  and contribute to other reports required by the program manager and GIZ
  Head Office.
• Assist with relevant research activities and studies.

Coordination

• Coordinate relevant project output activities in consultation with the National Technical Advisor,Commission Manager, and in cooperation with the partners and GIZ
• Assist with general project planning and develops project concepts including preparation, organization and moderation of planning exercises and their implementation.
• Compile the relevant information for joint activities and assignments.
• Support other operational activities within the GIZ Climate, Energy and Urban Sustainable Development (CEU) Cluster as required (e.g., offer preparation, impact monitoring, project progress review, reporting, etc.)

Required Qualifications, Competences and Experience

Formal qualification

• University degree (minimum bachelor’s degree) in a relevantfield of Biodiversity, Agriculture, Climate change, Environmental Science or a closely related field

Professional experience

• Up to 4 years professional experience in peatland management/conservation, biodiversity conservation, agriculture, environmental or climate change related management
• Up to 4 years professional experience in project management, preferable within the above-mentioned technical fields

Please note that candidates with a total of more than the mentioned 4 years of experience are not eligible for a Junior advisor position and their applications will not be considered.

Personal competencies

• Very good communication and excellent self-management and coordination skills
• Self-creativity, proactivity and proper initiative towards the results of the project
• Excellent ability to share knowledge and experience and ability to work and deliver high quality work sometimes under time pressure and within tight deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively complex topics in written and presentation form.
• Strong conceptual and analytical skills

Other knowledge and additional competences

• Good knowledge of the use of ICT applications such as MS Office, Outlook, MS Teams
• Willingness to develop new skills and competencies as required by the job and tasks
• Ability and availability to travel outside of the place of employment as required
• Flexibility to support other team members of the project in his/her areas of expertise 
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Very good command of English, both oral and written (level C2)
• Very good command of Kinyarwanda, both oral and written (level C2)
• German and/or French skills will be considered as an asset

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit their application (motivation letter, updated CV, certificates and references), via our electronic job portal by using the button Apply until 4^th February 2025 at 4:00 PM. All attachments should be put together in one PDF file not larger than 2 MB.

GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued - regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation. We support equal opportunities and welcome applications from people with disabilities.

This includes the provision of reasonable accommodation, if needed, in order to participate in the job application and interview process and to perform essential job functions. Please let us know, if you have any particular requirements should you be invited for assessment/interview or that you wish us to consider, when considering your application.

Women and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test and interview.

GIZ Office Rwanda

KN 41 St. / Nr.17, Kiyovu

P.O. Box 59, Kigali,

Rwanda

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