Climate Change Advisor, Seeds of Life program

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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:
o advise on the selection of species/ varieties that are better adapted to climate change;
o use of a more diverse range of species/ varieties;
o adjustment of sowing dates, seeding rates, ratio of various crops grown and production areas;
o soil improvement through incorporation of N-fixing legumes into the system and crop residue retention;
o 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@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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