Peatland Fire Management Specialist

<p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.</span></p><p> </p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Organizational Setting</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) is responsible for leading FAO's response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO's priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities. RAP also advises on the incorporation of regional priorities into the Organization's Programme of Work and Budget and implements approved programmes and projects in the region, monitors the level of programme implementation and draws attention to problems and deficiencies. RAP develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Regional Office supports regional policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, facilitates the emergence of regional partnerships, and supports capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development in the region.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peatland fire occurrence is a key emission source in Southeast Asia, and despite growing global recognition of peatlands as vital carbon sinks, less than 10%25 of countries include peatland targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Even fewer integrate fire management targets – Indonesia being a rare exception. One of the key challenges to measuring peatland emissions for NDC’s is that existing methods and products to detect and monitor burned areas are not suitable for peat fire, and there is not a broadly accepted scientific technique to quantify the depth of peat fire burn scars. Furthermore, current emission factors for tropical peatland fire rely on few data from a limited number of sites. There is a need for a wider set of techniques to measure the area and depth of peatland fire, as well as emission factors for different peatland types, to improve peatland GHG inventories, particularly given their magnitude.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project “Enhancing peatland management through measuring peatland fire emissions and scaling it regionally” (TCP/RAS/4003) will address these gaps by establishing simplified processes for estimating GHG emissions from peatland fire building on the past and ongoing work from research institutions, with new satellite data and remote sensing analysis, and work with ASEAN countries to apply the new methodologies and techniques. The work will leverage FAO’s technical and scientific expertise and close collaboration with leading research institutions with specific expertise in measuring peat fire dynamics and emissions. Once developed, the techniques and indicators will be submitted to the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for consideration for inclusion in NDC monitoring and evaluation frameworks.</span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Reporting Lines</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under the overall management of the FAO Assistant Director-General for Asia and the Pacific, the Peatland Fire Management Specialist will be supervised by the Module Leader of the Land, Water and Resilience Module, and will report to and work under the technical guidance of the Land Management Officer and the operational guidance of the Budget Holder/Project Manager at RAP.</span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Technical Focus</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Supporting the implementation of the regional TCP “Enhancing peatland management through measuring peatland fire emissions and scaling it regionally” project.</span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Tasks and responsibilities</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Develop a summary review report, suitable for lay person reading, on the past 15 years of peatland fire measurement techniques, including the area and depth measurement techniques and emissions profile, from past research work in Indonesia. </span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Prepare and present project relevant technical presentation and summary reports as needed to facilitate knowledge management workshop(s) and project related workshops/meetings for both participating countries of Indonesia and Thailand. </span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Technically lead the desktop review of the new satellite and LIDAR data capture specifications, providing technical inputs, advisory and guidance to a remote sensing analyst. </span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Work in close collaboration with the project team and implementing partner(s) to develop the feasible methodology to monitor peatland fire emission.</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Technically lead to the preparation of field-testing procedures in Indonesia, including training field teams, for the collection of data pertaining to the area and depth measurement of peatland fire, and the review of data once compiled into a summary report. </span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Technically lead the transfer of the peatland fire measurement technique developed in Indonesia to Thailand by providing technical advice to national teams, conduct of remote/online training for data collection methodologies, and review compiled data from the field data summaries, and work closely with the implementing partner(s) to ensure good quality final report.  </span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Provide relevant technical inputs for ASEAN meeting forums, or other regionally and globally relevant peatland and fire events, including preparation of any PowerPoint presentation and delivery of presentations/participation to events as required.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING</strong></span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Minimum Requirements</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Advanced University degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in forestry, environmental science, natural resource management, fire ecology, peatland management, or a closely related field. Consultants with a bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    At least 5 years of relevant experience in peatland fire management, fire prevention and suppression, landscape fire management, or related fields.</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Full proficiency/Working knowledge of English.</span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>FAO Core Competencies</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Results Focus</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Teamwork</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Communication</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Building Effective Relationships</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement</span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Technical/Functional Skills</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Demonstrated experience in planning and implementing peatland fire prevention, preparedness, and response measures, particularly in tropical or subtropical peatland ecosystems.</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Demonstrated experience in peatland fire measurement techniques</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Proven experience working with government counterparts, local communities, and/or international organizations on fire management or land-use issues.</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Experience in the Asia–Pacific region (particularly in Indonesia and Thailand) and in capacity development, policy support, or technical advisory roles is considered an asset.</span></p><p><br><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Selection Criteria</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•    Knowledge of additional UN language is considered a strong asset.</span><br> </p>

Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...