JUNIOR ADVISOR FORPEATLAND MANAGEMENT

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:

improving technical capacity to take policy decisions regarding the sustainable management of peatlands,demonstrate sustainable value creation with paludiculture from restored peatland landscapesdevelop the foundation for a financing mechanism for the sustainable management of peatlands andstrengthen 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:

1st 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…