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Team Lead/Climate Smart Agriculture and Sustainable Landscapes Expert for the Climate Mitigation in the Mekong Delta Assessment
Team Lead/Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Sustainable Landscapes Expert for the Climate Mitigation
in the Mekong Delta Assessment
USAID Learns Contract
Hanoi, Vietnam
https://phg.tbe.taleo.net/phg02/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=SOCIIMPA2&cws=1&rid=4149
Note: This position is open for Vietnamese citizens or applicants based in Vietnam
About Social Impact
Social Impact (SI) is a global development management consulting firm which provides monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity building services to advance development effectiveness. In Vietnam, SI is implementing the USAID Learns program to support USAID staff and partners to implement more efficient, effective, and transparent programs.
Position Background
Through its investments in sustainable landscapes, USAID/Vietnam has successfully supported the Government of Vietnam (GVN) in advancing sustainable forest management in the country. Approximately 6 million hectares of forest in Vietnam has been better managed thanks to USAID support since 2012. As a result, a significant amount of GHG emissions were reduced and sequestered. Building on this achievement, USAID/Vietnam intends to expand its investment in the Mekong Delta and help Vietnam reduce methane emissions and increase carbon sequestration successes, the mission desires to learn more about non-CO2 GHGs from sub-sectors including rice farming, livestock, horticulture and restoration and management of mangroves and melaleuca forests.
Objective
USAID/Vietnam plans to conduct an assessment to learn about the potential opportunities for reducing methane emissions and increasing carbon sequestration from the sub-sectors in the Mekong Delta. Through this assessment, USAID aims to explore and identify appropriate options for achieving methane emission reductions and increasing carbon sequestration from certain sub-sectors. The overarching aim of the assessment is to learn which investments to reduce GHG emissions could yield the greatest co-benefits for food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation; and why. The assessment will provide insight to assist decision-makers to prepare potential future programming in sustainable rice production, livestock, horticulture, and blue carbon (mangroves and melaleuca forest restoration and management). Example approaches under exploration include alternate wetting and drying (AWD) for rice paddies and total mixed ration (TMR) feed for livestock.
A consultant team will be required to undertake desk-based research and, time permitting, if high quality data cannot be ascertained easily from secondary sources or online discussions, travel to Ho Chi Minh City and selected MRD provinces to collect primary data where appropriate. The team will be required to attend appointments and meetings in Hanoi periodically. The Team Lead will ensure the team’s methodology is well harmonized and findings and conclusions are synthesized.
Position Description
USAID/Vietnam Learns is seeking a Team Lead/Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Sustainable Landscapes Expert for the Climate Mitigation in the Mekong Delta Assessment. The research and final report is expected to be structured in a way to answer (partially if information is unascertainable) the following questions:
Sustainable Rice Production
1. What is the current state of knowledge on low methane emissions rice farming in the Mekong Delta?
- What technologies are currently available?
- What incentive structures need to be in place (for the application of these technologies) to be successful?
2. Who is currently implementing or investing in low methane emissions rice farming in the Mekong Delta?
3. What is the feasibility (both economic and technical) of achieving land-based mitigation in rice production at scale?
- What lessons can we learn (can be learned) from work elsewhere on potential pitfalls of implementing low methane emissions rice production?
4. What capacity currently exists to measure and quantify methane and carbon flows from rice?
Livestock
5. Are ruminant livestock a significant source of methane emissions in the Mekong Delta?
- What is the herd size of ruminant livestock in the Mekong Delta region? Is livestock for beef or dairy production a large enough industry in this region of Vietnam to merit further exploration?
6. If yes (livestock for beef or dairy production is a large enough industry)
- Who else is working (donors or private sector) on this topic?
- What is the feasibility of reducing methane emissions in the livestock sector? What are the promising approaches and potential pitfalls?
Horticulture
7. Would converting rice farming to vegetable production have a meaningful contribution[1] to methane emissions reduction?
8. What are key fruit tree species in the Mekong Delta? Where are they currently farmed?
9. Where are potential areas for expanding fruit tree species?
10. How big[2] is vegetable production in the Mekong Delta? Where are vegetables currently produced?
11. What is the feasibility for conversion of part of rice farming lands to vegetable and fruit productions? What are promising approaches and common pitfalls?
Blue carbon
12. What kinds of mangrove species are in the Mekong Delta? Where are the mangroves? What are the main threats facing mangroves?
13. What is the availability and cost of mangrove seedlings? What are suitable mangrove species to replant in different regions?
14. Are there seagrasses in the Mekong Delta?[3] What is the extent of seagrasses in suitable habitats? What information exists on their status?
15. Is there information that compares carbon sequestration potential among native mangrove species? Which native mangrove species sequester the most carbon?
16. Provide an overview description about where melaleuca forests are found and their status. What are the key threats to melaleuca forests? Are there opportunities for restoration of melaleuca?[4]
Main question
17. What investment to reduce GHG emissions in the Mekong Delta could yield the greatest co-benefits for food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation; and why?
Responsibilities
The Team Lead/Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Sustainable Landscapes Expert will:
- Lead initial stakeholder mapping, a desk review, and identify additional information/analyses required
- Lead the team to prepare and present an inception report that includes research design methodologies, analysis strategies, work plan, and timeline to USAID and partners
- Lead the team in identifying relevant available existing data sources and proactively approach institutions/organizations to gain access to data repositories
- Lead the data collection effort in the field (tentative, time allowing)
- Take responsibility for ongoing data analysis and iteratively develop findings, conclusions, and recommendations
- Oversee the organization of data sources and materials on Social Impact’s server (SharePoint)
- Write and finalize the draft/final assessment report in coordination with team members, taking into consideration feedback from a preliminary-findings session
- Take the lead in the preparation and presentation of the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations to USAID, and research users following SI’s and USAID’s standards
- Take responsibility to lead the team to respond to USAID and USAID Learns’ comments and feedback and deliver high-quality deliverables that meet USAID and SI’s standards
Deliverables[5]
With support from USAID/Vietnam Learns, and other consultant technical specialists, the Team Lead will be expected to take overall responsibility for the production and management of the following:
Inception Report: A detailed, full-body report featuring key definitions, research design, chosen methodologies, analysis strategies, data collection tools, work plan, and timeline to USAID and partners
Inbrief: A PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation summarizing the Inception Report for USAID/Vietnam prior to the launch of data collection.
Findings Conclusions and Recommendations (FCR) Matrix: An analysis tool through which data is triangulated and findings, conclusions, and recommendations specific to each research question are produced. Two FCR matrixes are expected, a preliminary document after the first full week of data collection, and a final matrix at the end of the data analysis period.
Validation Event: An event where the team will present the preliminary findings of the research to USAID, and key stakeholders, or representatives of key stakeholder groups, who acted as respondents in the research process through a PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation and discussion. This event, supported by USAID/Vietnam Learns in Hanoi, will help validate findings in front of actors and develop/co-develop user-driven recommendations. The research team will consider partners’ comments, develop recommendations, and report accordingly.
Outbrief: The team will present the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the wider USAID/Vietnam Mission through a PowerPoint/google slides presentation.
Draft Report: A draft report with fully developed findings, conclusions, and recommendations, no longer than 30 pages excluding executive summary and annexes, will be submitted to the USAID activity manager and USAID Learns COR (by USAID Learns). The format will include an executive summary, table of contents, methodology, findings, and recommendations. USAID/Vietnam will provide comments on the draft report.
Utilization Event (tentative): An event where the team will present a refined PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation and instigate discussions for eventual users of the research. With support from USAID Learns in Hanoi, this event is intended to encourage agreement on how to operationalize recommendations, collaborate, and follow up on progress in preparation for activity design. This event is contingent on USAID’s interest.
Final Report: The team will submit a final report that incorporates responses to USAID’s/partner’s comments and suggestions. The report will be submitted electronically in English and serve as an internal reference document.
Qualifications and skills:
The Team Lead/Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Sustainable Landscapes Expert must have/hold:
- At least 10 years of experience as a lead expert within projects in the agriculture/environment sector in Viet Nam
- A postgraduate degree in agricultural economics/sciences, sustainable development, or any other discipline relevant to sustainable landscapes and by extension, climate change adaptation, mitigation, ecosystem health and conservation biology (EbA and EbM).
Preferably, they would possess:
- A working knowledge of Viet Nam’s commitments to the Global Methane Pledge at COP26, methane abatement, and the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution NDC etc.
- A background linked to low emission rice production.
Level of Effort (LOE): Up to 75 days.
Expected timeline: July 2022– November 2022.
The closing date for application: July 14, 2022. Selection and interview will be performed on a rolling basis, and interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
To apply, please merge both your CV and a cover letter into one pdf file and submit it through the online portal.
To learn more about Social Impact, please visit our website: http://www.socialimpact.com
SI is an EEO/AA/ADA Veterans Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls.
[1]Potential avenues to underscore what could be ‘most beneficial’ for this question, may be to assess where AWD is most feasible and to explore if there would be an option to replace rice with permaculture where AWD may be unfeasible. In addition, ‘most beneficial’ could relate to how meaningful a reduction could be made. I.e., not based upon individual farmers, but at the sub-sector level and estimated to have no less than a one per cent contribution to emissions reduction etc.
[2]‘Big’ could refer to both land area and economic contribution, whether as a percentage of GDP or other relevant units that demonstrate a significant contribution to the economy and MRD region. Understanding the total land area and associated dynamics are key to answer this question. USAID’s interest is to learn more about the stakeholders who are significant contributors to the economy, particularly for export, not individual small holdings.
[3]The purpose of this question is to develop USAID’s knowledge on sea grasses and mangroves in the same system to gauge whether a potential intervention could look at both mangroves and sea grasses and by extension both biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration.
[4]This question may benefit from gathering stakeholder opinion locally in select MRD provinces via interviews/FGDs.
[5] At USAID Learns, we value the utilization of research findings and stakeholders’ opinions, hence communicating research designs, findings, and recommendations with potential users are considered as important as conducting the research. Sufficient time and effort will be provided for the preparation of PowerPoint/Google Slides presentations and dry-runs of all events including Inbrief, Validation Event and Outbrief and Utilization Event.
Deliverables will firstly be reviewed and approved by SI/Learns team before submitting for USAID/Vietnam’s review and feedback.