Vacancy Announcement: ILC Global Rangelands Coordinator

CALL FOR INDIVIDUALS AND/OR ORGANISATIONS INTERESTED IN COORDINATING ILC’S GLOBAL WORK ON RANGELANDS AND MOBILITY

DEADLINE 15 AUGUST 2020

TERMS OF REFERENCE

We are launching this call to mainstream ILC’s commitment in support of pastoralists, mobility and security of rangelands for land conflict prevention and ecosystem restoration

An estimated 200 to 500 million people practice pastoralism and pastoralists manage rangelands that cover approximately a quarter of the world’s land surface. Yet, land and resource loss and fragmentation of rangelands have increased dramatically in recent years with significant negative impacts on millions of rangeland users, including pastoralists and hunter-gatherers who depend upon rangelands for their food and livelihood security, as well as affecting national economies, peace and security. Pastoralists rarely have secure rights to land and resources, due to a number of factors that range from political marginalisation to the inadequacy of existing land and resource governance systems, and structures that do not take the complexities of pastoral land use into account.

THE INTERNATIONAL LAND COALITION AND RANGELANDS:

The International Land Coalition (ILC) is a diverse and growing network of organisations that puts people at the centre of land governance. It forms part of a global alliance of more than 250 multilateral and civil society organisations based in 78 countries. ILC works with its members to promote policies for healthy and sustainable rangelands and to protect the rights of pastoralists. With each membership expansion, the network welcomes a growing number of constituency-based organisations representing pastoralists, indigenous peoples and local communities.

In 2010, a specific working group was initiated by ILC and formed between IFAD, RECONCILE, Procasur and IUCN-WISP to promote innovative learning routes and sustainable rangeland management in-country. The initiative evolved in the Global Rangelands Initiative led by ILRI and including FAO-KPH, IFAD, UNEP and US-based Rangelands Partnership. The results of their efforts culminated with the g official request for an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. In Asia, the Rangelands Initiative evolved into the Central Asia Pastoralist Alliance (Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Khazajistan and Kyrgyzstan) and the South Asia Pastoralist Alliance (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan). In West Africa, work on pastoralists’ corridors and geospatial data has been undertaken with RBM/ OPTIMAOC and in East Africa PRM funded by the EU contributed to changes in pastoralist rangelands management in Kenya and Tanzania.

EMERGING ISSUES:

Extractive industries, urban expansion and military poles are increasingly putting pressure on land and significantly affecting rangelands traditionally occupied by rangeland users. These issues compounded with the climate crisis, water scarcity and increasing drought has only exacerbated violence and conflicts between pastoralists and farmers. In ILC’s experience, sustainable rangelands management, starting with securing territorial rights, has shown the capacity to restore and protect vulnerable ecosystems as set out by the UN Decade of Ecosystems Restoration. In the current context, ILC has an important role to play in building and coordinating effective responses.

TERMS OF THE CALL:

Individuals and/or organisations can express their interest to facilitate the ILC engagement in Rangelands Issues, to support the ILC network and the Global Rangelands Initiative to:

• Position the relevance of securing rangelands within the UN Decade of Ecosystems Restoration and UNCCC and the proposed International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
• Strengthen existing movements of pastoralists with special emphasis on youth and women.
• Support the launch of a campaign on land and mobility in partnership with existing initiatives.
• Inform the Land Governance Report with the status of rangelands, collection of related LANDex indicators and geospatial information for Land Mark to monitor and show trends on land conflicts and environmental restoration.
• Generate and disseminate innovative knowledge, while developing learning journeys to equip relevant actors including government, pastoralist representatives and traditional authorities. Facilitate the engagement of Intergovernmental organisations into ILC national and regional rangelands initiatives
• Facilitate the engagement of intergovernmental organisations into ILC national and regional initiatives related to securing rangelands.
• Support resource mobilisation including through the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• Provide technical support to ILC Commitment Based Initiatives and National Engagement Strategies in engaging with global and regional agencies working on rangelands, mobility and pastoralists, linking with ILC’s work on indigenous peoples and locally managed ecosystems
• Enhance the quality of the Global Rangelands Initiative in a collaborative institutional partnership (IUCN, IFAD, UNEP, CELEP, WRI, FAO-PKH, ICARDA, CIRAD, WAMIP and ILRI), building a shared vision and action points in complementarity to existing relevant initiatives, such as the IUCN Drylands Initiative, FAO KPH and the Grassland initiative by WWF.
• Inform with relevant knowledge the development of ILC new strategy 2022-2030
• Maintain and update the Rangelands Initiative website and produce communication products to influence the development agenda

REQUIREMENTS

Candidates can be individuals and/or ILC member organisations and must have proven experience in facilitating collaboration between various stakeholders. Experience in a multi‐lingual international initiative involving complex relationships between countries, donors, NGOs/CSOs, and the public will be helpful. Candidates must be able to demonstrate a passion for, and understanding of, rangelands, pastoralism, transhumance and land including land rights and social justice.

Specifically, the Applicant should meet the following requirements:

• Demonstrated affinity and work experience on pastoralists, mobility and security of rangelands for land conflict prevention and ecosystem restoration, with a clear understanding of land and resource access issues.
• Demonstrated Learning attitude to leverage and mobilise relevant and actionable knowledge for capacity building
• Management and technical skills on pastoralists, mobility and security of rangelands for land conflict prevention and ecosystem restoration to assist operations
• Relevant network of global contacts to lead and influence development agenda
• Ability to communicate effectively stories and mainstream successful impact
• Excellent verbal and written skills in English. Knowledge of two other languages is an added advantage.
• Ability to facilitate a vibrant and diverse partnership, building on its strengths to assist members bring about transformation in land governance and familiarity with ILC Network.
• Experience in facilitating inter‐institutional collaboration with civil society organisations, governments and inter‐governmental organizations;
• Proven experience in developing and implementing successful grant proposals and successfully mobilise resources.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Deadline: 15 August 2020

Interested applicants should send their Motivation Letter and CV (individual or corporate) in English to David Rubio d.rubio@landcoalition.org with info@landcoalition.org in copy

In the subject field, please indicate: Application – Rangelands

Kindly include names and contact details of three references.

To learn more about ILC’s work in supporting rangelands, please visit: https://www.landcoalition.org/en/explore/our-work/rangelands/

To learn more about the Global Rangelands Initiative, please visit: http://www.rangelandsinitiative.org/