Terms of reference for the recruitment of a consultant responsible for supporting the CHM-Burundi Focal Point in collecting and posting information on the CHM website.

I. Background

The Information Clearing-House (CHM) is the information exchange platform of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It was established pursuant to Article 18.3 of the Convention.

Pursuant to decision X/15, its mission is to contribute substantially to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Strategic Plan for Biological Diversity, through effective information services and other appropriate means, in order to promote and facilitate scientific and technical cooperation, knowledge sharing and information exchange and in order to establish a fully operational network of Parties and partners.

The Clearing-House (CHM) under the Convention (CBD) is an information exchange instrument designed to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation in order to achieve the three objectives of the Convention, namely:

- The conservation of biological diversity;

- The sustainable use of its elements and

- The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of natural resources.

The CHM also plays an important role in raising public awareness for the implementation of these three CBD goals. It provides a wealth of online data and materials on the Convention, thematic programmes, reference publications as well as direct access to numerous websites at the regional, national and international levels.

The development of the CHM is the result of the recommendations of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA),

decisions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the contribution of regional working groups and expert meetings such as the Informal Advisory Committee (IAC).

The tasks of CHM-Burundi are as follows:

• inform about the Convention on Biological Diversity and its implementation in Burundi;
• provide extensive information on the status of biodiversity at the national level, such as for example on species, ecosystems and habitats, in-situ and ex situ conservation, threats to biodiversity, the environment as a whole, etc.
• Raise awareness for the application of national biodiversity strategies and action plans;
• promote technical and scientific cooperation, as well as the sharing of knowledge among the Contracting Parties to the Convention.

To implement the cooperation mechanism between the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium (IRSNB) and the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE), the latter established a program of research, information exchange, awareness-raising and conservation of biodiversity in Burundi.

As part of the implementation of this program, the OBPE received financial support from the IRSNB for the institutional strengthening of the OBPE. It is in this context that the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE) wishes to recruit a consultant to support the Focal Point of CHM-Burundi in collecting and posting information on the CHM website for a renewable period of 12 months.

II. Program Information

The Program for Research, Information Exchange, Awareness and Conservation of Biodiversity in Burundi falls within the framework of the 2019-2024 Memorandum. It seeks to operationalize this memorandum centered on supporting OBPE activities focused on research, information exchange and the conservation of biodiversity in Burundi (Period 2019-2024). The overall expected result of this program is “The consolidation of mechanisms for biodiversity monitoring, information exchange and public awareness for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Burundi”. The interim results are as follows:

• Strengthening systems for monitoring the dynamics of habitats and biodiversity for the good conservation of protected areas;
• Assessment and valorization of ecosystem services in protected areas;
• Development of awareness on relevant biodiversity issues;
• Strengthening mechanisms for exchanging information on biodiversity and for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV).

III. Consultant tasks and responsibilities

• The Consultant will be installed within the premises of the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE) and will work under the supervision of this institution. He will have the following tasks:

• Collect information and documents produced as part of projects initiated under the Belgian partnership and publish them on the CHM-Burundi website;
• Collect reports, studies, policies and strategies related to the environment and biodiversity and publish them on the CHM-Burundi website;
• Identify and publish activities and results related to the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and publish them on the CHM-Burundi website in accordance with national objectives with an orientation of the new global framework on biodiversity;
• Identify biodiversity-related information on other websites and create links with the CHM-Burundi website;
• Support research activities on the fauna and flora of Burundi, in particular by preparing related scientific publications and by participating in the supervision of students, the management of collections and the monitoring of the fauna and flora of Burundi;
• Identify and publish biodiversity research activities and results;
• Produce and publish activity reports on biodiversity events, including workshops, meetings, etc.;
• Produce monthly reports on the activities carried out by referring to the various points of the mandate and visualizing the volume of web pages created.

IV. Deliverables

The expected deliverables are as follows:

• Reports on activities carried out;
• The functional CHM-Burundi website;
• Ranking CHM-Burundi among the best CHMs in the world

V. Skills

• Excellent abilities to work in a multicultural environment without discrimination based on gender, religion, nationality and sensitivity;
• Demonstrate rigor in work, great availability, an ability to work in a team and a high spirit of initiative;
• Ability to conduct analyses, draw relevant conclusions and make constructive proposals;
• Ability to interact, establish and maintain relationships effectively both with colleagues, the line manager and with people from different cultures, other national and international partners;
• Excellent abilities to build relationships of trust with national and international partners;
• Very good written and oral communication skills (writing technical, strategic reports or activities related to the execution of a project, writing notes or scientific articles), to formulate positions and to defend them before authorities;
• Very good command of office tools, especially Word, Excel and Power Point.

VI. Professional qualifications and experiences

• The candidate must have a Master's degree in environmental sciences or any other related field;
• Have supervised a master's thesis or internship;
• Experience in developing scientific articles as lead author or co-author.

VII. Documents to be provided

Interested candidates should submit an application package including the following elements:

• Motivation letter;
• CV updated and signed;
• Copy of the diploma in accordance with the original;
• Copies that attest to the candidate's experience in the field.

Closed offers for the application for the position of consultant of CHM-Burundi will be submitted to the OBPE headquarters in Gitega or to its liaison office located at Avenue de la Cathédrale located in Bujumbura in front of ISABU with an electronic copy by email to the following address: obpe_burundi@obpe.bi with a copy to the address: ndayilkeza2009@gmail.com . The mention “Offer for the position of “CHM-Burundi Consultant” must appear on the letter sent or in the subject line of the email sent.

The deadline for submitting offers is March 30, 2023 at 12:00pm. Offers arriving after the deadline will not be accepted and will be discarded.

VIII. Equal opportunities

The OBPE practices an equal employment opportunities policy and encourages applications from all candidates who meet the eligibility and selection criteria, without distinction based on age, political, philosophical or religious beliefs, gender or sexual orientation, gender or sexual orientation and regardless of disability.

IX. Exclusion

The following is excluded from the selection:

The candidate who did not meet the compliance standards mentioned above;

The candidate who has a contract for activities similar to those described in these terms of reference or who has a contract whose interests are incompatible with the interests of OBPE.

X. Selection criteria

In terms of the requirements for this position, we have identified key professional experience criteria in the table below. However, depending on the number of applications received, the selection committee may apply requirements that are more stringent than the selection criteria mentioned above. Likewise, in the event of a score parity between two or more candidates, the selection committee will determine additional criteria for choosing the best candidate.

Rating criteria table

 

No.	Candidate evaluation criteria	Score obtained (points)	Observation
1	Criterion A: Master's degree (or equivalent) in environmental sciences or any other related field	/20 pts
2	Criterion B: Professional experience in the development of scientific articles	/40 pts
hath	As co-author... 20pts
B	As first author... 40pts
3	Criterion C: Have supervised a master's thesis or internship	/40 pts
hath	Have supervised or co-supervised a Master's internship... 20pts
B	Have supervised or co-supervised a Master's thesis... 40pts
	Total (A+B+C)... 100pts	/100pts

 

 

 

 

THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF OBPE

Ir. HATUNGIMANA Berchmans