Beekeeping and VFA Management Extensionist at WeForest

Job Description – WeForest Beekeeping and VFAs Management Extensionist, Phalombe, Malawi

Employer – WeForest Limited, Malawi

Job Title – Beekeeping and VFA Management Extensionist

Location – Mulanje & Phalombe districts (focus on the latter)

Reporting to – Project manager

Responsible for – beekeeping and VFAs Management implementation in the buffer zone

About WeForest

WeForest is a fast growing international non-profit association with headquarters in Belgium and legal entities in France, USA, Ethiopia, Zambia and by start 2023, in Malawi. Our aim is to demonstrate, through the restoration of entire regions, that well planned tree planting and reforestation can be the solutions to today’s biggest challenge: climate change. The organization is promoting Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) best practices, creating a movement, engaging the greatest brands and their millions of customers to act positively. Our activities are growing and the organization is looking for an experienced profile to further capacitate its Malawian team, and drive the Mulanje co-management project to the highest standards.

WeForest has been active around Mulanje cedar and miombo restoration in Malawi since 2018, starting in Mt Mulanje Forest Reserve, Mulanje/Phalombe district. Currently, the project is expanding with a time-horizon till 2034, focused on co-management of miombo woodlands within the Forest Reserve. The buffer zone bordering the Forest Reserve spans more than 10.000 hectares, home to more than 10.000 households.

WeForest LTD in Malawi comprises a small team and hence need dynamic, critical-thinking and result-oriented staff members to fill the vacant positions of Beekeeping and VFAs Management Extensionist. You will implement WeForest’s agroforestry interventions in the Mulanje buffer zone surrounding the miombo co-managed woodlands in the Forest Reserve, ensuring forest and rural landscape activities are aligned. You will focus on improving fuelwood supply through agroforestry and VFA/woodlot productivity enhancement.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Through close supervision of the Project manager, the Beekeeping and VFAs Management Extensionist will have the following role and responsibilities:

Core responsibilities:

Ensure project activities in community forest zone achieve project goal through effective community outreach in Village Forest Area (VFA), Woodlots and Beekeeping

1. Ensure timely planning, implementation and reporting

2. Participate fully in annual work plans and budget sessions.

3. Support adequate communication to HQ through the Project Manager and to relevant partners that include forestry, WESM, MUST, Inter Aide and District Councils among others.

4. Document plans and activities conducted through paper trail (ToRs, meeting minutes, training event reports)

5. Ensure relevant implementation documentation such as lessons, success stories, partnerships and challenges is shared timely with the Project Manager.

6. Manage financial advances by also ensuring adherence to WF internal controls and protocols.

7. Work in close collaboration with the MEL officer to support data collection, data analysis and reporting for all project activities particularly beekeepers, beehives and honey sales;

8. Support feasibility and development of VFAs and woodlots around Mt Mulanje buffer zone;

9. Facilitate behavior change component to stakeholders around the Mount Mulanje landscape

Responsibilities per project component

Strengthen the governance of Forest Block Committees (FBCs) and Village Natural Resource Management Committees (VNRMCs) by: –

1. Facilitate community mobilization and organization of community meetings;

2. Participate in(relevant) meetings of the Local Forest Management Board, related sub-district local governance structures (VDCs & ADCs) and FBCs;

3. Facilitating effective and regular communication and feedback between FBCs/VNRMCs and their respective constituent communities;

4. Facilitate effective, inclusive and transparent community representation, and decision-making through these community institutions as a means for consistent community engagement;

5. Provide technical support to beekeepers in hives construction/maintenance using sustainable local materials and promote adoption of traditional hives;

6. Train Beekeepers from within Mt Mulanje buffer zone on relevant aspects of forest management, administration and governance for sustainable honey production;

7. Facilitate effective and transparent revenue and other benefits/opportunities distribution mechanisms from honey sales to ensure the maximum impact and incentives to communities from conservation and forest related business within the co-management area;

8. Work closely with the LFMB, FBCs and other community-based organizations and local authorities in encouraging local people to support sustainable conservation of the biodiversity of the area;

9. Work with the LFMB and FBCs in participatory beekeeping scheme planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring.

Support FBCs/VNRMCs to deliver forest management activities in forest landscapes by:

1. Ensure Village Forest Management Plans are widely understood and respected by relevant stakeholders;

2. Ensure effective fire management is conducted and evaluated timely in the forest landscapes(VFAs);

3. Ensure enrichment planting and ANR are conducted where relevant and evaluated;

4. Support efforts to ensure community by-laws are understood and adhered to;

5. Provide guidance to FBCs/VNRMCs and wider communities s in Law enforcement;

6. Support FBC/VNRMC to operate and manage their sustainable financing mechanism i.e. beekeeping, NTFPs, issuing of permits in VFAs etc;

7. Build and strengthen the capacity of beekeepers for managing the apiaries to improve honey production;

8. Support VNRMCs in tree nursery establishment and management for enrichment planting in VFAs within the Mt Mulanje landscapes;

Support valorization of miombo NTFP and NTFP-conservation enterprises by:

1. Conduct land use assessments of the co-management areas (including firewood/charcoal utilization);

2. Align miombo product identification with community interests;

3. Embed new co-operatives, that focus on miombo valorization, within the existing community governance structures and ensuring community expectations are managed.

Conduct data collection for overall project monitoring, community mapping, vegetation surveys and planting performance:

1. Facilitate, organize and conduct data collection, utilizing mobile data collection and mapping tools including GIS applications, ODK, Kobo Collect and others;

2. Monitor seedling survival and growth;

3. Monitor beekeeping performance in co-management blocks/forest landscapes;

4. Monitor nurseries’ performance for woodlot establishment and enrichment planting in VFAs;

5. Map relevant community demarcations to fit in co-management and land use maps.

6. Participate in forest inventory exercises i.e. PMPs establishment in sub blocks/VFAs, biomass assessment

CANDIDATE PROFILE

1. Education:

• Essential: Holder of Diploma or Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, Environmental/Natural Resources Management, Agriculture, Apiculture and Entomology, Horticulture or equivalent.

2. Work experience and skills:

Essential:

1. • Minimum of 3 year’s relevant field, hands-on experience in forest restoration, rural development, management and conservation in Malawi. Previous interaction with community-based organisations and experience with training and local capacity building at smallholder farmer level
   • Excellent communication and numerical skills
   • Beekeeping and agroforestry knowledge and experience
   • Forest management knowledge and experience
   • Experience in facilitating business planning and setting up successful and viable community enterprises is highly desirable
   • Clean and excellent track record and references

Competencies

• Excellent team player: cooperate, support and work well with others to achieve project goals. Share information and contribute effectively to WeForest’s objectives and solving problems
• Excellent reporting skills: ability to summarize meeting minutes concisely and truthfully, to provide monitoring data clearly and transparently.
• Flexibility: adaptable, resourceful, and receptive to new ideas; willing and able to adjust to changing circumstances. Flexible in terms of traveling and living conditions.
• Integrity: honest, reliable, and maintain high ethical standards. Show respect and fairness when dealing with others

Desirable:

1. • Experience working with mobile data collection tools will be a significant advantage
   • Exposure to and experience with both the corporate and the NGO sector
   • Track record with gender-sensitive participatory, governance and inclusion approaches

3. Language: Fluent in English (both speaking and writing) and Chichewa (both speaking and writing)

4. Other requirements
   • Motorbike/Driving license
   • Be willing to live in Phalombe
   • Flexible in terms of travelling and working conditions

Terms & Conditions

Start date: Latest 1^st February 2025

Duration of Contract: One year, renewable to a two-year contract based upon performance

Salary: Level 2b. Remuneration based on experience.

Location: Based at the WeForest office in Phalombe.

Hours of Work: Full-time, working a minimum of 8 hours per day (5 days/week). Hours will however vary depending on project needs and flexibility is essential.

Reporting line: Supervised by the WeForest Mulanje Project manager

Method Of Application

• Please send applications to [email protected] with your CV, a motivation letter (max one page), and 2 recent references by the 15^th of January, 2025.
• Make sure to mention the job title in the subject of the email. In your motivation letter, we’d love to read about what makes you interested to work with WeForest.
• Due to the anticipated high number of applicants, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We thank you in advance for your interest.
• WeForest is an equal opportunity employer, women who meet the above criteria and are interested to work in a dynamic team are encouraged to apply.