Senior National Forest Inventory Expert

Organizational Setting

Monitoring and Enhancement of Remote Sensing for National Forest Inventory (MERANTI) is a three‑year project funded by Norway and managed by the FAO Office in Jakarta. It serves as Indonesia’s new National Forest Inventory (NFI) initiative, integrating enhanced land‑monitoring approaches to improve the accuracy, availability, transparency and timeliness of forest and tree‑resource data. Through the combination of a strengthened NFI and an improved national forest monitoring system, MERANTI aims to significantly enhance Indonesia’s capacity to generate high‑quality forest information. This strengthened data ecosystem will:
1. Improve national strategic planning and decision‑making on forests and trees
2. Support climate change mitigation efforts
3. Enable greater access to scalable climate finance
4. Strengthen Indonesia’s position in climate‑finance negotiations
5. Increase opportunities for results‑based payments (RBPs) and other forms of results‑based contributions (RBC)
6. Ensure fulfilment of Indonesia’s international commitments to global climate and sustainable development goals

The collaboration will also expand to other projects and programmes related to forest monitoring, including the UK-funded AIM4Forests initiative and affiliated programmes within the FAO portfolio and pipeline, as appropriate.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the FAO Representative in Indonesia, the general supervision of the Lead Technical Officer, and the direct supervision of the FAO UN-REDD Programme Coordinator and the MERANTI National Project Coordinator, as well as close coordination with Directorate General of Forestry Planning/IPSDH

Technical Focus

Extensive work experience in forest monitoring and forest inventory.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Senior National Forest Inventory Expert will carry out the following tasks:
• Contribute to the development of the overall MERANTI project workplan, including the technical input to the NFI field implementation plan and operational procedures.
• Conduct a systematic review of existing databases and botanical sources on tree and woody species (including bamboo, lianas, and rattan), and compile data into a comprehensive digital species database to support standardized NFI field guides, consistent species identification, and related training and capacity building. (Output 1.3).
• Provide technical support to the project on Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) manuals for all major NFI stages, including field data collection; data cleaning; data processing; data analysis; and reporting (Output 1.4)
• Contribute to the development of allometric models for biomass estimation of non‑tree woody species (e.g., bamboo, lianas, rattan) to support biomass and carbon stock assessment (Output 1.5).
• Provide technical input and support to update metadata for the NFI 2.0, ensuring its integration into the FAO Forest Assessment and Monitoring (FAM) catalogue and alignment with Indonesia’s national priorities to facilitate data dissemination and enhance transparency.
• Provide expert support for training sessions, workshops, and capacity‑building events as needed.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in Forestry, Climate Change, Natural Resources Management or a closely related field.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in Forest Monitoring and National Forest Inventories, including technical advisory support to countries.
• Working knowledge in English and in Bahasa Indonesia (C1)
• National of Indonesia or resident of the country with valid work permit

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, preferably including tropical forest ecosystems and international forest monitoring initiatives
• Extent and relevance of experience in forest monitoring and National Forest Inventories
• Extent and relevance of experience in
• Familiarity with international standards and guidelines for forest data management, QA/QC protocols, and transparency frameworks, as well as Indonesia’s national forest monitoring priorities and policies

Selection Criteria

• Extent and relevance of experience in Forest and land Monitoring and National Forest Inventories (NFIs).
• Demonstrated experience in supporting national institutions on issues related to forest and land monitoring and NFIs
• Strong understanding of Indonesia’s national forest monitoring priorities and policies.