Website NIRAS ZAMBIA LIMITED
The Scottish Government Climate Just Communities (CJC) programme is a flagship programme under the new round of the Climate Justice Fund and will implement community-led projects in Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. The purpose of CJC is to develop and deliver, through a participatory approach, a series of interventions that build inclusive and climate change resilient communities. CJC will achieve this by enabling local communities in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda to identify local priorities linked to the material and social impacts of climate change. Following which, CJC will support the delivery of interventions, developed through a participatory approach with communities themselves, that address these priorities.
The objectives of CJC are to:
a) Empower communities to identify their own priorities to be addressed through climate justice support and build resilience to the local material and social impacts of climate change;
b) Empower the most marginalised within communities (including but not limited to marginalisation for reasons related to gender, age, disability or indigenous status) to participate and take action in building resilience to the local material and social impacts of climate change;
c) Empower communities to advocate for climate justice and local equity;
d) Create long-term, sustainable change within communities in line with the pillars of climate justice.
CJC Zambia is a £7.4m programme which began in August 2023 and will run March 2026.
NIRAS Group (UK) Ltd has been contracted to deliver the CJC Lot 3 programme in Zambia. To deliver the assignment, NIRAS has developed a consortium of national and international organisations. NIRAS will be the Lead Service Provider contracted by the Scottish Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), and the Green Living Movement Zambia (GLM) will be the local Community Delivery Partners (CDPs), providing the entry points into target CJC communities, and responsible for facilitating community participation to design, implement and monitor programme interventions under CJC in coordination with ward-level Community Management Committees (CMCs). Three advocacy partners, Tearfund, the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), and Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR), lead the advocacy activities of CJC, working with the Community Delivery Partners to advance participatory climate justice advocacy at the local and national levels. A pool of specialised Technical Service Providers and consultants will offer innovative solutions and will work either directly with communities or provide support to Community Delivery Partners to implement the climate resilience-building interventions requested by communities.
CJC Zambia is being implemented across four of the most climate-vulnerable districts in Zambia: Luangwa, Sinazongwe, Shangombo, and Sioma. CJC Zambia will deliver interventions to over 15,000 households in climate management, natural resource management (NRM), disaster risk reduction (DRR), economic development (access to finance, business development), gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), and climate advocacy.
Role Description
Natural resource degradation is a major driver of vulnerability to climate change. Higher-level degradation is caused by human activity. The NRM Expert’s role is to support mitigation of natural resources and environmental degradation. The incumbent will report to the Deputy Team Leader. The position will be flexible and based in Lusaka but with frequent travels (expected 75% of the time) to the field to support implementation in project districts and wards. The consultant will also develop the technical specifications and line manage short-term technical assistance (STTA) consultants and liaise with service providers and Community Delivery Partners (CDPs) to deliver activities under this workstream.
Key Responsibilities:
- Promote tree planting (fodder, fruit trees, nitrogen-fixing trees, medicinal trees) in communities.
- Support the establishment of income-generating community tree nurseries, along with a system for their sustained management and operation.
- Support degraded landscape management (such as farmer-managed natural regeneration) through identification and protection of areas against livestock grazing and destruction related to human activities, e.g., bushfires.
- Develop and implement watershed management activities with communities.
- Contribute to monthly and quarterly client performance reports.
All activities above should be implemented with a view toward achieving community ownership and sustainability following project closure in March 2026.
Key Deliverables
Deliverables will be determined on a quarterly basis and reflected in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Appraisal Process
KPIs will be produced, against which performance will be measured on an annual basis during an appraisal process.
Required Expertise
- Master’s degree in forestry or Natural Resource Management
- Experienced in community training
- Experience in FMNR