Sustainable Forest Management Consultant

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Thailand.

📋 Description

• Create a detailed Sustainable Forest Management Plan for PUR’s Thamma Raksa agroforestry initiative in Isaan, Thailand.

• Ensure alignment of the plan with Verified Carbon Standard Version 5.0 VM0047, the ABACUS Label, and Symbiosis Quality Criteria.

• Establish maintenance practices such as pruning, thinning, weeding, and pest control.

• Formulate selective harvesting guidelines that include tree selection, harvesting volumes, timing, and methods.

• Perform analysis on tree growth, biomass, and harvesting to support harvesting schedules and carbon-stock forecasts.

• Provide recommendations for post-harvesting management, replanting, and natural regeneration strategies.

• Take into account Thailand’s forestry regulations, land tenure, and socio-economic conditions.

• Create a practical framework for monitoring, reporting, and verification.

• Facilitate farmer engagement and produce practical training materials.

• Convert technical recommendations into actionable guidance for farmers and field implementation partners.

• Present the Sustainable Forest Management Plan in both Word and PDF formats in English.

• Prepare user-friendly summaries for farmers in both English and Thai.

• Generate a harvesting schedule and biomass growth impact dataset in Excel.

• Design farmer training modules focusing on site maintenance, selective harvesting, and post-harvesting practices.

• Submit an inception report within 7 days of contract signing and adhere to specified project milestones.

⛳️ Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree or higher in Forestry, Agroforestry, or a related discipline.

• A minimum of 5 years of proven experience in developing forest management plans, particularly for small-scale and/or community-based forestry initiatives.

• Professional experience in Thailand or Southeast Asia in forestry, agroforestry, or natural resource management.

• Experience in carbon projects, specifically Verra/VCS, Gold Standard, or similar standards.

• Knowledge of Thailand's forestry policies, land tenure systems, and socio-economic environment.

• Proven experience in stakeholder engagement and participatory planning processes.

• Strong background in selective harvesting, estimating harvesting volumes, and tree growth analysis.

• Excellent analytical and report-writing abilities.

• Capability to work independently while meeting tight deadlines.

• Proficiency in relevant technical software, including GIS and statistical tools.

• Ability to deliver outputs in English and create farmer-friendly summaries in both English and Thai.

• At least two references from organizations where similar projects have been completed.

• Eligibility to work in or the ability to obtain authorization to work in Thailand is required in the application.

🏝️ Benefits

• Status as an external consultant.

• Consultancy duration of approximately 8 weeks.

• Flexible and independent work arrangements as implied by the consultancy engagement.

• An opportunity to contribute to an environmental restoration and agroforestry project with a focus on long-term forest health, carbon storage, and farmer needs.