DAI Job Vacancy For Local Fisheries Expert

The Biodiversity Results and Integrated Development Gains Enhanced (BRIDGE) project is a five-year project (2015-2020) managed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau of Economic Growth, Education and Environment’s (E3) Office of Forestry and Biodiversity (FAB). The BRIDGE project builds on lessons learned and impacts generated by many years of USAID initiatives to promote and support efforts to integrate biodiversity conservation with other key development sectors: food security, global health, economic growth, democracy, human rights and governance and climate change.

Working alongside the FAB Office, BRIDGE aims to:

• Learn from and build upon approaches that support the integration of biodiversity conservation throughout the USAID program cycle;
• Improve the evidence base on the linkages between biodiversity conservation and other development outcomes; and
• Identify and engage constituencies, both internal and external to USAID, to raise awareness, knowledge and spur engagement to help advance biodiversity integration across the various sectors in development.

Activity Overview and Purpose:

Technically sound and politically savvy development programming requires explicit consideration of context, political factors and power dynamics. Political economy analysis (PEA) is a powerful way to make the political context and dynamics explicit. PEA is the first step in building a development practitioner culture where individuals instinctively try to understand political dynamics and see that understanding as core to how they professionally engage in international development programming. This is a disposition referred to as thinking and working politically (TWP). In the biodiversity sector, the PEA process can improve TWP by promoting a deeper understanding of the political context that drive threats to biodiversity and facilitate or constrain biodiversity conservation strategies and programming. It can also refine a theory of change by testing particular assumptions, examining specific aspects of causal relationships through a political lens, and support the creation of politically focused interventions. A better understanding of these dynamics can help practitioners unpack the “political will” box and identify ways to address the political constraints, either through design, adaptive management, or integration with other sectors.

USAID’s Sustainable Fisheries Management Program (SFMP) is working closely with Ghana’s Ministry of Fishing and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD) and the Fisheries Commission to address the problems of overfishing and illegal fishing through a series of reforms. This includes a registration program for the artisanal and small-scale canoes and limited and regulated landing sites for industrial catches. USAID Ghana is interested in using a PEA to explore different questions related to the Ghanaian fisheries sector and the related reforms and regulations. The BRIDGE project will provide technical and logistical support to the Ghana fisheries PEA including follow up support to learn from and apply the findings.

Assignment Overview and Purpose:

The Local Fisheries Expert will work as part of a team led by the PEA Expert, to synthesize and analyze existing information, conduct key stakeholder consultations and site visits to ground-truth information and contribute to a report that will address issue-areas such as:

• Reforms to address the challenges of overfishing and illegal fishing in Ghana
• Effective Political Voice: To what extent does strengthening fishing organizations and having more fisherfolk engaged in decision-making lead to artisanal fisherfolk having a more effective voice and greater influence in national policy deliberations, as measured by the extent to which reforms serve their interests?
• Political support: To what extent and under what conditions does having opinion leaders support fishery reforms lead to high-level policy-makers supporting fishery reforms? Does this relationship change based on the specific policy reform being considered?
• Responsive governance: To what extent and under what conditions can increased budget allocations and strengthened human resources lead to the institutional and organizational changes that are most needed to make the Fisheries Commission a) responsive, accountable government agency that can: a) engage in collaborative management, b) effectively enforce rules, and c) deliver relevant monitoring and analysis?

Tasks:

• Coordinate with the PEA Expert prior to in-country fieldwork to gather and begin to analyze existing information
• Assist the PEA Expert in planning site visits for the in-country fieldwork and scheduling meetings with contacts, as assigned
• Attend and participate in the in-country site visits and consultations with key informants
• Report to the PEA Expert on information gathered at the site visits and use existing reports, online information and other data, to contribute to the PEA Expert’s draft report.

Deliverables:

• Check-in calls with the PEA Expert in advance of the in-country travel
• Scheduling support for the PEA Expert with contacts and/or partners, as assigned
• Written reports/notes on site visits and meetings to contribute to the analysis report, as assigned by the PEA Expert
• Draft sections of the analysis report, per the direction of the PEA Expert

Qualifications:

• Understanding of the history and evolution of Ghana’s fisheries (artisanal/small-scale, semi-industrial, and industrial, including processing and marketing); current problems of overfishing and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; and the characteristics and challenges of local and national governance/politics and management of the fishing sector
• Understanding of local communities, traditional leadership/governance, and the key civil society organizations and associations that represent the interests of men and women in the fishing industry, especially the artisanal/small-scale sector
• Familiarity with Ghana’s Community Based Fisheries Management Committees and the fisheries reforms that have been under discussion with donors, civil society, and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD)
• Strong contacts within the relevant government agencies, non-governmental organizations, international donors, and private sector
• Excellent analytical skills, particularly concerning marine resources and fisheries management, and governance
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Fluent in English