Call of Interest for Climate Services Specialists and Field-Based Practitioners

This mentorship programme is meant to facilitate and enhance the transfer of knowledge, tools, skills, expertise, and insights between the hands-on and experienced ALBATROSS partner experts (mentors) and scientists and field-based practitioners from the 5 countries the project is implemented (mentees). Each mentee will set their own objectives -based on technical expertise of ALBATROSS project consortium mentors (1 from Europe, 1 from Africa).

The mentorship programme will be designed to provide a dual benefit, for both the mentees and the ALBATROSS project partners, by promoting learning, innovation, development, nurturing talent, and leveraging on latest knowledge on climate science and nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation.

Categories

• Researchers in Climate Data and Services: Scientists and professionals working with meteorological agencies, regional climate centers, or research institutions, eager to learn from ALBATROSS partners, particularly in areas such as interpreting and obtaining data from available climate services, including the Copernicus database, and making use of ALBATROSS project outputs and products.
• Field-Based Practitioners: Practitioners engaged with UNESCO-designated sites, such as Biosphere Reserves, World Heritage Sites, or Geoparks who are eager to apply climate services, nature-based solutions, indigenous and local knowledge, in their field of work, especially in natural resources management, biodiversity conservation, disaster risk reduction amongst others.

Benefits

• The mentees will have privileged access to ALBATROSS project toolbox and services and possibility to travel to one or more of the science-policy dialogues/workshops and the final conference.
• The mentees will be facilitated to attend relevant project co-creation workshops, training, policy dialogue etc in their respective countries. Transport, accommodation costs and a reasonable per diem to be covered by the ALBATROSS project.
• Project will provide mentee with great visibility through the project website and ALBATROSS dissemination activities.

Eligible Countries

• Based in one of the 5 following countries: Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Madagascar.

Eligibility Criteria

• Scientists and/or Mid to Senior level field-based practitioners working (full or part time) with either:
  • Meteorological agencies and regional climate centres
  • University or research institutions
  • National or local level agencies (public, private -NGOs, CBOs etc ), working in or around UNESCO designated sites in the one or more of the following areas: climate services, natural resources management, biodiversity conservation, nature-based solutions, environmental management, forestry, disaster risk reduction.
• Demonstrate experience in any of the following fields: climate data and services, nature-based solutions (NBS), natural resources management, disaster risk reduction (DRR), biodiversity conservation, indigenous knowledge and local knowledge (ILK) or other similar fields.
• Applicants should have a good command of English language.
• The selected applicants must be available and follow the mentorship programme for 18 months.

Assessment Criteria

• The assessment panel will rate all the eligible proposals against a scorecard based on the following criteria:
  • Relevance: innovative climate services, nature-based solution, natural resources management, biodiversity conservation, climate smart agriculture etc
  • Applicability: Potential for the mentee to apply what they would have learnt, e.g in development of standard products like climate forecast and predictions, development of actionable or bankable NBS and DRR plans
  • Project outcomes: contribute to development of project practical tools, such as, policy briefs, guidelines, training modules and strategies that will inform and influence policy and practice in Sub-Sahara Africa countries
  • Scalability: to other local or regional African contexts.

For more information, visit UNESCO.