Network & Learning Facilitator - International Forest Governance Hub

The European Forest Institute (EFI) is an international organisation with 30 member countries and around 130 member organisations.  EFI’s headquarters are located in Joensuu, Finland.  EFI has several offices across Europe, including in Barcelona, Spain and under its International Partnerships Facility a project office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The  International Partnerships Facility (IPF) of EFI is a global centre of knowledge and expertise that supports policy and governance reforms to safeguard the world’s forests. It promotes sustainable forest and land use to help protect and restore forests and maximise their role in green economic growth, climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation. It also fosters legal, deforestation-free and sustainable commodity production and trade.

Following two decades of IPF's experience in partnering with tropical forest countries to enhance forest governance and sustainable land use, EFI has witnessed a strong demand from stakeholders in tropical forest countries for impartial advice in this field and opportunities to learn from each other, see what works in practice, as well as build partnerships between experts to accelerate progress in this field. In response to this demand, EFI will establish an International Forest Governance Hub (hereafter referred to as the Hub).  The Hub will serve tropical forest country stakeholders delivering on-demand impartial advice, providing a space for North-South exchange as well as South-South learning and exchange. It will also provide the space for multi-country led initiatives on tropical forest land use governance. The start-up of this initiative is being financed through a grant from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Forest Governance Markets and Climate Programme with a view to expanding and attracting other donors and interested parties to join.

The entity will be located at EFI’s new UK office, scheduled to open by the end of 2025 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. From that base, it is expected to develop a strong network across all tropical forest regions.

The objectives of the Hub are to:

• Provide independent and tailored guidance from and to tropical forest countries on forest governance.

• Consolidate and curate knowledge and understanding of forest governance to inform international and national processes.

• Create a cross-country space for dialogue and lessons learning and promote South-South cooperation and learning.

• Foster international initiatives and policy processes to serve the interests of developing countries’ ambition for sustainable development and sustaining their forests, grounded in strong forest governance principles.

• Build understanding amongst donors and investors on the importance of investing in forest governance foundations and having the tools to do so.

EFI is assembling a core team of experts to contribute to the International Forest Governance Hub and is seeking a Network & Learning Facilitator. 

The Network and Learning Facilitator responsibilities will include:

• Identifying and nurturing a network of experts, particularly in Africa and South-East Asia who understand their tropical forest country stakeholders’ perspectives, interests and concerns related to forest governance. This network will provide a pool that the Hub can source from for providing impartial expertise, and for participating in advisory groups to inform the strategic orientation and activities of the Hub.

• Developing working methods and arrangements to grow and maintain a diversified and rapid-response pool of expertise in forest governance as well as a community of practitioners and national researchers who can be mobilized for sharing best practices, mentoring and supporting learning exchanges.

• Brokering access to knowledge support for national efforts to strengthen forest governance.  

• Harnessing the Hub network in support of North-South and South-South cooperation and learning and facilitating country exchanges around perspectives on forest governance, sharing lessons from their national processes.

• Facilitating exchanges between local forest research networks.  

• Represent the Hub at relevant international meetings and events.

Duty station:

The Network and Learning Facilitator will be based at EFI’s new office in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Flexible working arrangements can be considered and discussed as part of the recruitment process.

Employment conditions:

The successful candidate will be an EFI staff member. The position is offered on a fixed-term basis for four years, with the possibility of extension based on performance. The successful candidate is expected to start in early 2026.

How to apply:

Interested candidates are requested to send (in English) a CV including copies of academic degree certificates/diplomas with a motivation letter outlining how you fulfil the requirements for the position by 31st October 2025 23:59 CET, using our online application form.

For more information about the post, please contact: Valérie Merckx, Head of International Partnerships Facility: valerie.merckx@efi.int

EFI is an equal opportunity employer. All applications will be treated confidentially.

• Extensive experience (at least 10 years) working on forest and land-use governance in tropical countries.

• Master’s or higher university degree in relevant discipline. 

• Significant international experience in interacting with forest and land-use governance processes and teams working across multiple geographies within a well-established network.

• Demonstrated facilitation skills and experience in facilitating stakeholders’ interactions and learning at local, national and international level.

• Excellent inter-personal communications and relationship management capability.

• Capability to communicate the value proposition for the Hub and identify needs.

• Capacity for initiative, service attitude and track record of pragmatic problem-solving skills

• Excellent organizational skills, ability to work under pressure and be flexible as part of a small team.

• Demonstrated ability of working in multi-disciplinary teams in multi-cultural environments

• Professional proficiency in English and French is required.