Posted on

TITLE OF THE PROGRAM

 INVITATION TO NOMINATE CANDIDATES FOR 2025 AFoCO FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

PROGRAM DETAILS

 AFoCO offers regular opportunities for government officials from the member countries including the Philippines to work in the Secretariat through its Fellowship Program. The AFoCO Fellowship Program is a program for government officials of AFoCO Member Parties dispatched to the AFoCO Secretariat to experience the working environment and processes of the international entity, as well as to maximize the in-house capacity of the Secretariat. The Program functions as a channel for effective communication and helps strengthen understanding between the Secretariat and the Parties for the fruitful achievement of AFoCO’s goals. Fellowship Officials shall be provided with official residences during his/her service at the Secretariat, one round-trip economy class airfare, and a stipend.
SPONSOR Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO)
DURATION The Fellowship Program is operated on a fixed-term basis. The duration for Category-I is one year and the duration for Category-II is two years starting from January 2025.
QUALIFICATIONS Interested applicants shall possess the following qualification requirements of the DENR:

  1. Have at least two (2) years holding permanent plantilla position in the DENR at the time of application;
  2. Have obtained performance ratings of at least Very Satisfactory for the last two (2) consecutive rating periods;
  3. Performing duties and responsibilities relevant to the field of study/travel being applied for;
  4. Have no pending administrative case;
  5. Have no pending application and nomination for other study and non-study trips;
  6. Have not exceeded four (4) official foreign travel within a year;
  7. Have submitted all the required reports from previous foreign travels;
  8. Have rendered the required service obligation for a scholarship previously enjoyed; and
  9. Must be willing to sign a scholarship service contract and shall serve the DENR with the corresponding period of service obligation

In addition, applicants shall also possess the following qualification requirements of the AFoCo Fellowship Program: 

For Category-I: 

  1. A permanent government official, preferably with age not more than 45 years old; 
  2. A minimum of five (5) years of work experience in governmental institutions;
  3. Academic background in forestry, environment, or biodiversity conservation; and 
  4. With expertise or experience in capacity building, planning, geographical information system, project development, implementation, and monitoring in the areas of forest resources management, biodiversity conservation, or climate change mitigation and adaptation, including REDD+, will be an advantage. 

For Category-II:

  1. A minimum of ten (10) years of work experience in governmental institutions; 
  2. Should have an advanced university degree, i.e., a Master’s degree or equivalent, in forestry, environment, biodiversity conservation, social science, political science, international relations, development studies, or related discipline; 
  3. With professional expertise or experience in capacity building, planning, geographical information system, project development, management and monitoring in the areas of forest resources management, biodiversity conservation, or climate change mitigation and adaptation will be an advantage; 
  4. With expertise or experience in capacity building, planning, geographical, information system, project development, management and monitoring in the areas of forest resources management, biodiversity conservation, or climate change mitigation and adaptation will be an advantage; 
  5. Knowledge and skills required for a range of issues related to Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector under the UNFCCC will be and advantage; 
  6. Must be computer literate, excellent oral and written communication skills in English; and 
  7. Have resided and studied at an educational institution in an English-speaking country will be an advantage.
DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS The nominee shall submit the following requirements to Career Development Division:

  1. Memorandum addressed to the Chair of the Human Resource Development Committee (HRDC), attention HRDC Secretariat to be endorsed by Head of Office and concurred by Supervising Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary;
  2. Resolution from HRDC Counterpart recommending the nomination of the applicant;
  3. Service Record;
  4. Certificate of no pending administrative case:
  5. Certification from the Director supervising human resources/Assistant Regional Director for Management Service/Assistant Director (Region/Bureau/Attached Agency) stating that the applicant:
    • has no pending scholarship nomination;
    • has not been a delinquent scholar from a previous scholarship grant;
    • has submitted all the required reports from previous foreign travels;
    • has performance ratings of at least Very Satisfactory for the last two (2)  consecutive rating periods;
  6. Updated Personal Data Sheet, with Work Experience Sheet, duly signed by authorized person administering oath; and
  7. Self Certification of official Travel History for the past 24 months.
DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION The nominee shall submit complete application requirements to the Career Development Division through this link bit.ly/nomiforeign on or before 06 September 2024.
REMARKS Upon nomination by the DENR, AFoCO will screen applications based on its own selection criteria. The AFoCO Secretariat will conduct an interview via teleconference within two weeks of the application deadline. The final list of the candidates for each term will be decided by the Executive Director.

Attached are the invitation, guidelines and other documentary requirements required by the AFoCO Fellowship Program, for reference: INVITATION TO NOMINATE CANDIDATES FOR 2025 AFoCO FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Should you need further information about the requirements, please communicate with the HRDC Secretariat at email address: hrdcs2020@gmail.com or telephone: (02) 8927-9107 or VOIP 1063.