Restoration Project Socio-Economic & Ecological Baseline Survey Specialist

Chimpanzee Trust, in partnership with TotalEnergies and Uganda Biodiversity Trust Fund (UBF), is implementing the project “Securing Communal Lands, Restoration and Avoided Degradation for Sustainable Livelihoods” to restore 100 hectares of degraded land connecting Budongo, Mukihani, and Kasongoire Forest Reserves.

With GIS corridor mapping completed, implementation has transitioned to community activities including beekeeping, agroforestry, and community conservation funds.

This baseline survey will establish socio-ecological benchmark indicators to track corridor recovery, measure livelihood program impact, evaluate forest dependence, and guide data-driven adaptive management.

• Collect gender-disaggregated data on monthly household income levels, reliance on forest resources (timber and charcoal), and current energy usage/cooking technology adoption.
• Evaluate the maturity and financial literacy of Communal Land Associations (CLAs), Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), farmer groups, and local environmental committees.
• Document and map all active local institutions and governance structures within the operational landscape.
• Review existing restoration practices (ANR, FMNR, Agroforestry) and establish a standardized reporting framework to define land-use categories and prevent double-counting of hectares.
• Document dominant indigenous tree species, invasive flora presence, primate corridor movement indicators, bird/pollinator dispersal patterns, and anthropogenic barriers.
• Identify Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) hotspots and document community-led coping mechanisms (e.g. chili-grease fences, beehive fencing).

• Comprehensive Work Plan: Detailed methodology, sampling strategy, field data collection tools (questionnaires and interview guides), and survey timeline.
• Quantitative Datasets: Raw and cleaned datasets in Excel/CSV format, coded and organized for accessibility and reproducibility.
• Final Synthesis Report: Concise report (max 14 pages) including Executive Summary, gender-disaggregated benchmark indicator table, income/energy/institutional/HWC analysis, restoration framework review, and data-driven recommendations.

• Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, Geographical Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science, or related field.
• Master’s degree in Forestry, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Law, Business Administration, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing rapid assessment methodologies in natural resources or agriculture.
• Proficiency in mobile data collection tools and managing large quantitative datasets.
• Proven experience conducting baseline studies integrating ecological indicators with socio-economic household data.
• Strong command of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques with rural communities.
• Experience in facilitating conflict resolution regarding rural land tenure and communal management structures.
• Proficiency in local languages of the Bunyoro region is an added advantage.
• Ability to synthesize complex ecological and socio-economic data into high-impact reporting.

• Interested applicants should submit a technical and financial proposal by 5:00 pm on 12th August 2026.
• Proposal requirements: Clear understanding of ecological connectivity goals, proposed methodology, timeframe aligned with constraints, and detailed budget breakdown.
• Submissions must be emailed to mveronica@chimpanzeetrust.org with dabowe@chimpanzeetrust.org in copy.