Rainforest Alliance Job Vacancy: Senior Associate, Palm Oil - Indonesian

With headquarters in New York City and offices worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers.

Position Summary:
Under the supervision of the Southeast Asia Director the Senior Associate, Palm Oil will support the development and coordinate the Rainforest Alliance’s palm oil program in Asia and for serving as a technical resource to staff working on palm projects in other regions. This includes delivering projects according to work plans and budgets, coordinating with field consultants and staff, identifying and supporting local partner organizations and maintaining relationships with donors and with stakeholders in the corporate, government, and civil society sectors.

Responsibilities:

• Supporting the Director, Southeast Asia to grow Rainforest Alliance’s palm program in Asia, developing strategies for business expansion, identifying new project opportunities, designing projects aligned with RA’s strategy and preparing proposals that meet donors’ requirements, all in close coordination with the Development and Design & Innovation teams;
• Supervise the implementation of palm projects in Asia, including deliverables and budgetary execution; prepare donor reports as per contractual commitments; manage relationships with donors; and comply with internal Rainforest Alliance procedures, working closely with FIG Monitoring and Evaluation/Quality Assurance and ensuring implementation of appropriate standards, processes and tools to allow this to be done efficiently and effectively;  
• Participate in the FIG project portfolio review process, providing timely information on the status of project performance, identifying implementation problems and risks, and proposing appropriate corrective actions;
• Maintain active dialogue with the broad group of palm oil stakeholders internationally and in producing countries (specifically  producers, processors, traders, exporters, various roundtables and other producer groups, government bodies, national extension services, technical partners);
• In Supporting the Director, Southeast Asia lead globally the implementation of the field activities of Rainforest Alliance’s palm oil strategy, working closely with the Director of Global Programs, other FIG regional directors and teams; the DIG, Market Transformation and CTT teams, and RA-Cert;
• Coordinate with Rainforest Alliance’ Evaluation & Research and the Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Quality Assurance teams to monitor and record results from our activities in collaboration with our implementing partners and research institutes;
• Support the Communications team in responding to media requests and producing high visibility success stories that highlight Rainforest Alliance’s approach and work in the field;
• Represent Rainforest Alliance in conferences, events and key stakeholder activities to develop business opportunities, demonstrate thought leadership, and keep updated on trends and issues related to the palm oil sector;
• Provide periodic updates on project status to RA staff and organize and host visits by staff and others such as journalist tours and donor visits to projects;
• Support the work of the Director, Southeast Asia providing on-the-ground assistance with coordination, oversight and relationship management of non-palm projects; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
This position may oversee staff. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies; including interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems

Budget Oversight:
Internal USD 1,000 External USD 2,500

Competencies:

• Controlling Progress: able to control the progress of project;
• Independence: able to perform action and make statement to public that reflect an opinion of organization;
• Presenting: able to present complex data clearly to different types of audience using available resources especially in order to attract donor;
• Insight: having and gaining insight into situations, problems and process, deconstructing problems and systematically investigating the various component. Having complete picture of the context and overview of the whole problem;
• Negotiating: able to obtain maximum results from meetings in which interests conflict both in terms of content and maintaining good relations;
• Networking: able to develop and maintain relations, alliances and coalitions within and outside the organization and to exploit new project potential;
• Written Expression: sound competency in drafting proposal to donors.

Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Agriculture, natural resource management, or related field required;
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in project management, planning and monitoring;
• First-hand knowledge of the concepts of sustainable agriculture and knowledge of the palm oil industry;
• Understanding of market value chains and certification of sustainably produced commodities;
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, with ability to operate efficiently in multi institutional relationships, and to communicate with farmers, government ministers, donor representatives and/or company executives;
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently as well as in a team environment, to assess priorities and to multi-task with strong attention to detail;
• Administrative efficiency, with the ability to track project progress and prepare timely reports, and competence in the main computer software programs;
• Demonstrated professional capability in written and spoken English;
• Strong organizational skills with ability to take initiative, attention to detail and work independently;
• Ability to communicate and engage with diverse stakeholders including governments, companies and NGOs; and
• Ability to travel a minimum of 25% of the time.

Only candidates authorized to work in Indonesia will be considered

Salary:
Commensurate with experience.

To apply:
Send resume, cover letter and salary history in one single document and sent to Human Resources, Rainforest Alliance Indonesia electronically through email address: hrapro@ra.org using the following format in the subject line: first name and last name, job title of position you are applying for.

The Rainforest Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.