Social Forestry Specialist
We are seeking a social forestry specialist. Jatam, an Indonesian NGO, and Atma Connect, a US-based NGO, are currently recruiting for an anticipated five-year climate change project in Central Sulawesi. The position requires an expert who is trained in social forestry and who is able to work with project personnel, local government, and smallholder farmers. The majority of the work is based in the field, thus requiring the ability to travel 50 percent or more of the time, in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Field-level work may extend to travel to South Sumatera or Jakarta.
Responsibilities
Policy Review – 20%
- Assist Field Manager and Project Manager with a desk review and primary research interviews with local government units to understand Indonesia’s NDC commitments around land use and forestry, the specific land uses and relevant maps for state-owned forests and mining concessions in Central Sulawesi, national medium-term development plan regarding climate change mitigation in Central Sulawesi, social forestry national and local regulation, social forestry licensing process and customary forest stipulation process.
- Assist Field Manager with the creation of recommendations of desired policy and institutional reforms that would improve social forestry both locally and nationally. Provide technical analysis and insights to advance policy and institutional reforms related to social forestry at the national and sub-national levels. Training of Best Management Practices in Social Forestry – 50%
- Assist with a baseline study to identify economic opportunities and business enabling environment(e.g. which crops to develop in each local jurisdiction) for forest-dependent farmers.
- Assist forest-dependent farmers to improve their agricultural practices in forest-based commodities.
- Work with local farmers to identify the location of 20 demo plots.
- Create a curriculum for and implement training of trainers for top forest-based commodities on 20 different demo plots in districts across Central Sulawesi.
- Assist forest-dependent farmers to reach new markets through business services (e.g. marketing, use of social media to promote a product, assistance accessing public extension services for forest-dependent smallholders, assistance to obtain business licenses, assistance with paperwork, and matchmaking to financial institutions to access credit).
- Drive outreach and cultivate relationships with key stakeholders, particularly among local government units and CSOs partners in the social forestry portfolio at the national and sub-national levels.
- Assist Field Manager to arrange meetings with relevant local government units and development projects involved in social forestry with similar project objectives.
- Assist Field Manager to recruit farmers that will become trainers to other farmers.
- Assist Field Manager to source key informants for human-centered design interviews.
- Assist Project Manager with monitoring and evaluation requirements to the donor, in particular with the calculation of the number of hectares of forest land protected/deforestation avoided, number of hectares of degraded land improved through social forestry land improvements, and number of direct and indirect beneficiaries that were involved in policy processes that advocate for the climate agenda, with results such as:
- Incorporating social forestry considerations in Provincial Development Planning and community land use plans that were prepared under the consultative process;
- Establishing support mechanisms for the management and restoration of social forestry within the production landscape
- Increasing area of production landscapes that integrate conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into management;
- Accelerating adoption of innovative technologies and management practices resulting in the reduction of GHG emissions and increased carbon sequestration;
- Increasing investments in social forestry management and restoration;
- Creating improved citizen oversight mechanisms of new mining permits and/or the renewal of existing permits;
- Fluency in local language and English.
- Able to commit to at least 10 hours per week during at least three years of project duration(2020-2022).
- Minimum of two years of full-time work experience in social forestry issues.
- Able to work independently and take initiatives in the field (Central Sulawesi), but also able to work with Jakarta-based field manager colleagues and US-based project managers in a team and complete project deliverables on time and with good quality.
- Ability to manage professional relationships and to effectively communicate with people at all levels and from various backgrounds (especially local government and forest-dependent farmers).
- Highly organized and systematic with strong time management skills and the ability to juggle competing priorities and deadlines required.
- Ability to travel on ground in Central Sulawesi, and possibly South Sumatra and Jakarta.
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field, preferably with coursework in community forestry, environmental management, and other relevant subjects.
- Have a strong understanding of the social forestry licensing process and customary forest stipulation process.
- Understanding of best management practices/good agricultural practices for smallholders’ forest-based production (e.g. rattan, timber, cocoa).
- Familiarity with land use issues faced by local government and forest-based people; such as land use planning, commodity-driven deforestation (especially mining), smallholder issues, analytics related to the environmental performance of a jurisdiction.
- Demonstrated coalition and relationship building skills and a strong network presence with local stakeholders.
- Experience working within and managing intricate communication among government, private, civil societies, indigenous people, and other stakeholder engagement in province and districts.
Contract compensation depends on experience, competitive, and commensurate with other positions in the field. We are committed to the personal and professional growth of all staff.
Benefits include flexible work hours and remote work.
How to Apply: Qualified applicants should apply by sending email to jobs@atmaconnect.org with the subject line “Social Forestry Expert - Central Sulawesi”.
Application close: 1700 (Jakarta Time), 30 November 2019.
