Project Officer

Application deadline: March 17, 2013

Background

RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests is a not?for?profit international organization with its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. The Center specializes in capacity building for community forestry and devolved forest management. RECOFTC engages in strategic networks and effective partnerships with governments, non-government organizations, civil society, the private sector, local people, and research and educational institutes throughout the Asia?Pacific region and beyond. With 25 years of international experience and a dynamic approach to capacity building – involving research and analysis, demonstration sites, and training products – RECOFTC delivers innovative solutions for people and forests.

RECOFTC is currently implementing a project called ‘Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation)’ in four countries: Lao PDR, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam with financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development (Norad). Norad has agreed to extend the financial support to the project until December 2015, with inclusion of one more country, Myanmar, totaling five project countries.

Besides delivering training and capacity building activities on REDD+ in the focal countries with support from partner organizations, the project also deals with a number of consultants on individual consultancy basis, coordinates with other projects within RECOFTC and organizes regional and international level events including, workshops, seminars, training programs and expert meetings.
RECOFTC is now seeking to appoint a Project Officer to provide support to its regional Grassroots Capacity Building for REDD+ team, which includes other two members, a Project Coordinator and an Administrative Assistant. The recruitment of the Project Officer is subject to the signing of the contract with Norad for continuation of the project until December 2015. The job description for this position is developed provisionally and might be adapted further.

The successful applicant will be based within Capacity Building and Technical Support (CBTS) unit in RECOFTC’s HQ office in Bangkok, Thailand. The contract duration is for two years beginning in July 2013 with a possibility of extension.

Specific details of the roles and responsibilities of the Project Officer are listed below:

POSITION SUMMARY

The Project Officer will work under the supervision of the Project Coordinator and their main tasks and responsibilities will be as follows:

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Project Coordination Support
- Support the Project Coordinator in the overall management of the project and providing guidance to the Project Administration Assistant in finances and administration
- Together with the Project Coordinator and country project teams, ensure effective delivery of activities and that project implementation remains on track and on schedule

Desk Review and Synthesis
- Conduct desk reviews and synthesis of new developments and global and regional discourses on climate change and REDD+ and synthesize them to inform and adapt training and capacity building activities in the project countries

Communication and Dissemination
- Work closely with the communication unit of RECOFTC to execute the project communications strategy, strengthen internal and external communications related to the project’s progress and achievement, including guidance to the country teams
- Work closely with the communication unit of RECOFTC to regularly update project website
- Provide support to the Project Coordinator for bringing out a quarterly newsletter of the project activities and share it within the country teams and beyond
- Represent RECOFTC and the project where applicable, sharing lessons learned and communicating and disseminating the project’s progress
- Prepare progress reports and annual reports of the project for submission to the funding agency and disseminating widely

Monitoring and Evaluation
- Provide guidance to the country teams to collect monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the project outputs and outcomes at national, sub-national and grassroots level in five project countries, following - the Kirkpatrick’s model of M&E among others.
- Coordinate with Program Coordination and Monitoring and Evaluation (PROCOME) unit of RECOFTC to systematize and collate M&E data from five project countries.
- Collate and analyze M&E data from the project activities in order to inform the revision of  the training programs and materials

Regional workshops and meetings
- Plan for regional workshops, including reflection and coordination workshops, focusing on technical and content-wise preparation and taking the lead in facilitating selected sessions of the workshops
- Provide support to the Project Coordinator for organizing regular Taskforce meeting of the grassroots project

Other
- Work closely with other RECOFTC staff and projects and perform any other task given by the CBTS Unit Manager and the Project Coordinator

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

The Project Officer will have the following essential qualifications and experience:

Essential:
- Master Degree in forestry, environmental science, agriculture, social sciences, international development or equivalent
- Extensive experience in capacity building, grassroots awareness raising, participatory training, and/or adult education
- Five years experience in implementing field projects on natural resource management
- Good knowledge and understanding on climate change issues, especially mitigation mechanism such as REDD+, and climate change adaptation
- Ample experience in project management, including reporting, communications, monitoring and evaluation, and financial management
- Fluent in English with proven writing skills
- Proven skills on desk research, synthesis, and publications
- Knowledge of relevant computer software (MSWord, Excel, Power Point)
- Excellent ability to work as a proactive team player in a dynamic team
- Strong team building, leadership, and networking qualities
- Ability to work in and adjust to multi-disciplinary teams and cross-cultural environment

Desirable:
- Experience in natural resource management in South or Southeast Asia
- Output and outcome oriented
- Experience in working with international organizations

General:
In addition to job specific skills and experience, the applicant should possess the following characteristics (including attitudes and skills):
- Interpersonal communication skills, individually and in-groups, with an ability to work as an active member of teams. This implies flexibility and open-mindedness.
- Posses leadership personality, and able to take on and solve problems quickly and efficiently;
- Hands-on experience and able to work independently with minimum supervision;
- Initiative and ability to make informed independent judgments (which is not inconsistent with an overall team approach);
- Ability to work in a variety of cultural and institutional contexts.

Interested candidates are requested to submit CV and a cover letter indicating why they are suitable for this position along with salary requirements and current contact details of three referees, including recent supervisors to [email protected]. Please quote the position title in the subject line of the email. Only short?listed candidates will be notified. RECOFTC has a competitive compensation package. However, offers shall be based on salary history, relevant experience and qualifications of the selected candidate.

To learn more about RECOFTC, please visit our website www.recoftc.org

Women and candidates from the Asia?Pacific region are strongly encouraged to apply.

RECOFTC is an equal opportunity employer and the successful candidate will be selected based on merit.

*RECOFTC reserves the right to offer the position at a lower grade.