Project Manager Assistant

Job title:          Project manager Assistant (to become proj. manager after 1 year)
Location:         Hanoi and Thanh Hoa province (Vietnam)
Duration :         32 months (March 2011 – October 2013)
Job Summary:   Responsible for coordination of the «Management of environmental resources and small innovative enterprises in the bamboo sector  » project – GREEN BAMBOO PROJECT.
Responsible for:    Project officers (as assigned): 10 persons

GRET presentation
Gret, a professionals’ association for a fair development created in 1976, is currently involved in more than thirty countries. It works on the main aspects of social and economical development processes, through approaches based on partnership and action research. It combines pilot projects and expertise consultancies, contribution to public policies and documentation and diffusion of references.

Project presentation:
- The Green Bamboo project aims at promoting socio-economic development in the region and contributing to climate change mitigation through improved environmental and economic management and the considered and sustainable stewardship of bamboo forest resources.
- In parallel the specific objective of the project is to develop small businesses in the bamboo sector and a set of references on carbon impact and environmental services, so as to increase revenues and local added value for producers while protecting the environment of North West Thanh Hoa region.
The project aims to achieve these objectives through
1. Supporting the creation and development of local bamboo processing businesses (local added value), through advice and support, training (management, processes and products, sale and distribution, quality issues …), and access to credit;
2.Improving plantation stewardship among local producers to ensure more effective and sustainable management, helping to assist climate change mitigation by exploring opportunities for setting up projects such as Carbon compensation mechanisms ;
3. Promoting better business structures and bamboo processing locally, consultation among different professions and with state authorities, policies favouring professional organisations, associations, setting up an observatory for the sector and capitalisation of lessons learned

Purpose of the Post
From now to January 2012, the person will assist the actual project manager in coordinating the project. The person will take the lead in coordinating and supervising the implementation of the project (according to the project document) from January 2012.
The Coordination officer will contribute to general management tasks (activities planning, management of human resources, technical and financial reporting, etc), and reporting to donors and communicating to the general public about different aspects of the project.
GRET’s work in supporting bamboo development is essential to the wider development of the bamboo development program in Vietnam and the region. The Coordination officer will work closely with GRET in Laos and Cambodia as well as several other partners (local NGOs, etc) and other innovative experiences on bamboo (China, Laos, Cambodia, …) and coordinate cooperation related to bamboo projects in the region. The project manager will contribute to develop the bamboo program in Vietnam and contribute to a new program strategy at the regional level (Laos and Cambodia).

The project coordinator is expected to spend about 50-60% of work time in the field, essentially in North-West region of Thanh Hoa province (Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc districts).  The project coordinator will have to support the team of the project and particularly the 2 GRET officers in charge of support to the bamboo value chain and particularly the association of the enterprises of the region of Thanh Hoa, and bamboo production and certification.
On technical issues, the project coordinator may have skills in management of bamboo plantations, forest certification, carbon compensation, resources mapping, value chain analysis and support, and/or testing bamboo pre-processing of new products or by-products in alternative bamboo production markets.

From beginning of 2012, the project manager will report directly to the project leader based at the GRET headquarter in Paris and to Gret representative in Vietnam and work closely with the technical advisor based in Hanoi. 

Key Competencies:
- Advanced university degree in agronomy, agro-economy or forestry.
- 10 years working experience in development project management,
- Vietnamese and has working experience in Vietnam
- Strong understanding and experience with market access and rural development issues as they relate to the poor and ethnic minorities.
- Ability to work in team, good communication and planning skills
- Ability to travel to remote areas and be away from home for up to 60% of work time
- Spoken Vietnamese and Good spoken and written English and/or French (speaking both English and French would be very appreciated)
- Proven experience in communicating and networking development issues
- Good computer and ICT skills

Contract:
Duration: 32 months, with a 3 month probationary period at the start of the contract.
Starting : as soon as possible (beginning of March 2011 would be the best)
Terms and conditions: as per GRET personnel policy.

This job description is intended as a guide and should not be viewed as an inflexible specification, as it may be varied from time to time in the light of strategic developments following discussion with the post holder.

Closing Date for applications : February, 28th  2011
Application: Please send, in English or French, your application letter and CV and date of availability to Caroline Baud by E-mail: [email protected] and to Gret representative office in Vietnam : [email protected]