National Project Assistant FOLLUR

Organizational Setting

The unsustainable management of globally traded commodity crops (cacao, coffee and oil palm), and their expansion into forest areas, are leading to major impacts on globally important biodiversity, the degradation of soil and water resources, the loss of carbon stocks, and the degradation of watersheds that are vital for maintaining water flows to rice production areas. Rice production is itself a source of globally significant environmental impacts, in the form of the contamination of soil and globally- important aquatic ecosystems due to excessive and inappropriate use of agricultural chemicals, and the generation of methane (a potent greenhouse gas) from flooded paddy systems.

A narrow focus on the production of globally-traded cash crops by farmers is environmentally and socially unsustainable – even in the case of perennial crops such as coffee and cacao that have the potential to yield environmental benefits if appropriately managed – because of the volatility of global markets for these crops and their vulnerability to the effects of global climate change. A large number of major global value chain actors have committed to sustainable sourcing of the products that they trade, in order to comply with corporate social and environmental responsibility goals and to satisfy consumer requirements for sustainable production. This presents farmers with a major potential source of market-based incentives for sustainable production, but at present their ability to take advantage of this opportunity is constrained by their disconnection from these “green” value chains and their limited technical capacities to satisfy their requirements in terms of environmental standards, product quality and reliability of supply.

Despite significant policy commitments to sustainability by the Government of Indonesia, capacities, knowledge, tools, regulatory instruments and incentives for putting these into practice are still inadequately developed, and the agricultural and environmental sectors continue to be highly compartmentalized, lacking the integrated vision that is required if social and economic development and landscape management are to be sustainable. With the funding support from the Global Environmental Faculty (GEF), the Government of Indonesia, led by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (CMEA) and with technical support from UNDP and FAO is preparing the full-size project implementation entitled “Strengthening sustainability in commodity and food systems, land restoration and land use governance through integrated landscape management for multiple benefits in Indonesia (FOLUR)”. The project aimed to ensure sustainable value chains of palm oil, coffee, and cocoa via application of a comprehensive land use approach linking biodiversity conservation, restoration, and production at scale.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall administrative supervision of the FAO Representative in Indonesia, direct supervision of Assistant FAO Representative (Administration), the Project Assistant (PA) will support National Project Manager (NPM) in particular and Project Management Unit (PMU) in general to consistently implement UNDP, FAO, and/or project’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as well as the Government of Indonesia’s rules and regulations.

Technical Focus

Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Livelihoods, Integrated Landscape Management, Value Chains, Project Management.

Tasks and responsibilities

- Administrative support:

• Assist in keeping records of project funds and expenditures and ensure all project-related financial documentation are well maintained and readily available when required by the National Project Manager and budget associate. • Assist in consolidating financial progress reports submitted by the responsible parties for implementation of project activities. • Support the focal point for Administrative and office coordination of project implementation activities to process and follow-up on administrative actions, e.g. recruitment and appointment of personnel, travel arrangements, training/study tours, authorization of payments, disbursement of funds, procurement of equipment and services, security compliance, etc.

- Project management support:

• Support the project team to ensure effective project planning and implementation. • Compiles, summarizes, and presents basic information/data on project related topics or issues. • Provide required support to implement the project standard operating procedures in line with the government and FAO/UNDP regulations.

- Project reporting support:

• Support the administration in preparing work plans as well as meetings, audit, operational and financial administrative project. • Assist administrative support for preparation of results-oriented progress reports, in particular related to operational matters.

- Operations support:

• Provide general office assistance, such as response to simple information requests and inquiries; reviews, logs and route incoming correspondence; establish filing system and maintain files/records; organize meetings, workshops; carry out routine administrative tasks, including maintaining the attendance records, assessing telephone billing, etc. • Assist in implementing effective operations policy sensitive approach at the project level. • Participate in the trainings for the operations/ projects staff.

- Knowledge management support:

• Ensure all project documentation (progress reports, consulting and other technical reports, minutes of meetings, etc.) are properly maintained in hard and electronic copies in an efficient and readily accessible filing system, for whenever required by the IP, project board, FAO/UNDP, project consultants and other project management unit staff. • Provide project management unit related administrative and logistical assistance.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Administrative, Economics, Social Sciences or other relevant fields of study would be desirable, but it is not a requirement. • Minimum 5 years of candidate with high school degree or minimum 2 years for candidate with Bachelor’s degree and of relevant project experience; preferably in the field of GEF project. • Working knowledge of written and spoken English and Bahasa Indonesia. • National of Indonesia.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

Meeting/workshop/training organizing, facilitation skills, administrative support, project planning and implementation, project monitoring, reporting, knowledge management.

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity. • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment. • Building and promoting effective teams, including working in teams and empowering project staff to create an enabling gender equality environment on non-hierarchical bases. • Self-development, initiative-taking. • Acting as a team player and facilitating teamwork. • Strong leadership and managerial skill with track records of management roles in a team of multi-diversity background. • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively. • Creating synergies through self-control. • Managing conflict. • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member, including Ability to transfer knowledge and motivate people and to build relationships with colleagues, partners, beneficiaries, government authorities, donor organizations and other stakeholders. • Informed and transparent decision making. • Communication skills to exchange information, and key ideas in a manner that engages the audience and helps others to understand and retain messages about gender equality and parity.

Desired additional skills and competencies:

• Knowledge of and experience in supporting administration of Government and FAO/UNDP development projects dealing with environmental issues will be highly desirable. • Strong knowledge and experience in project management support are essential as well as ability to draft correspondence on budget-related issues, briefing notes, graphic and statistical summaries, accounting spreadsheets, etc. • Good inter-personal communication skills. • Full time availability for project management support duties is essential. • Familiar with Government and UN/FAO/UNDP procedures would be desirable. • Up-to-date computer skills required, knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages. • Experience in handling of web-based management systems would be preferable.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.