IDH – Central Highlands in Vietnam
We are excited to be searching for a proactive and pragmatic Senior Program Officer – Carbon Specialist with an interest in Value chain sustainability to join our team, and we hope it’s you!
Your role.
The Senior Program Officer (SPO) will support the development and implementation of the Landscape and Coffee programs in the Central Highlands, specifically in the carbon field. The candidate will report to Senior Program Manager with frequent liaison with local field staff, as well as regional and international team.
The main elements of the role will include:
- Provide technical support for decarbonization within IDH’s coffee and ISLA programs, focusing on carbon footprint assessment, emission reduction tracking, verification processes, and integration of carbon finance opportunities.
- Facilitate the transition to low-carbon coffee production, ensuring the effective adoption of carbon measurement methodologies, development of carbon benefit-sharing mechanisms, and alignment with climate finance opportunities.
- Engage with government and private sector stakeholders to co-develop technical guidelines for low-carbon coffee production, supporting policy alignment and industry-wide adoption.
- Strengthen carbon verification and certification processes, ensuring methodologies align with international carbon standards and are recognized within voluntary and compliance carbon markets.
Key Responsibilities:
- Coordinate carbon-related projects within the program, ensuring alignment with IDH’s climate strategies, supporting implementation, and contributing to funding proposals where needed.
- Assist in executing low-carbon initiatives by supporting the refinement of carbon calculation tools, methodologies, and mechanisms for carbon claims and commercialization.
- Support carbon monitoring, climate impact assessment, and reporting, ensuring accurate data collection and analysis to track carbon reduction efforts.
- Contribute to the development of low-carbon production approaches, ensuring alignment with national policies, international standards, and broader climate goals.
- Coordinate with key partners, including government agencies, local authorities, companies, and development organizations, to promote low-carbon practices and climate strategies in supply chains.
What you bring.
- Degree in Environmental Sciences, Agriculture, or a related field, with a focus on sustainability, climate, or carbon management preferred.
- Understanding of carbon accounting standards and methodologies, including GHG protocols, SBTi, carbon in-setting, and sustainability frameworks.
- Experience in carbon footprint assessment and emission calculations, particularly in the agriculture or coffee sector.
- Knowledge of coffee production systems, including agronomy, fertilizer application, and carbon reduction practices within the supply chain.
- Strong skills in project coordination, stakeholder engagement, and communication, with the ability to work across public and private sectors.
- Fluency in English and Vietnamese, both written and spoken.
- Experience in capacity-building activities, including training on carbon management, emissions mitigation, or climate impact assessment, is a plus
Who you are.
You are an experienced senior program officer with expertise in technical carbon work related to agriculture, particularly within the coffee sector. Preferably, you have experience with donor-funded projects or familiarity with the IDH system. You have collaborated with private sector entities, government agencies, NGOs, and farmer groups, and possess a strong understanding of sustainability issues in agricultural supply chains, especially in the Central Highlands region.
We offer you.
A challenging, pivotal role within an impacting, international organisation – and:
- 40 hours work week with one day work from home.
- All the work supplies you need to excellence in your role.
- An open environment where you can grow and develop yourself.
- 26 annual leave plus Vietnam national holidays as regulation.
For questions about this position, please contact Le Thi Huong Lan our recruiter, at [email protected]
Who we are.
IDH seeks to transform markets through collaborative innovation, convening and investment in inclusive and sustainable solutions that enable businesses to create value for people and planet. To achieve this, IDH brings together coalitions of committed stakeholders from across global value chains towards joint visions and program agendas for sustainable trade.
IDH’s international presence extends to multiple regions and landscapes, facilitated by a network of around 400 staff including experts who are embedded in key agricultural, manufacturing, apparel and commodity value chains. In 15 years of operation, IDH has mobilized private sector investment and support to test and innovate new business models designed to create better jobs, better incomes, a better environment, and gender equity for all.
IDH Landscape and Coffee Program:
The agricultural development in the Central Highlands of Vietnam contributed greatly to exports and economic growth in Vietnam. Thanks to economic liberalization, government leadership, and rises in the world prices, Vietnam became the world’s second largest coffee and the biggest pepper exporter globally. However, the intensive agricultural development and climate change have brought also considerable environmental challenges. Issues such as deforestation, groundwater depletion, soil degradation, food safety and etc will need to be addressed at a landscape scale to sustain high production and trade into the future and to allow for future economic prosperity in the region.
There seems to be a compelling business case for supply chains, Vietnamese government and local farmers to tackle these challenges collectively, especially considering tightened market requirement like European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directives coming effective in 2024 and 2027 respectively.
The Landscape Program operates under the following fundamentals: An integrated and cross-‐sectoral perspective tailored to the local landscape and local needs; Engagement of all relevant stakeholders; explicitly including the private sector perspective sourcing from the area and long‐term commitment towards sustainable development of the landscape.
In the Central Highlands, the Coffee Program is also running to improve efficiency of coffee value chain and improve quality of service delivery of inputs for sustainable coffee production.
For more information, go to http://www.idhtrade.org or follow @IDHTrade on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Interested?
Would you like to apply? Just send us your motivation and resume in English.
We encourage applicants to respond before 20 April 2025
IDH Vietnam Office
Room 401, B1 Building, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound
No. 298 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
+84 (0) 243 200 0741
At IDH, we’re committed to equal employment opportunity, and we prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We strive to be a more equal opportunity workplace every day.