Ecosystem Management Program Assistant, Objective 2

USAID Climate Resilient Agriculture in the Mekong Delta

SCOPE OF WORK

Ecosystem Management Program Assistant, Objective 2

1. INTRODUCTION

The United States Agency for International Development Climate Resilient Agriculture in the Mekong Delta Project (CRM) works with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to enhance the resilience of the Mekong Delta’s communities, ecosystems, and livelihoods. The overall goal of CRM is to advance low-emissions, climate-resilient, agricultural livelihoods combined with biodiversity conservation to support carbon sequestration, healthy ecosystems, and resilience of vulnerable communities in the Mekong Delta.

CRM works across five provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Soc Trang, and Tra Vinh and focus on three inter-connected objectives and one cross-cutting theme:

Objective 1: Strengthen climate change resilience of the most vulnerable populations. CRM will engage stakeholders to assess and address vulnerability through enhanced climate information services, resilient livelihood, and safety net models, improved provincial plans, and increased access to finance.
Objective 2: Strengthen management and restoration of natural ecosystems to provide ecosystem goods and services. CRM will take an inclusive participatory approach to identify entry points to support evidence-based transformation of legal and governance frameworks, improve management capacity, and incentivize natural resource conservation.
Objective 3: Reduce methane emissions through low-emission and sustainable agriculture practices. CRM will work with GVN and stakeholders across value chains to assess gaps and opportunities and harness payment for environmental services schemes and other results-based finance mechanisms to reduce intensive rice farming and GHG emissions and drive transformation through a market systems approach.
Cross-cutting focus: Develop and implement policies to advance climate actions and biodiversity conservation. CRM will also work with GVN and stakeholders to enhance development, harmonization, and implementation of policies, as well as to strengthen national and sub-national coordination. CRM will engage key stakeholders to influence and incentivize policy, practice, and behavior in favor of transformation.

CRM has been implementing during the period of 2023-2028 by Winrock International with a consortium of Vietnamese and international partners. GVN counterparts are the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Management Board of Forest Projects (MBFP).

2. POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Ecosystem Management Program Assistant (EMPA), Objective – 2 will play an active role in the CRM’s Objective 2: “Management and Restoration of Natural Ecosystems“ team by supporting the team members on a range of technical and operationalactivities and tasks designed to achieve the expected results under Objective 2. The EMPA will use their basic understanding of issues related to planning, organizing, training/implementing and monitoring of ecosystem management within and outside protected areas (PAs) in targeted provinces. EMPA will contribute directly to increasing coverage of PAs and connectivity between critical ecosystems, expanding payments for ecosystem services, and recognizing the other effective conservation means (OECMs). The postholder is expected to closely work with Objective 2 team members and other CRM project staff based in Can Tho, in Hanoi and five target provinces, to provide timely necessary support to implement related activities on managing and restoring critical ecosystems and sustainable use of natural resources. S/he is also expected to proactively provide administrative assistance and logistics arrangement, stakeholder engagement, communication capacity building, and research for the Objective 2 team members to accomplish their missions and assignments in the CRM project site. As an active member of the Objective 2 team, the jobholder will contribute to the Objective 2 planning process, effective communication with different stakeholders and support CRM monitoring on-the-ground performance that ultimately contribute to delivering the results under the project Objective 2. The EMPA is encouraged to participate in Winrock’s internal and external events related to team building or/and management and restoration of natural ecosystems and other related topics in the CRM provinces and in the Mekong Delta region.

The EMPA will be based in Can Tho office, with periodic travel to the project’s target provinces as required.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES

Support team members, Objective 2 with logistics, administration and finance procedures/process (e.g. quarterly office asset inventory, office operation reporting, office overhead estimation on monthly and quarterly basis) at Can Tho.
Coordinate with CRM staff and implementing partners to prepare activity proposals and agendas for CRM project events and field-based activities.
Assist the team members under the Objective 2 to organize and facilitate the project related activities, including meetings, events and field visits at the provincial, district and community levels.
Support CRM Objective 2 and the local partners to maintain records of project activities, including meeting minutes, attendance lists, and documentation of outcomes.
Maintain the project filing system at CRM Can Tho based field office (both e-filing and hard-copy, as required) and ensure compliance with USAID guidelines.
Support Objective 2 team in collaboration with the field staff in five target provinces to coordinate data and information for annual work plans, quarterly reporting, annual reports, and CRM project document preparation relating to management and restoration of natural ecosystems and sustainable use of their associated resources under the CRM Objective 2.
Contribute to drafting and designing basic communications materials on Objective 2. including briefings, reports, and presentations, for promoting the CRM project in public events and other outreach.
Being proactive on effective communication within the Objective 2 team and external stakeholders, including phone switchboard and other means of communication management in Can Tho field office.
Assist Team Leader of Objective 2 and Deputy Chief of Party-Technical on daily paperwork.
Other support to the project team as required.

4. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Bachelor/University degree in logistics or/and business administration, agriculture, natural resource management, environmental studies, or related field.
Hands-on experience working on projects related to climate change, wetland and mangrove, sustainable forest management, natural resource management, community development, and/or local livelihoods is an advantage, but not compulsory.
Experience in basic financial administration, procurements, logistics and local service system.
Female with general working experience in the Mekong Delta is preferable.
Teamwork skills and commitment to collaborate with other staff.
Willingness to work on a range of tasks from technical tasks to operational tasks, to networking and communication activeness.
Good interpersonal skills and ability to work well in a team setting.
Creativity and enthusiasm to tackle new challenges. Be durable under multi-task and deadline pressure.
Able and willing to undertake periodic field travel.
Strong experience working with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required.
English speaking and writing skills are preferable and Khmer language can be considered as an advantage.

5. SUPERVISOR

The EMPA, Objective 2 directly reports to Objective 2 Team Leader – Management and Restoration of Natural Ecosystems or to designated Specialist under Objective 2.

6. HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates with the required qualifications and experience are invited to send a letter of interest and a full CV in English to [email protected] with subject line of “Your full name – CRM Ecosystem Management Program Assistant” no later than December 31, 2024.