Program Officer

Terms of Reference Global Coffee Platform: Officer Vietnam

The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) was formally established in March 2016 as a result of the integration of the 4C Association membership platform together with the Sustainable Coffee Program (SCP) of IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative. The (commercial) verification operations of the 4C Entry-level Standard are spun off into a separate company, Coffee Assurance Services (CAS).

GCP represents more than 300 members including coffee farmers, traders, roasters, retailers, civil society and others on a global level and collaborates with national structures within key producing countries such as Vietnam. On a global level GCP aims to become the multi-stakeholder sustainable coffee platform that unites stakeholders in a non-competitive approach and by that aims to improve the livelihoods, ecosystems and resilience of coffee farming communities and the sector as a whole.

GCP focus in Vietnam

Vietnam is the largest producer of Robusta coffee, accounting for almost 15% of the overall global coffee production. Coffee is the second largest agricultural export product in value after rice. The sector brings a turnover of more than USD 2.4 billion yearly and provides a livelihood for about 2 million people. The combination of high yields, a competitive supply chain, and relatively low input costs have positioned Vietnam to be the world’s most cost-efficient coffee producer.

However, after several decades of coffee booming, the sector is now facing a number of issues which need to be considered and addressed in a joint sector approach as they are too big to be addressed by stakeholders individually. Climate change and bad practices of coffee production have led to serious droughts over the last years in the Central Highlands, the main coffee production areas of Vietnam. Smallholders supply more than 95% of Vietnam’s coffee, they cultivate coffee as a monoculture and manage the majority of farming activities through family labor. Most farmers/ smallholders are not organized in groups or cooperatives.

Main challenges resulting from the identified issues lead to low quality, low value added, high vulnerability and lack of sustainability of the whole sector.

Acknowledging these challenges and committed to work together towards a thriving and sustainable coffee worldGCP has developed a clear workplan for 2017 in dialogue with its membership to address the main challenges in the Vietnamese coffee sector in a sector approach. In addition to serving the GCP membership in Vietnam with access to tools & services, key information and networking, the workplan 2017 will be focussing on the priorities such as the empowerment of the national Public Private Partnership platform: Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board (VCCB), addressing of effective management and use of water resources in coffee production, supporting the revision of the National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) incorporating climate change adaptation strategies and tackling with improper agrochemical use for coffee production.

In order to support the GCP Vietnam team, we seek a dynamic individual with a strong vision for sustainability, relevant experiences and the high motivation to work with the Vietnamese coffee sector.

The program officer will be accountable and report directly to the GCP Vietnam team and will be based in Hanoi.

Key responsibilities

1. Support the Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board (VCCB) Office to ensure the VCCB smooth operations, including:

• Support VCCB communication, information and coordination activities;
• Support the linkage among members of VCCB, especially with companies and farmers;
• Support VCCB’s activities as a member of the advisory board of GCP and as a member of the International Coffee Organization (ICO
• Improve linkage between VCCB activities and other coffee initiatives and programs in Vietnam;
• Attend meetings, events of sub-committees and coordinate sub-committees with VCCB to ensure the alignment;
• Support the organization of bi-annual VCCB meetings.
• Coordinate to prepare VCCB reports to be presented to? VCCB members

2. Member & Stakeholder management and networking:

• Support promotion of membership to Vietnamese companies and organizations
• Support the Vietnam team in providing information and access to GCP services to members, and linking interested international GCP members to activities in the Vietnam workplan.
• Support the GCP Vietnam team in convening and facilitating members and stakeholders on concrete topics of collaboration
• Contribute to further development and maintenance of a relevant network of institutions and individuals who play an important role in sustainable development in the Central Highlands, including Vietnam Sustainable Agricultural Transition program (VnSAT), national and local government, business, research institutions, and international donors.

3. Events and workshops:

• Support the organization, including content and logistics, for meetings, workshops, trips organized by GCP and its partners as part of the program;
• Writing reports about and support facilitation of the above-mentioned events.

4. Communication:

• Support the development of GCP communication materials, such as writing newsletters, website articles, fact sheets, etc. in collaboration with the GCP global communications team and external partners
• Maintain and update the internal database with contacts and relevant information.

5. Other relevant tasks assigned by the GCP Vietnam team

Requirements:

• Credibility and network in the Vietnam coffee sector
• Connection to key international and Vietnam stakeholders and experience in building innovative alliances between them.
• Passion for, knowledge of and experience in the field of sustainability
• Experience with coffee sector improvement programs in Vietnam
• At least a master degree in trade, economics, agriculture or relevant
• Fluent spoken and written English and Vietnamese
• Experience working with different stakeholders (such as Vietnamese government, private companies and NGOs…)
• Strong communications skills

The ideal candidate needs to be perceived as neutral meaning that he/she is not perceived to represent certain interests other then up-scaling sustainable production be it ideological or from a market perspective. Specific arrangements will be drawn in the contract to safeguard this.

Terms and conditions of employment

Compensation will depend on an agreed work plan. The duration of the contract is for 1 year and will be signed with GCP global office in Germany. The Vietnam Officer will be based in Hanoi, work under the supervision of a GCP team member based in Hanoi and in close collaboration with the GCP team member based in HoChiMinh City.

Contact

Interested candidates should send their CV and application letter (in English) to [email protected] and to Tran Thi Quynh Chi [email protected] latest by 30th November 2016.