Project Coordinator

PROJECT COORDINATOR

"Income Development for Ethnic minorities based on
Agriculture Sustainability - Lao Cai Province."

VIETNAM

Agrisud International

For 30 years, Agrisud International, a non-profit association under French law, has been supporting the most vulnerable populations to rise from a state of precariousness to economic and social autonomy. Agrisud International promotes economic growth through the creation of very small family businesses, especially in the agricultural sector. These businesses are viable and sustainable, because they are economic and agro-ecological, because they are well anchored in the local market, and because families are accompanied throughout a professionalization process.

Agrisud pursues its objective in 16 countries in Africa, Asia, South America.

IDEAS Project in Vietnam

The Hoang Lien National Park (HLNP) is made up of six communes populated mainly by Hmong, Day and Dao ethnic minorities living from agriculture, forestry and traditional handicrafts. To date, farming families face many challenges in agriculture and poverty rates remain high (53.3% on average), the main causes of poverty are: the lack of agricultural land due to the increase in demography and the classification of the territory as a protected natural park (since 2002) leading to the prohibition of opening new fields of cultivation;
vulnerability of crops and livestock to climate risks; low diversification of income-generating activities and heavy reliance on cardamom cultivation.

In this context, the project IDEAS (Income Development for Ethnic Minorities Based on Agriculture Sustainability) supports families from ethnic minorities living in the park and its periphery, with the objectives of improving and diversifying agricultural activities for food security and sustainable income generation, and on the other, poverty reduction to reduce the pressure on natural resources and help preserve the local biodiversity of the HLNP.

General objective: To support the technical and economic development of agricultural systems in HLNP territory by contributing to the preservation of natural resources.

Specific objective: To promote sustainable agricultural systems for families of ethnic minority groups living in and on the periphery of the HLNP through the improvement and diversification of agro-ecological production, the development of fair value-chains supported by the cooperative and the implementation of awareness-raising actions for sustainable and inclusive development.

Expected outcomes:

• Continue the technical strengthening and professionalization of farms and their groups.
• Develop an offer of agricultural services for farms through the Hoang Lien Cooperative and master farmers.
• Implement awareness raising actions for environmental protection, gender and social inclusion.

The positioning of the project coordinator (PC)

The IDEAS project coordinator is working under the supervision of the Direction of Operations of Agrisud International, in close collaboration with the Administrative, Logistic and financial manager of the project.

The role of the PC

Within the framework of a coordination unit, the IDEAS PC:

1. coordinates the project at the operational level (programming, implementation and monitoring / evaluation of the activities, reporting),
2. manages the project budget (programming and commitment of expenditure, reporting) in close collaboration with the Administrative, Logistic & Financial manager
3. manages the human, material and financial resources assigned to the project, in close collaboration with the Administrative, Logistic & Financial manager.
4. reports regularly to the Direction of Operations and the Administrative and Financial Direction of Agrisud International

He must carry out its mission in compliance with the rules (ethical, administrative and financial), the approach (methods and tools) and the general objectives of Agrisud International and Hoang Lien National Park.

He must create favourable conditions for sustainable economic and social development by supporting the creation / reinforcement of agricultural and para-agricultural activities, by favouring an approach of protection and rational management of natural resources and professional structuring.

He is supervised in this mission by the Director of Operations and benefits from the support of the Agrisud management (Operations, Administration and Finance, Communication).

The duties of the PC are defined below, but he can receive specific mandates related to his own skills from the Direction of Operations.

The project coordinator is based in Sa Pa, Province Lao Caï (Vietnam) and will be required to carry out frequent field missions for the project.

Job Details

Project’s coordination at operational level

He coordinates the implementation of the project and its reporting, within the framework of a coordination unit, under the supervision of the Director of Operations with whom he regularly exchanges:

• He contributes to define the strategic orientations of the project with Agrisud and Hoang Lien National Park.
• He participates / validates the surveys made by his collaborators.
• He presents to his team the orientations on the different components and activities of the project.
• He leads the building of the various periodic activity programs and submit them for validation to the Direction of Operations
• He validates the monitoring of the execution of activities in line with the objectives set for the project and the expected results.
• He reports to Agrisud and prepares technical and financial reports for the partners.
• He coordinates the realization of capitalization products

Management of the project budget

• management of financial flows in close relationship with the Administrative, Financial and Logistic manager and the administrative and financial department of Agrisud International. He controls the accounts, ensures the consolidation and the transmission of the financial reports to the Director of Operations which validates them before transmission to the administrative and financial services of the head office.

Management of resources assigned to the project

He mobilizes and manages the resources necessary for the implementation of activities in close collaboration with Administrative, Logistic & Financial Manager:

• Human resources: Capacity building of the project team, follow-up of the holidays, renewal of the insurances ...
• Material Resources: Approve request from the team for provision of equipment and prepare requests to be approved by head office.

Reporting

• He centralizes information about the project. He ensures the physical and computer archiving.
• He ensures the measurement of the results and effects as well as the estimation of the project's impact (control, validation, and reporting) in coherence with other Agrisud projects.

Feedback to Agrisud

He is required to regularly inform his hierarchy:

• Monthly technical and financial reporting in collaboration with the Administrative, Logistic and Financial who is in charge of the monitoring of accounting in the budget’s monitoring tools. The Project Coordinator is in charge of checking the allocations of the expenses and he validates the budget’s monitoring before sending it to the Financial Director of Agrisud.
• Drafting of the technical and financial activity reports according to the frequency agreed in the documents of reference of the project (conventions, contracts ...)
• Transmission of information according to needs and emergencies,
• Information on relations and institutional contacts.

He will pay particular attention to the coherence and complementarity of the actions carried out by the project with those carried out in other Agrisud projects and in other HLNP projects. He will ensure that all members of the project’s team, work in the same direction.

He must be present as much as possible in the field. He must know how to delegate and organize complementarity with his collaborators. He must be a regulator and at all times privilege dialogue.

Management of relations with the environment

He manages relations with the project's institutional environment: HLNP, local authorities (District, Province), partner ministries, donors and local, national and international organizations. He supports the Administrative, Logistic and Financial Manager for the relations with the PACCOM.

He participates in seminars and various events organized in Vietnam on similar themes and makes the summary reports to the Representative Coordinator of Agrisud in Laos-Vietnam-Indonesia.

He contributes to the communication and information for the promotion of the project and Agrisud at any opportune occasion.

Unless prior arrangements, no activity report can be forwarded to third parties, any act binding Agrisud cannot be finalized without the agreement of the Director of Operations.

Profile

• Master or equivalent on agronomy, agricultural economy, or rural development
• At least 2 years of experience on a project team management position

Personal skills

• Ability to have an overall vision, to face challenges and opportunities, to develop a strategic vision
• Perfect organizational and project coordination capacity
• Strong oral and writing skills in English and Vietnamese
• Autonomy and ability to make decisions
• Ability to work in a team and in a multicultural context
• Listening and consultation skills, real relational and oral communication skills
• Motivation to work in rural areas
• Partnership management capacity including with technical services, operational and financial partners

How to apply

Applications should be submitted to [email protected] no later than July 31, 2023.