Provincial Adaptation Field Officer (Long An)

The American Red Cross seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering around the world by responding to disasters, building safer, more resilient communities, and educating future humanitarians. In the coming years the American Red Cross will deepen and expand its programming around the world while also working to strengthen the global Red Cross Red Crescent network, in order to deliver vital help and hope to some of the most vulnerable communities.

Summary

In September 2012, the United States Agency for International Development awarded Winrock International, in partnership with the Netherlands Development Organization, the American Red Cross, the Vietnam Red Cross and the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development, a five-year $26.5 million cooperative agreement to implement the ‘Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program’.

The goal of the USAID Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program is ‘to help accelerate Vietnam’s transition to climate-resilient, low-emission sustainable development.’ The program aims to assist the Government of Vietnam in moving forward on the implementation of national policies and legislation on climate change adaptation and green growth at provincial and local levels. This will be achieved through a unique vision, whereby climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies to evolving long-term climate risks, will be combined within provinces, which demonstrate contrasting natural resource management and disaster vulnerability scenarios, particularly through selection of lowland delta areas contrasting to upstream watershed forested provinces.

The Adaptation Component, one of the program’s three components, focuses on community based disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) as well as capacity building activities in Long An province.

The American Red Cross (ARC) Vietnam Delegation seeks an experienced and enthusiastic Provincial Adaptation Field Officer to be based in Long An province to facilitate local and provincial level activities as part of ARC’s partnership in the Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program.

The Provincial Adaptation Field Officer will work closely with the provincial chapter of the Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) as well as other program partners, including the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). The Provincial Adaptation Field Officer will be responsible for facilitating a program of local level activities on DRR and CCA while Hanoi based program staff will provide overall technical guidance and support and the Provincial Coordinator will assist the provincial Implementation Group in rolling out province-based activities. Specifically, the Provincial Adaptation Field Officer will work closely with commune level partners, including government authorities and community groups, in the implementation of their Commune Action Plan (CAP), which has been developed with assistance from the VFD project. The Provincial Adaptation Field Officer is to ensure high quality technical standards and timely and effective implementation of these activities.

The Provincial Adaptation Field Officer will be based in Long An province with extensive travel to field sites within the province and occasional trips to Hanoi and elsewhere in Vietnam.

The Provincial Adaptation Field Officer will report to the ARC’s National Adaptation Coordinator on employment issues and to the Provincial Adaptation Coordinator (PAC), based in Long An, on technical and program requirements.

While the initial contract is full-time for the duration of one year, extensions of time, based on performance, are possible. The Vietnam Forests and Deltas Program is expected to operate until September 2017.  The net monthly salary will be paid in USD currency.

Responsibilities

• In consultation with Hanoi based program staff and PAC, support implementation of activities included in the CAP
• Support commune authorities to seek financial resource (from both VFD and elsewhere) to implement the CAP
• Facilitate beneficiary accountability, participation and ownership as part of program/project implementation
• Support commune authorities in technical and financial monitoring, reporting, compliance and liaison with the program finance team
• Provide financial oversight and assure cost effectiveness of commune based activities
• Assist with the implementation of and data entry for the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system and assure monitoring tools are being well utilized, such as CBDRA success criteria
• Ensure activities at commune levels focused on “reduced vulnerability” and “enhanced capacity” based on VFD developed success criteria
• Monitor closely implementation of commune level activities and provide timely feedback to the PAC with a view to improve quality of activity implementation
• Prepare regular reports on program implementation, including information on current and projected progress and expenditure
• Liaise with implementing partners and government counterpart staffs to strengthen relationships and ensure the progress of planned activities
• Identify and prepare success stories as part of overall communications
• Assist in the facilitation of site tours for official visitors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• Minimum three years of relevant experience, including at least one year of implementing development activities with government agencies and particularly with district and commune partners
• Good understanding of government development strategies and law/regulation
• Demonstrated work experience with international projects, including work planning and implementation management
• Proven record of effective teamwork across multiple organizations and stakeholders at local levels
• Proven expertise in undertaking capacity building for local partners, particularly government at district or commune levels
• Experience with the development and delivery of training and participatory workshops
• Ability to effectively contribute to the success of complex programs and in meeting target objectives
• Excellent written, verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• The candidate should ideally come from the same region they will be working in and willing to live and work in the province
• Proficient in MS Office.

The American Red Cross is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Applicants should send a scanned copy of the original degrees together with a current resume and a cover letter containing the name and contact details of three references, as well as salary expectations to [email protected] by COB 3rd June, 2015.

Applicants must indicate the email subject: “Applications for Provincial Adaptation Field Officer in Long An”

Only qualified candidates will be contacted.