Tourism Safeguards Officer

Terms of Reference

Position Title:

Tourism Safeguards Officer*

Location:

Hanoi

Period of Assignment:

18 months with possibility of extension

Contract type

Part time (3 – 4 days/week negotiable)

Reporting To:

Clickable Tourism Destination Management Project Manager

Background:

About Cowater International

Cowater International is the managing contractor for the Gender Responsive and Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) program, a flagship development assistance program of the Australian Government promoting sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minority women, including those with disabilities (EMW/D) in Vietnam’s northwest provinces.

Founded in 1985, Cowater International is a leading global development consulting company. Headquartered in Ottawa and with corporate hubs in Auckland, Berlin, Brussels, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Manila, Nairobi, Singapore and Stockholm, Cowater International has successfully delivered a portfolio of over 2500 projects and assignments in more than 95 countries. We work with governments, private sector actors and communities implementing projects that support socio-economic development, institutional strengthening, environmental improvements and advance equal opportunities for all. We are a diverse and experienced team committed to building a better tomorrow for the people we serve. Our adaptive approach to management has led to our yearly award-winning work and recognition as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies since 2017.

About the GREAT Program

The objectives of the Aus4Equality|GREAT 2 Program are:

Objective 1 – Ethnic minority women living in Son La and Lao Cai, have improved economic benefits.

Objective 2 – Ethnic minority women living in Son La and Lao Cai, have increased confidence and social status, including more balanced workloads and greater decision-making within the home, workplace, and community.    

Objective 3 – Ethnic minority women and household members living in Son La and Lao Cai benefit from more gender-responsive, inclusive, and effective provincial and national policies, plans, strategies, and programs.

The program is in its second five-year phase and GREAT 2 will continue its focus on agriculture and tourism, identifying specific sectors that lend themselves to opportunities for women’s economic empowerment and work with multiple stakeholders to address constraints, generate opportunities, drive market growth and increase productive value of the sector. A limited number of agriculture sectors will be targeted, in addition to tourism. Cross-sector strategies such as women, access to finance, digital transformation, policy advocacy and behaviour change will complement the sector strategies.

Further details about the GREAT program can be found at the GREAT website: https://equality.aus4vietnam.org/

About the Tourism Destination Management Sub-Project

Tourism is a significant and fast-growing sector in Northwest Vietnam, and one which offers many social and economic opportunities for ethnic minority women. This is why it is a principal investment sector under the GREAT program.

Through the Tourism Destination Management Project (TDM), GREAT Phase 2 is working with public, private and community partners to pilot and strengthen more cohesive and effective approaches to destination management in Northwest Vietnam. This initiative seeks to enhance sector stewardship in selected, high priority destinations; promote strategic investment by both public and private stakeholders; and stimulate the development of more inclusive and responsible tourism that empowers ethnic minority women and communities in the region. The Program is piloting innovative models for more inclusive and collaborative destination planning and management in the districts of Moc Chau and Muong La in Son La; and Bat Xat and Bac Ha in Lao Cai. These initiatives will integrate provincial, and commune-level tourism activities to support public-private-community partnerships for strategic governance, product development, and investment planning.

The Need for Safeguarding

In Lao Cai and Son La, the lack of consistency, coordination, effective dissemination / communication and enforcement of safeguarding protocol / code of conduct, and enforcement infrastructure presents a significant risk for EM community security, social harmony and environmental protection. Safeguarding underpins the successful operations of TDM investments in tourism governance, product development and investment planning, and related activities to ensure EMW/D and their communities can safely and meaningfully participate in tourism activities.

GREAT supports improving coordination and collaboration between government, private sector and communities in target tourist areas on safeguards development, implementation, reporting and response mechanisms, and monitoring for adaption.

Statement of Duty:

The TDM Safeguards Officer would be responsible for advising and implementing safeguarding in the TDM project. This involves:

• coordination and reconciliation of safeguarding policies across key government agencies and lead companies
• adaptation and tailoring of safeguarding measurets and practices to the local context and needs of targeted destinations through technical advice and quality assurance
• Advocacy, outreach and capacity building with both internal and external stakeholders on the importance of integrating safeguards

Specific Duties:

(i)     Coordination and reconcilation of safeguards policies across key government agencies and lead tourism businesses.

• Mapping and identifying key areas of gaps and risks, and areas of strengths and leverage.
• Developing action plan for integrating safeguards within the TDM project

(ii)    Adaptation of safeguards to local context and needs of target desinations of the TDM project

• Develop strategy and provide practical technical advice on how safeguards mitigation measures would be applied for the key safeguarding risks of individual target destinations across the DTM investment pillars
• Ensure these measures are integrated into intervention designs (such as business models and intervention logics), relevant project activities and results reporting (such as the Annuwal Work Plan and Results Framework and other reporting requirements).

(iii)     Stakeholder management, outreach and advocacy on safeguarding.

• Proactively reaching out to TDM colleagues and specialist units to ensure awareness and team responsiveness to safeguarding
• Strategic outreach and advoacy with government partners, private secctor and communities to champion a tripartite partnership approach to safeguarding. This includes supporting partners’ leadership in developing robust policies and codes of conduct, education and awareness, implementation (and enforcement if possible), and strong community ownership of their rights and responsibilities in protecting their community and most vulnerable members.

(iv)  Training and capacity building

• Provide both formal training and maximise on-the-job learning opportunities for Clickable staff and partners on safety and GEDSI risks / social impacts, risk mitigation measures, safeguarding monitoring and reporting and other related safeguarding skills.

Required Qualifications:

• Expertise in safeguarding – awareness of safeguarding issues, particularly for vulnerable social sectors such as women, ethnic minority communities, persons with disabilities, children, etc. 
• Experience in safeguarding policy development and integrating safeguarding issues into programming
• Knowledge and experience of Vietnam’s tourism sector
• Experience working with Vietnam’s government agencies and private sector
• Strong communication and strategic advocacy skills, meeting and supporting colleagues and partners at their knowledge level
• Ability to work as part of a fast-pace, dynamic and multi-disciplinary team with hard deadlines and deliverables 
• Good spoken and written communication skills (both English and Vietnamese)
• Strong coordination and organisational skills.

*This post is open to Vietnames nationals only

Required Consultation Days

Part time (3-4 days per week negotiable)  for 18 months with possibility of extension.  

Application process

Candidates are encouraged to apply by sending applications to [email protected] no later than 5 pm Hanoi Time (GMT+7) Monday 23^rd June 2025. Please indicate in the subject “Tourism Safeguards Officer”. We thank all applicants, however, only those making the shortlist will be contacted.

Applications must include:

• 1-page statement on how you can meet the requirements of the job
• A Curriculum Vitae.
• Contact details of three referees.

Cowater International is an equal opportunity employer, basing employment on merit and qualifications as they relate to professional experience and position expectations. Cowater does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age, or any other basis protected by law.

For more opportunities, please visit our website at https://equality.aus4vietnam.org/career/