Marketing and Communication Officer for Rural Development

Call for a Marketing and Communication officer for rural development

TERMS OF REFERENCE

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 the entrepreneur was able to be accompanied throughout a professionalization process. Agrisud pursues its objective in developing countries.

IDEAS project in Vietnam

The Hoang Lien National Park (HLNP) is made up of five 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.

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 extreme events; low diversification of income-generating activities and heavy reliance on cardamom cultivation.

In this context, the IDEAS project (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 PNHL 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 PNHL 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 the master-farmer network.
• Implement awareness raising actions for environmental protection, gender and social inclusion.

Roles and responsibilities of the marketing and communication officer for rural development

The roles and responsibilities of the marketing and communication officer for rural development will be to support the promotion of local product value-chains in the 14 villages of intervention. She/he will also support the set-up and implementation of the communication strategy and tools for the farmer cooperative. The work of the officer will be monitored by IDEAS M&E and Marketing advisor under the guidance of Project Coordinator and Agrisud’s Director of Operation at headquarters.

The marketing and communication officer for rural development will have the responsibilities to:

• Contribute to the implementation of surveys on potential agri-products to make recommendation for the local authorities on the development of suitable products adapted to the market demand.
• Facilitate the integration of the local products in local governmental long-term plan (at communal and in line with the New Rural development strategy at district level)
• Under the supervision of the M&E and marketing advisor, carry out trainings and ensure follow-up of the application to support the establishment of producer groups and common interest groups and the improvement of the cooperatives:
  
  • Strengthen the organizational structure of such organizations (group operation, members management, collective economy and cooperative law)
  • Improve entrepreneurship capacity of the leaders of the groups: build business plans, conduct market surveys, improve products packages, customer management, accounting and bookkeeping.
  • Improve marketing capacity of these groups: register products bar code, quality certification, connect to local market upstream and downstream actors, introduce and promote the groups’ products, price negotiation, contract making
• Collaborate with the technicians in the planning and implementation of appropriate technical support for the members of these groups to ensure the products quality and quantity
• Collaborate with the technicians in monitoring these groups and ensure the collection of sufficient data for the evaluation of these groups
• Support the communication of agroecological practices and its products in the Project intervention areas: Work with the producers’ groups, the technicians and local partners in the realization of the product’s specification (agro-ecological specification), design communication tools and diffuse them
• Collaborate with appropriate territorial actors in building agro-tour and support the operation of this tour in the project target area
• Plan, implement and report on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis

This description is not exclusive, other tasks evolved during the course of this job will be instructed by the Project coordinator.

Qualifications and experience

• Relevant university degree in agro-business, support to agricultural value-chain development, livelihood development, agriculture rural development.
• At least three years of relevant experience in the field of agricultural or rural development in Vietnam, supporting farmer organizations. Experiences in value-chain development is a plus.
• Taste for team capacity building and field work, capable of driving motorbike in bad road conditions.
• Autonomous, good team player, good critical thinking, eager to learn.
• Good understanding of agricultural development issues in Vietnam and South-East Asia. In-depth knowledge of the agrarian context of northern Vietnam is a plus.
• Mastery of communication and reporting tools: Microsoft Pack Office; Social network, Design software is a plus.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in Vietnamese.
• A sufficient level of English is required (read, spoken and written).

Contractual conditions

• Local contract for a Vietnamese national
• Fixed contract of 1 year, with possibility of renewal
• Net monthly salary according to experience and salary grid of Agrisud
• Position based in the project office in Sa Pa, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam.

Work base:

• Office : Hoang Lien National Park, No. 89 - Group 11b - Nguyen Chi Thanh Road – Phan Si Pang Ward - Sa Pa Town - Lao Cai Province
• Field work: in Hoang Lien National Park area, under the arrangement of IDEAS Project.

Application Information

Interested candidates can submit a full application with a cover letter and an up-to-date CV, in English, including contact details of minimum two professional referees (current and last line managers and HR department) by email to IDEAS project coordinator, Mr. Cong Huy Le, at [email protected] (086 208 3068).

Please also include details of salary expectations and a copy of latest diploma. Applications must be complete and marked " Recruitment of the marketing and communication officer for rural development - IDEAS Project - Vietnam " as the subject of the e-mail. Only full applications will be reviewed.

Closing date for applications: June 10th, 2022. Only shortlisted candidates for interviews will be contacted.

Timetable for interviews and selection: The interviews will be organised from the 15th of June 2022 (options of interview will be discussed with shortlisted candidates). Final selected candidates will be informed shortly after.

Start of the contract: As soon as possible