TERMS OF REFERENCE
Position : Community Development Coordinator
Program : WCS indonesia program; Sustainable Landscape Program
Line Manager : Sustainable Landscape Program Manager
Key internal relations : Stakeholder Engagement Specialist, SMART Team Leader, WRU Team Leader, M&E Specialist, GIS Team Leader, Southern Sumatra Landscape Manager
Background
The Wildlife Conservation Society Indonesia Program (WCS-IP) supports the conservation of biodiversity in Indonesia through landscape-level conservation, support for protected areas (PAs), species conservation, and local community engagement.
One of WCS’s priority landscapes is the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP) and its surrounding buffer zone in southern Sumatra. This region is also one of Indonesia’s principal coffee producing areas, as well as being important for the production of other agricultural commodities. An assessment by WCS in 2016 found that the expansion of agriculture, in particular for the production of Robusta coffee, is the main cause of encroachment/deforestation inside the BBSNP. This threatens the integrity of the park’s ecosystem and endangers important habitat for key wildlife species. In addition, farmers in the region tend to have poor organisation/institutional capacity and limited access to finance, agricultural inputs, extension services and markets. Farmers therefore have low productivity and profitability, which not only threatens their livelihoods but is a further driver of agricultural expansion into the BBSNP.
WCS-IP is pioneering an innovative integrated landscape program, BBS KEKAL (BBS Kemitraan Komoditas Lestari), which supports farmers in the communities surrounding the National Park to improve their livelihoods (including through improved coffee productivity and profitability) while reducing the threat of encroachment to the National Park. This builds on WCS’s existing engagement with the government, private sector and communities. WCS has secured support from the National Park Authority, provincial and district government representatives, eight coffee companies (including exporters, traders and roasters) and a number of civil society organisations for a shared vision for addressing deforestation and supporting farmer livelihoods in the landscape. WCS is convening this partnership to translate this ambition into action.
WCS-IP is seeking a Community Development Coordinator to support field-level implementation of BBS KEKAL, with a focus on interventions that support farmers to improve their livelihoods while addressing deforestation and forest conversion pressure associated with commodity production around the BBSNP.
The position will focus on the implementation of interventions in eight pilot villages for phase one of BBS KEKAL, leading on community outreach and engagement, the delivery of a farmer extension and training program, the strengthening of farmer groups, and associated monitoring activities to ensure that incentives for farmers lead to reduced encroachment pressures on the National Park. The post holder will work with the wider WCS Sustainable Landscapes team to ensure that field level interventions align with the wider program of BBS KEKAL.
Priority Objectives:
- Leading the formulation and implementation of community development plans in the eight pilot villages around BBSNP
- Leading a field team, consisting of Community Organization Officers and Agro-conservationist to engage communities and secure their participation in interventions that improve farmer knowledge and skills in the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices and post-harvesting practices and strengthen the organisation and capacity of farmer groups to access finance, inputs and markets.
- Leading on field-level data collection and monitoring activities to inform the above interventions and to support the development of a landscape monitoring system for BBS KEKAL that registers farmers/farmer groups and monitors deforestation.
- Work with the wider Sustainable Landscape team to ensure farmer interventions reduce encroachment pressure on BBSNP and align with the wide program of BBS KEKAL.
Position Responsibilities:
Analysis and Research
- Stakeholder mapping and analysis to inform a community outreach and engagement strategy
- Lead socio-economic and community needs assessments to inform the design and implementation of interventions
- Lead on field-level data collection to inform the design and implementation of interventions, including socio-economic and community needs assessments
- Support the delivery of social and environmental impact assessments for project interventions.
Project Development and Management
- Lead on the design and delivery of community engagement and development plans to secure the participation of local stakeholders, community leaders, farmers and farmer groups in BBS KEKAL, including commitments to reduce encroachment
- Lead on the design and delivery of an organisational capacity building and Good Agricultural Practices training program for farmers/farmer groups
- Work with the Sustainable Landscape team to ensure farmer support interventions reduce encroachment pressures, including by developing and implementing:
- A monitoring and compliance system that registers farmers/farmer groups, maps farm plots, monitors production and livelihoods, and monitors encroachment in the pilot villages
- A performance-based incentives system for farmers participating in BBS KEKAL in pilot villages, including access to agricultural inputs, finance and markets. This may include facilitating offtake agreement between farmers and potential buyers.
- Work with the WCS BBSNP team to integrate conservation awareness raising into the community development program.
Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
- Develop a community outreach and engagement strategy to raise awareness and secure participation in BBS KEKAL
- Work with a Stakeholder Engagement Specialist to develop messages and communications for community engagement in line with project goals
- Establish and maintain good working relationships with:
- District and local governments, including at the village level, and with the BBSNP authority
- Farmers, farmer groups, and village and community leaders
o Project partners
- Provide technical and facilitating support to meetings, training and public outreach activities
- Develop activity reports and provide regular project progress reports and updates as needed to the Sustainable Landscapes team, including by supporting writing and presenting high quality research findings and providing data to support project communications
Job Requirements
Qualifications and Experience
- Relevant university level qualification or equivalent experience in social science, development or similar
- Minimum 5 years working in community development issues, ideally in relation to conservation and/or sustainable commodity production
- Demonstrable field experience of working with smallholder farmers, and an understanding of the challenges related to the commodity production in Sumatra
- Demonstrable experience in project and team management
- Understanding of conservation issues, including the impacts of agricultural production
- A good track record of developing community engagement strategies and social impact assessments
Competencies
- Ability to work independently and proactively with stakeholders in rural areas, as well as in district level
- Good judgement and the ability to work under pressure and respond quickly to deadlines
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to adapt communications and messaging to a range of different audiences
- Excellent networking and engagement skills
- Good written and analytical skills
- Fluent in English is desirable though not essential.
Please note that the above TOR constitutes only the main responsibilities and duties of this position. As WCS is a flexible organization, staff members are expected to undertake any other tasks that are allocated to them but which are not part of their regular TOR.
Please send a covering letter and CV in English to wcsindonesia@wcs.org no late than 24 January 2020, stating in the subject line “Community Development Coordinator_(name)”.
Please also include a portfolio of your previous work or links to blogs or galleries online.
No correspondence, only short-listed candidates will be notified.