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Position                    : Business Development Specialist
Program                   : Forest Program-WCS Indonesia Program
Line manager         : M Jeri Imansyah, Head of Sustainable Landscape
Key relationships   : Head of Sustainable Landscape, Forest Sr. Program Manager,
                                      Landscape Manager
Location                   : Bogor, with travel to field sites (Aceh, Lampung, North Sulawesi)

Background

The Wildlife Conservation Society-Indonesia Program (WCS-IP) has grown significantly over the last few decades and has contributed to supporting the Indonesian Government, particularly the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) in conserving Indonesia's biodiversity. WCS- IP currently has a program that focuses on landscape/seascape conservation, species conservation actions, and local community engagement.

The WCS-IP aims to support MoE to address land and forest cover change, and improve community livelihoods in priority landscapes through partnering with the government, private sector, other civil society organizations, and communities to develop land and forest cover change-free commodity production and supply chains. For example, in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP), BBS Sustainable Commodities Partnership or BBS Kemitraan Komoditas Lestari (BBS KEKAL) builds on a shared vision for the landscape, established through a Collective Statement of Intent signed by 16 organizations in April 2018. BBS KEKAL is working with the MoF to develop a roadmap to address encroachment and restore priority areas, while continuing monitoring and patrols in collaboration with the National Park Authority to reduce the risk of future land and forest cover change.

WCS-IP is currently seeking a dynamic, highly organized and experienced Business Development Specialist. The primary focus of the role is to oversee the development of commercially viable programs. This includes overseeing the development and implementation of company partnerships, the design and development of the landscape sustainable business and financing mechanism, including the partnerships required for the delivery of financial products to farmers, as well as securing investment into the program/sustainable financing mechanism. This may also include the development of commercially viable alternative income opportunities at the community level. Once this commercially viable program is developed, it might be replicated to other landscapes.

Overview:

The Specialist will be responsible for developing and executing a strategy aimed at achieving the commercial viability of the Sustainable Landscape Approaches under the Forest Program. This will include fostering partnerships with companies, promoting responsible sourcing practices, and securing sustainable financing solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategy Development and Execution:

1. Develop associated business plans to assess costs, benefits/impacts, and potential revenues at various levels, including smallholder farm-ers, companies, and landscape-wide initiatives, through the sustaina-ble business and financing mechanism.
2. Facilitate and support negotiations between companies and commu-nities, ensuring the inclusion of conservation criteria in purchase agreements.
3. Lead the design and implementation of a sustainable business and fi-nancing mechanism in collaboration with external consultants and delivery partners.
4. Create and execute work plans that align with strategies and business plans.

• Research Coordination:

1. Coordinate research related to conservation finance and sustainable markets at both the field and sector levels, contributing to strategy development and execution.

• Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement:

1. Manage partnerships with consultants, financial institutions, and de-livery partners to support strategy development and implementation.
2. Engage with companies and investors, fostering relationships that support the objectives of the Sustainable Landscape strategy.
3. Provide support for government engagement as necessary, ensuring alignment with the Sustainable Landscape strategy.

• Reporting and Communications:

1. Prepare activity reports as required by WCS, donors, investors, and stakeholders.
2. Contribute to the development of other conservation finance solutions across WCS-IP project sites.

Deliverables:

• Sustainable Landscape strategy elaborate milestones in the establishment of sustainable business entity that ties to conservation
• Sustainable Landscape business plan for private sector engagement
• Collaborative agreements with private sector partners.
• Private sector sourcing agreements.
• Design and implementation of a sustainable financing mechanism.
• Partnerships and investment strategies for developing the sustainable fi-nancing mechanism.
• Donor and stakeholder reports.

Job Requirements:

• Qualifications:

1. Bachelor (BSc/S1) in agriculture, forestry, biology, conservation, sus-tainable development, business, or a related field.
2. Minimum of 7 years of experience in business development, agricul-tural finance, private sector engagement, commodity supply chains, or conservation enterprises.
3. Strong familiarity with private sector and sustainable supply chain ini-tiatives, smallholder finance, and impact investment.

• Skills and Competencies:

1. Proven experience in business plan and strategy development.
2. Ability to conceptualize and create integrated solutions that link busi-ness, conservation, and programmatic objectives.
3. Strong interest in promoting sustainable practices within business and finance.
4. Experience preparing materials for corporate and investment audi-ences.
5. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to en-gage diverse audiences.
6. Excellent networking, diplomacy, and engagement skills, particularly within commodity supply chains and with investors.
7. Highly proficient in written communication and analytical skills.
8. Fluency in English.

How to Apply:

Please submit your cover letter and CV in English to idrecruitment@wcs.org, with the subject line “Business Development Specialist_(name)”, by April 30th, 2025. No correspondence, only short-listed candidates will be notified.