Job Description
Community Liaison/Coordination Specialist for
Village Boundary Setting and Resource Mapping (VBS/RM) Kecamatan Technical Team

Description

Abt Associates has been selected by the Millennium Challenge Account-Indonesia to implement the one-year Participatory Mapping and Planning (PMaP) 6 project. Through this project Abt Associates will help over 300 rural villages in fifteen districts throughout the country to delineate and demarcate their boundaries and map their resources to attract future investment in areas that will improve rural livelihoods in an environmentally sustainable manner. In this project, Abt Associates and its team of Indonesian specialists and subcontractors will implement the 21-step Village Boundary Setting/Resource Management (VBS/RM) methodology in collaboration with local communities and government through a participatory process.

Abt Associates is seeking Community Liaison/Coordination Specialists who will coordinate social components for Kecamatan Technical Teams and work with village participation teams, local governments, and the project Core Technical Team in Jakarta to delineate and demarcate village administrative boundaries and map community resources in a participatory and coordinated manner. This position will work within an assigned interdisciplinary Kecamantan Technical Team which will include approximately nine other staff, half working on social components and half working on geospatial components. The position will directly report to the Team Leader, closely coordinate with project leadership based in Jakarta, and support and oversee three to five Social and Communications Facilitators who will have direct day-to-day contact with village participation teams. The position will be based in sub-district locations in Sumatra Barat or Jambi for five to six months. Frequent travel to assigned villages within the Kecamatan will be required.

Roles and Responsibilities

a. Implement the 21-step VBS/RM approach according to MCA-Indonesia’s Guidelines;
b. Develop the approach to be used in the public exposition of VBS/RM results and oversee the implementation of the public exposition in each of the villages as assigned;
c. Work with the Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator to identify and map community groups and key leaders (including women, youth, farmers, business, religious, indigenous/customary groups) and any civil society organizations or associations which represent the community and determine their roles and influence in the village;
d. Ensure the involvement of the local community members in the participatory VBS/RM process, including understanding the process, having their concerns recognized and addressed, understanding their rights and responsibilities in the process and the impact on their livelihoods and the need for their consent to the results of the process;
e. Ensure the meaningful and active participation of women, youth and vulnerable groups in the implementation of the participatory VBS/RM process;
f. Familiarize the VBS/RM team members with the local cultures and sensitivities including localized sociocultural and political contexts;
g. Work with the VBS/RM Field Team Leader and the Land Dispute Resolution Advisor to develop a willingness-based mechanism for mediation of disputes to be used in the case of land tenure, land boundary, and land use disputes;
h. Assist the VBS/RM team and the Village Participation Team in the mediation of land-based disputes that arise during the VBS/RM process, as possible;
i. Prepare data and materials related to the social and community based aspects of the fieldwork for use in technical reports and presentations;
j. Coordinate directly with the VBS/RM Field Team Leader in the planning, coordinating and implementation of field work, office processing, and preparation of reports and presentations.

Minimum Qualifications

a. Academic degree in social science, anthropology, forestry, development studies, natural resource management, geography, or related field;
b. Extensive experience in participatory research and or community development projects of at least five years, with experience conducting social and gender analysis in work;
c. Experience facilitating community meetings and dispute resolution;
d. Five month posting commitment in Sumatra Barat or Jambi. Extensive travel within region is required;
e. Fluency in Bahasa Indonesia, some knowledge of English helpful;
f. Experience and local knowledge in the Provinces of Sumatra Barat and Jambi are a plus.

Interested candidates may send a CV and cover letter to [email protected] before Oct 03,2017. Only qualified candidates will be contacted.