Project: Inclusive  and Climate Resilient Management of Indonesia’s Blue Swimming Crab Fishery

Service: Consultant to conduct a GEDSI Assessment of the Blue Swimming Crab (BSC) Fishery in West Java

Location: West Java (Cirebon Regency)

Duration: January – March 2026

Contract Type: Contract for Services

Purpose: Conduct a GEDSI Assessment of the Blue Swimming Crab (BSC) Fishery in target locations in West Java to support the development of a GEDSI-responsive communal mini-plant (processing facility) and strengthen the inclusion of women and persons with disabilities within the post-harvest value chain.

About Starling Resources

Starling Resources is a Bali-based sustainability consulting and advisory practice. We design solutions to answer economic, social and environmental concerns worldwide with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Over the last decade, Starling Resources has worked with partners across the globe to design solutions that positively address some of the most urgent environmental issues. To date, we have worked across more than 10 countries and more than 10 provinces in Indonesia.

Starling Resources bridges the gap between business, the public sector, and civil society organizations, as well as between academic scholarship and on-the-ground experience. We take a holistic perspective and deploy business-minded tactics to deliver practical environmental solutions for our clients.

Our mission is to work with stakeholders across sectors to find practical solutions to demanding environmental problems and build resilient communities and economies that work together to enhance and sustain ecosystem functions and natural habitats.

About the Project

Starling Resources is implementing the Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Management of Indonesia’s BSC Fishery project. The project aims to strengthen BSC governance in West Java and expand its economic opportunities by making the fishery more climate-adaptive, inclusive, and resilient. It addresses the declining sustainability of the fishery—marked by shorter fishing seasons, reduced catches, and degraded habitats—while tackling gender and social inequities that limit the participation and benefits of women, youth, and people with disabilities in the value chain. By combining inclusive governance, climate-resilient practices, and value-chain improvements, the project seeks to empower local fishers and processors, enhance product quality and value, and protect the ecosystems that sustain them.

Implementation is organized around four interlinked work streams:

1. Value Adding in BSC Fisheries – improving post-harvest practices and developing inclusive, gender-responsive business models;
2. BSC Aquaculture Pilot – exploring aquaculture as a complementary, climate-adaptive livelihood pathway;
3. Fisheries Management and Coastal Restoration – supporting habitat protection, mangrove rehabilitation, and governance mechanisms that reinforce sustainability; and
4. Community Awareness and Empowerment – fostering youth leadership, social inclusion, and public engagement on sustainable coastal resource management.

Together, these work streams aim to demonstrate how inclusive participation and climate-resilient practices can strengthen both the sustainability of the BSC fishery and the well-being of coastal communities.

Intermediate Outcome: Improved enabling environment (including quality data and analysis for decision making, individual and institutional skills and capacities, evidence-based and inclusive policies, effective governance, finance and financing mechanisms) leads to the adoption and implementation of sustainable, socially inclusive and adaptive management practices and technologies from local to national level.

Objective

GEDSI is understood as a systems-oriented process that addresses exclusion and inequality through mutually reinforcing changes across enabling conditions, social dynamics, and individual capacity.

Therefore, the objective of this assignment is to conduct a GEDSI assessment of the BSC post-harvest value chain through a lens that identifies three interconnected domains:

• Enabling Conditions: policies, institutional arrangements, inter-agency coordination, and access to protection and support systems.
• Social Dynamics: gender norms, power relations, unpaid care responsibilities, stigma, and exclusionary practices within coastal communities; and
• Individual Capacity: skills, knowledge, confidence, agency, and access to opportunities within the BSC post-harvest value chain.

The findings will inform:

• The development of GEDSI-responsive design principles and operational recommendations for a communal mini-plant that supports safer, more productive, and more formalised participation of women in post-harvest BSC processing;
• Identification of entry points for women and persons with disabilities to engage in the post-harvest value chain, alongside context-specific recommendations for skills development and capacity strengthening.

The GEDSI consultant will working closely with the GEDSI Field Coordinator and relevant project team members to conduct the assessment, and at the end of the 2-month contract period, will present findings to key stakeholders during a workshop and gather inputs from key stakeholders including women home-pickers, processors, community representatives, local government.

Scope of Work

1. Review relevant literature, policy and regulations, regarding GEDSI in relation with the fishery sector;
2. Conduct baseline mapping to identify women, persons with disabilities, and other socially marginalised groups who are currently engaged in, or have the potential to participate in, BSC post-harvest processing activities;
3. Develop tools, plan, methodology in collaboration with GEDSI Field Coordinator to guide GEDSI Assessment;
4. Undertaking a comprehensive GEDSI analysis to identify needs, constraints, opportunities, and factors influencing participation for different groups within the community, including social norms, access to resources, time and care burdens, and institutional arrangements, with support from the GEDSI Field Coordinator;
5. Develop context-specific recommendations to improve entry points, working conditions, and capacity-building support for women and persons with disabilities to participate meaningfully and benefit equitably from BSC-related activities;
6. Engage with relevant sub-national government institutions such as Dinas Sosial and UPTD Perlindungan Perempuan dan Anak (PPA), to understand existing social protection, safeguarding, and referral mechanisms.

 Methodology

The method to conduct this assessement will include, but not limited to:

• Desk research to study relevant literature, policy and regulations related to fishery sector and GEDSI
• Individual interviews with stakeholders including local communities, local leaders, local government officials.
• Group discussion can be conducted with local women groups
• Site visit and observations of the situation of the villages, landing sites, miniplants, and other fisheries activities in the visited area.

Expected Results/Deliverables

Qualification and Experiences

• Master’s degree in gender studies, social sciences, development studies, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.
• At least 7–10 years of demonstrated experience in GEDSI analysis and programming, preferably within natural resource management, fisheries, agriculture, or rural livelihoods.
• Proven experience conducting GEDSI or gender analyses and translating findings into practical, actionable recommendations.
• Good understanding of post-harvest fisheries value chains, food safety, and/or small-scale processing environments.
• Comprehensive knowledge of local gender norms and institutional environments.
• Good analytical, report-writing, and communication skills in English.
• Ability to work independently while coordinating effectively with field-based teams.
• Familiarity with GMP and SSOP is a plus.

How to Apply

Send your CV and cover letter to santi@starlingresources.com or info@starlingresources.com with the subject “GEDSI Consultant” by January 16th, 2026.