Overview

USAID SEGAR is seeking a Short-Term Technical Assistant (STTA)/Consultant to Assist East Kutai District on Sustainable Palm Oil Jurisdictional Approach (RSPO-JA).

• Job code SEKPOJA
• Type: Consultant
• Job location: East Kutai and Homebased
• Reporting line: Site Manager of East Kalimantan
• Expected Assignment: Immediately – September 30, 2024
• Level of Effort: 25 days

USAID SEGAR is a five-year (2021 – 2026) Activity designed to advance Indonesia’s development objectives in balancing biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use with inclusive economic and livelihoods development. To accomplish this, targeted subnational jurisdictions with high conservation values and high carbon stock will be under improved management of natural resources that measurably conserves biodiversity, decreases greenhouse gas emissions from unsustainable land use, and promotes sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

With a growing emphasis on “green growth,” local governments are attempting to better position their political-administrative jurisdictions to capture investment from private sector companies who demonstrate a preference for more sustainable districts. To achieve this, district governments should be able to effectively articulate, position and objectively support their “sustainability proposition” to differentiate themselves from less sustainable jurisdictions.

In this context, East Kutai District has committed to become a pilot for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil-Jurisdictional Approach (RSPO-JA), publicly stated by the Bupati of East Kutai on July 20, 2022. Furthermore, on September 1, 2023, East Kutai District along with other development partners identified key activities and related stakeholders interested in participating in RSPO JA implementation in East Kutai.

USAID SEGAR has agreed to provide support to the East Kutai district government toward completing stage  one of RSPO JA, including utilizing a Multistakeholder Forum (MSF) to coordinate actions.

Objectives

Provide support to piloting RSPO JA in East Kutai District (until completion of  Stage One), including assisting the district government to utilize a MSF to coordinate RSPO JA-related actions.

Expected Output

Completion of Stage One of the RSPO Jurisdictional Approach in East Kutai.

Key Tasks

• Develop Workplan to assist East Kutai District to complete Stage One of the RSPO JA.
• Develop Terms of Reference and invitation letters for required meetings/FGDs with relevant stakeholders (district government agencies, private sectors, development partners, and smallholder associations) related to RSPO JA.
• Liaise with USAID SEGAR and other relevant stakeholders in implementing the Workplan and other matters related to RSPO JA.
• Conduct, facilitate and attend meetings/FGDs with relevant stakeholders in support of the above expected outputs/outcomes including private actors and smallholder associations.
• Assist USAID SEGAR and East Kutai District government to conduct a legal gap analysis and draft an intent letter in preparing RSPO JA implementation at East Kutai District.
• Produce a final report documenting the process and identifying lessons learned from preparing RSPO JA implementation in East Kutai District.

Deliverables

• Agreed upon Workplan including attending and conducting necessary meetings with relevant stakeholders (district government agencies, private sectors, development partners, and smallholders associations).
• Terms of References for meetings/FGDs.
• A legal gap analysis related to RSPO JA preparation status.
• An analysis regarding private sector preparedness in supporting and/or implementing RSPO JA.
• (Draft) Letter of Intent from East Kutai Bupati stating a commitment to be a pilot for RSPO JA.
• Final report consists of documentation and lessons learned from supporting RSPO JA piloting in East Kutai.

Qualifications

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in subject relevant to forestry or natural resources management but not limited to public administration, environmental science, law, or sociology.
• Minimum 5 years of experience working in natural resource management, with a particular focus on forestry management, and/or governance of jurisdictional approach particularly RSPO JA.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience of RSPO JA.
• Proven record of accomplishment in government and private sector engagement, as well as good communication skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of the roles and dynamics of various local stakeholders within East Kutai District (government, non-government/development partners, private sectors, and smallholders associations).
• Proven ability to work independently with supervision .
• Fluent in English and Indonesian.

How to Apply

Please submit your application to SEGAR-Recruit@chemonics.com with the subject line “SEKPOJA_YourName”. The application will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and early recruitment may occur until the position is filled