Senior Program Officer for Social Inclusion and Gender Equality At RECOFTC

At RECOFTC, we believe in a future where people live equitably and sustainably in and beside healthy, resilient forests. We take a long-term, landscape-based and inclusive approach to supporting local communities to secure their land and resource rights, stop deforestation, find alternative livelihoods and foster gender equity. We are the only non-profit organization of our kind in Asia and the Pacific. We have more than 35 years of experience working with people and forests, and have built trusting relationships with partners at all levels. Our influence and partnerships extend from multilateral institutions to governments, private sector and local communities. Our innovations, knowledge and initiatives enable countries to foster good forest governance, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

RECOFTC is inviting applications for the position of Senior Program Officer for social inclusion and gender equality. The successful applicant will be based at the RECOFTC main office in Bangkok, Thailand. The contract duration is for 24 months, with a possibility of extension subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance.

Specific tasks and duties

The Senior Program Officer is a member of the Program Coordination and Technical Services unit and works under the supervision of the unit director. The Senior Program Officer works with other program and project staff, clients, partners, collaborators and funding agencies.

The position leads RECOFTC’s social inclusion and gender equality program which aims to ensure that women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable people play empowered roles in forest management. The program emphasizes work in RECOFTC’s seven focal countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The Senior Program Officer’s main duties are:

Program development and delivery

• Lead the development and implementation of an institutional strategy and action plan to integrate and mainstream a socially inclusive, gender equitable and human rights approach into RECOFTC’s programs and projects
• Lead and coordinate RECOFTC’s regional programs and projects that focus on social inclusion and gender equality, and ensure they are well-planned, responsive to donor interests, and achieve their goals
• Design and develop RECOFTC’s project portfolio under the social inclusion and gender equality program, in close coordination with staff at RECOFTC’s main and country offices
• Provide technical expertise on social inclusion and gender equality
• Develop and implement research on social inclusion and gender equality in forest and landscape management. This includes analysis and synthesis of best practices, documentation of evidence of outcomes, and capturing and sharing of lessons learned
• Facilitate development of innovative actions and interventions for social inclusion and gender equality in forest and landscape management within RECOFTC focal landscapes
• Strengthen RECOFTC’s relationships with organizations and networks to promote the exchange of information and expertise on social inclusion and gender equality
• Work closely with Explore Programme Manager and Policy Outreach and Gender Inclusion Officer to ensure that Explore achieves its goals and objective for social inclusion and gender equality
• Work with other RECOFTC experts to achieve the goals and targets of RECOFTC Strategic plan 2018-2023

Capacity development and knowledge management support

• Work with RECOFTC training teams to design and conduct capacity development needs assessments, and to develop capacity building programs, tools and approaches such as trainings, mentoring, action learning, multi-stakeholder fora, and learning networks
• Provide technical assistance, research and capacity development on social inclusion and gender equality to RECOFTC country teams in RECOFTC’s focal landscapes
• Provide technical support and inputs to RECOFTC’s knowledge management on social inclusion and gender equality
• Working with RECOFTC’s communication and knowledge management team to develop and share content on social inclusion and gender equality
• Work with RECOFTC’s monitoring, evaluation and learning experts to monitor and report on progress

Business development, partnerships and networking

• Work closely with RECOFTC’s business development and partnership teams and other partners to identify and develop funding and partnership opportunities for RECOFTC’s work on social inclusion and gender equality
• Lead and assist in the development of concept notes and proposals related to social inclusion and gender equality
• Represent RECOFTC at relevant events to advocate for social inclusion and gender equality in forest and landscape management
• Develop, maintain and establish relationships with strategic partners, keeping abreast of their strategies and using it for program development
• Support and maintain networks in the RECOFTC’s focal countries and regionally, facilitating their active participation and exchange with national, regional and global platforms and networks

Other

• Supervise and mentor assigned staff and interns
• Perform any other tasks that may be assigned by the unit director of Program Coordination and Technical Services

Qualifications and experience

The Senior Program Officer must have the following qualifications and experience:

Essential

• Master’s degree or higher with emphasis on gender, human rights, forestry, natural resource management, international development or related fields
• Minimum of 10 years’ work experience in development and implementation of international development projects focusing on gender and human rights in the context of forestry and natural resource management
• A passion for improving gender equality, social inclusion and human rights in forestry, land and natural resources sectors’ programs and policies
• Experience in leading processes to mainstream and integrate gender and human rights approaches within organizations
• Strong ability to coordinate and work in teams, building relationships and planning activities with diverse stakeholders
• Proven analytical skills and an innovative thinker who actively contributes to team development and mentoring
• Good training and facilitation skills, especially encouraging participatory processes with adult learning
• Experience in designing and delivering leadership training
• Ability to work in a variety of cultural and institutional contexts
• Fluency and excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Strong work ethics
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally, when restrictions related to COVID-19 are lifted

Desirable

• Previous work experience in international or national organizations in the Asia-Pacific region
• Ability to communicate in one or more languages spoken in RECOFTC’s focal countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam
• Experience in project management including project planning and reporting, funding/financial management and monitoring, and partner coordination
• Experience in writing proposals, concept notes and networking for fundraising in an international development context
• Experience in participatory action research
• Experience in performing gender assessments

RECOFTC’s core values

At RECOFTC, our core values are the foundation of our culture and guide all our work. In addition to job specific skills and experience, the applicant should possess the following characteristics, attitudes and skills:

• Embrace innovation
• Adapt to, and learn from, challenges
• Collaborate with partners and stakeholders
• Nurture commitment, responsibility and ownership
• Prioritize sustainability
• Cultivate participation, social inclusion and gender equity