High Value Agriculture and NTFP Expert

Helvetas, founded in 1955, is the largest Swiss-based and a leading European development non-governmental organization. We work in developing, emerging and transition countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, partnering with poor and disadvantaged people to improve their livelihoods, strengthen local actors and create an institutional framework conducive to sustainable development. Helvetas has been operating in Vietnam since 1994 in the areas of agriculture, forestry, governance, water and sanitation, and rural development.

Helvetas Vietnam, in a consortium with WWF, IUCN and Fauna and Flora International (FFI), were selected to implement USAID’s Vietnam Biodiversity Conservation, a five-year project covering five provinces of central Vietnam. Helvetas Vietnam has the overall responsibility for the conservation-friendly enterprise development component, targeting forest-dependent communities bordering national parks in Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Lam Dong provinces.

We are looking for a Technical Expert, NTFP and High Value Agriculture, based in one of the project provinces, Danang or Hanoi with frequent travel to project sites.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The NTFP and High Value Agriculture Expert works as part of the Conservation Friendly Enterprise Development Team, as part of the larger USAID Vietnam Biodiversity Activity working across the provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, T.T. Hue, Quang Nam and Lam Dong. The expert is responsible for developing and manage a portfolio of partnerships with private companies and NGOs that link to forest-dependant communities through sustainable value chains to provide resilient, sustainable and profitable economic opportunities. The key responsibilities of the position include:

• Identifying and analysing agricultural and NTFP sub-sectors with the potential to make substantial contributions to social, economic and environmental wellbeing in target areas.
• Supporting private companies, supporting service providers and NGOs to develop sustainable, inclusive business models that provide improved income and employment opportunities for women and men in forest-dependent communities.
• Managing capacity building, technical and financial inputs that enable project partners to unlock realize new business models, and which encourage other actors to copy and crowd-in.
• Contributing to planning, monitoring, review, learning and adaptation by the Enterprise Development Team and in coordination with provincial implementation teams in the target provinces

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• The NTFP and High Value Agriculture Technical Expert should have a minimum of 5 years of experience working in development, with a strong focus on Market Systems Development/M4P and on sustainable agriculture or NTFP development through a value chain approach.
• The Expert should have excellent analytical skills, an open mind and the ability to identify creative and realistic solutions. As a strong team player, they are able to work across institutional boundaries with patience and flexibility. The candidate’s intrinsic motivation and to quality allows them to deliver exceptional results with minimal external supervision.
• The Technical Expert should have good written and verbal communication skills in both English and Vietnamese, high awareness of gender, social equity & conflict sensitivity, and willingness to travel.

Interest candidates please send updated CV and an Expression of Interest letter to Helvetas.vietnam@helvetas.org cced trieu.tuanh@helvetas.org by July 10th, 2021. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.