Senior Program Manager

Senior Program Manager – Central Highlands in Vietnam

Introduction

Are you passionate about the interaction between agriculture and environmental sustainability? Are you a star in bringing stakeholders from the public and private sector together for a common goal? And do you have proven knowledge of the Central Highlands area in Vietnam? Read on, as this job opportunity could be a good fit.

The role

To strengthen its team, IDH is looking for a Senior Program Manager to lead the strategy and implementation of our Coffee and Landscape Programs in the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The candidate will lead the development and implementation of the Landscape and Coffee Program strategy for the period 2021-2025. The role entails intensive engagement with the Program stakeholders, including agribusiness and local government. Furthermore, you will be responsible for leading a team that is executing the daily operations of the Program. The Senior Program Manager reports to the IDH Vietnam Country Director and receives technical guidance from the Program Director Landscapes in Vietnam. You are managing a team of about 4-5 program officers and landscape managers, most of them are based in Lam Dong and Dak Lak.

Key responsibilities include

Program management: Lead development and implementation of the ISLA/coffee programs in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, supported by the global and local team. Manage a yearly workplan and budget, identify and contract implementing partners.
Stakeholder management: Create awareness and drive the adoption of more sustainable practices in the particular industry and institutionalization of sector wide cooperation by convening key stakeholders (international and local); get strong buy in and trust from partners especially private partners in different value chain, national and local governments and etc.
Fundraising: Keep abreast of current regional and/or local fundraising trends, so as to identify opportunities at an early stage, with the aim of securing funding for the programs, including the exploration of carbon financing scheme.
Personnel Management: Giving direction and manage the ISLA/Coffee Central Highlands team for their daily works, both in the Central Highlands and at the national level

Other responsibilities are:

Monitoring & evaluation: Lead the monitoring and evaluation of project activities and finance in conjunction with the implementing partners and private sector players, as well as monitoring of implementers, organizations or any third party needed to deliver project objectives, best via the deployment of online reporting tool and M&E framework of VSAs and its targets.
Communication: Giving guidance to Vietnam and global team to develop communication and other materials (e.g. proposals). Keeping relevant stakeholders informed on plans and progress.
Learning: Bring best practices to the project from previous experience; facilitate the dissemination of knowledge in Vietnam and globally; identify and document the lessons learned based on local reality on the ground.

Who you are

You are an experienced program manager in the area of sustainable agriculture management and/or in natural resources management. You combine technical knowledge with excellent facilitation and negotiation skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. You have a solid understanding of the (environmental) sustainability issues in agricultural supply chains in the Central Highlands region.

What you bring

A Master’s degree in (Agricultural) Economics, Business Management, Supply Chain Management, (Agricultural) Finance, Development Economics or other relevant discipline;
10+ years working experience in program development and implementation in the area of sustainable agriculture and/or in natural resources management. Preference will be given to candidates with cross-sectoral and technical expertise on topics such as deforestation, water management, agroforestry, agrochemical management, business case development;
High levels of entrepreneurial and professional skills, capability and tenacity to drive continued multi-stakeholder engagement to align and achieve different interests from business, community and government;
Experience in supply chain sustainability issues;
Experience in project management;
Experience in fundraising;
Experience in leadership and team management;
Excellent convening, facilitation and negotiation skills;
Comfortable with working in a team as well as independently developing new programs;
Excellent spoken and written communication skills in Vietnamese (native) and English (fluent);
Willingness to travel extensively to the Central Highlands area, approximately 30-40% of your time.

Who we are

IDH brings companies, CSOs, governments and others in public-private partnerships together to realize green & inclusive growth at scale in commodity sectors and sourcing areas. Our approaches are designed to drive sustainability from niche to norm in mainstream markets, delivering impact on Sustainable Development Goals. We focus on creating positive impact on deforestation, livingincomes and living wages, working conditions, toxic loading and gender. IDH is a foundation that works together with over 600 companies, CSOs, financial institutions, producer organizations and governments in 12 sectors and 22 landscapes in over 40 countries worldwide.

This position relates to two of our key programs in Vietnam:

The Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes (ISLA) Program, operational since 2015 in the Central Highlands. The ISLA operates under the following fundamentals: An integrated and cross?sectoral perspective tailored to the local landscape and local needs; Engagement of all relevant stakeholders, explicitly including the private sector perspective sourcing from the area; and Long?term commitment towards sustainable development of the landscape.
The IDH Coffee program aims at improving efficiency of the coffee value chain and the quality of service delivery to farmers for sustainable coffee production. The Coffee program and the ISLA program are fully aligned to create larger impact at scale.

What we offer

IDH offers a dynamic international environment and an enthusiastic and passionate team. As an IDH team member you can contribute to positive global change. The position is full time, initially for one year, with the intention to extend. We offer a competitive salary and solid fringe benefits. The position based in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Interested

Interested candidates are invited to apply (motivation letter and 2-page resume in English) by using the following hyperlink: https://idhtrade.inhroffice.com/en/job/156978/apply .

Please feel free to contact Tran Quynh Chi, by e-mail at chitran@idhtrade.org with any question about this position.

We encourage applicants to respond as soon as possible, latest by April 15th , 2020.

For more information about IDH, please visit www.idhsustainabletrade.com.

Tags: IDH