Rurality Field Officer-Rural Development/Solomon Islands

TFT (The Forest Trust) is an international fast growing and dynamic non-profit organization which helps companies transform their supply chains across the world for the benefit of people and nature.

 TFT is seeking a motivated

 RURALITY FIELD OFFICER – RURAL DEVELOPMENT

based in Noro, Solomon Islands

with experience in rural development, excellent communication and writing skills, and a passion to  work with farmers and agribusiness to generate value, who is interested in a career with a dynamic non-profit that builds relationships with companies, governments and civil society organizations to bring responsible products to market.

The Rurality Filed Officer is field-based and has a passion to drive innovation at the smallholder level by working collaboratively with farmers and companies to understand their business, to improve their relationships, and to create value and promote resilience to fluctuations in climate and markets.

About Rurality

 Rurality is a new program led by The Forest Trust (http://rurality.org/) which seeks to catalyze innovation between businesses and smallholder farmers in the supply chain. Close to 2 billion people around the world live and work on small farms, often family-run. These farmers are not only the lifeblood of supply chains; they are innovators with the potential to profoundly and positively impact the human and natural ecosystems surrounding them. Rurality, an initiative of TFT, believes they are entrepreneurs who should be empowered to realize their vision.

Rurality places the farmer at the heart of the society.  The initiative uses a business-minded approach to work with farmers participating in already existing supply chains.  Significantly, the initiative believes that there are not one size fits all solutions.  Staff are field-based and work side-by-side with farmers and the agribusiness.  Ultimately the initiative seeks to identify empirical and practical solutions to empower family farmers and build their resilience.

About The Forest Trust (TFT)

 Rurality is an initiative of TFT, an international fast growing and dynamic non-profit organization that helps companies transform the way they source raw materials, with the ultimate goal of protecting nature and improving peoples’ lives. TFT has offices in 16 countries and currently manages Rurality projects in Ghana, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Thailand, and France.  We employ more than 250 people worldwide and work with big and small companies as well as with communities and producers of raw materials.

What Makes Us Unique

Beyond providing advice on policy set up based on our strong technical expertise, we see the world through interactions and relationships. Operating between two worlds (NGO-Companies/Buyer-Supplier), we encourage our partners to look inside, and are not only their environmental conscience. In addition to traceability and assessments, we create and innovate solutions to the challenges companies and communities face.

What We Offer

•  A unique work experience in a fast-growing and dynamic organization, which directly impacts the protection of the environment and promotes improvements in social equity through supply chains.
• A dynamic environment with the chance to work in a multicultural team.
• The opportunity to manage complex projects, farmer and company relationships and develop new business, with exposure to different tasks.

 Essential functions

 The Field Officer will continuously seek new opportunities and present ideas to increase the resilience of farmers in existing supply chains to climatic or economic fluctuations.  He/she should be a self-starter and innovator who believes that farmers are entrepreneurs with vision and leadership.

The Field Officer will work with farmers in Noro and will develop and implement a survey of households to gain an understanding of current social, economic and production conditions, including both risks and opportunities.   With the project manager, he/she will also engage key stakeholders in the region and company staff, and clearly communicate activities and updates to local partners.  In addition to the survey, the Rurality Field Officer will develop maps of current villages / land use. This information will be analyzed and presented as a written report, but also used to develop capacity building activities and provide individual coaching.

The Rurality Field Officer will work in a team with company staff, and also participate in the development of a study of market opportunities.

The Rurality Field Officer will be supervised and work in close collaboration with the TFT Project Manager to be identified to plan, implement and monitor all program activities.

Responsibilities and Scope

• Implement the Rurality program in close collaboration with a private sector company and farmers who will be new members of the supply chain.
• Engage and build trust with key stakeholders, specially farmers and company staff.
• Develop and implement a Rural Dynamics Diagnostic. The Rural Dynamics Diagnostic is a key and compulsory phase of our approach. It is an in-depth assessment of the farmer’s technical, physical, social, and economic environment.
• Develop land use maps at the village level.
• Create a database to manage data, and draft a final report presenting results.
• Co-design with stakeholders plans for how to increase farmer resilience via capacity building, coaching, or other methods.
• Provide regular written reports and updates on work plan to project manager.
• Lead the implementation of project activities working in close collaboration with local company, farmers, and other key local stakeholders.
• Share lessons learned from the Solomon Islands project with other TFT Rurality teams, creating opportunities for exchange and professional growth.

  Candidate Profile – Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 3-years of experience in rural development, including work with local communities.
• Experience negotiating and working with the private sector including small and large businesses, civil society, and government actors.
• Minimum 1-year experience in the development, application and analysis of surveys.
• Minimum of 3 years relevant business or non-profit experience, with increasing responsibilities in program management.
• Experience with GPS and mapping software preferred.
• Strong organizational and negotiation skills, accuracy, attention to detail and ability to manage multiple interrelated tasks.
• Demonstrated experience using diplomacy and tact to navigate tough negotiations, and build strong relationships.

Language:

• English proficiency desirable

Personal characteristics:

• Passion for working on issues related to rural development, sustainability, resilience, and supply chains;
• Hands-on, practical, innovative.
• Flexibility, takes initiative/proactive and positive attitude.
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary and multicultural team;
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and work autonomously;
• Committed to TFT values:
  • Bias for action and on-the-ground results;
  • Entrepreneurial spirit;
  • Open collaboration and communication;
  • Humble;
  • Respect for each other.

Working conditions / Physical effort:

• Based in Noro
• Some trips to Honiara
• Work with farmers in remote and rural regions, which may include stays in rustic conditions.

Other information:

• 1 year contract
• Start in 1^st of January 2018

To Apply

 Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume via email to hq.recruitment@tft-earth.org

Deadline: 24th of November 2017

Please put your last name and Solomon.RFO.2018 in the subject line of the email. Successful candidates will be contacted by phone for an initial interview. The position will be open until filled.  Only candidates who send a resume and cover letter will be considered. Only selected candidates will be contacted.