About the position

Background

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilization of natural resources.

Scope of Work: The Sustainable Rice Officers will support the Sustainable Rice Cultivation Specialist to assess, design, and implement a program of sustainable rice cultivation in the assignment target area, to support local livelihoods and conservation of threatened grasslands and birds. The Sustainable Rice Officers will provide most of the on-the-ground support to local stakeholders, under the leadership of the Sustainable Rice Cultivation Specialist. Individual Sustainable Rice Officers may have a greater focus on certain areas of assignment activities, such as sustainable rice cultivation, alternative agricultural activities or conservation.

Duties and Qualifications

1. Project data management, planning and report.
   ▪ Support day-to-day project implementation; work with the team to ensure the project deliverables and activities are on schedule.
   ▪ Join project related data collection, management, and analysis. The data include list of SRP farmers, list of demonstration plots, list of seed producer groups, list of stakeholders, performance indicator assessment dataset, SRP compliance initial and subsequent assessment datasets, SRP field GPS coordinate, photos, maps…etc.
   ▪ Provide inputs in the development of sustainable rice cultivation annual workplan to ensure that the project activities contribute to the achievement of the set indicators.
   ▪ Provide inputs for landscape team monthly meeting and report.
2. Farmer organizations (Producer Group)
   ▪ Participate in (a) the establishment of new, and (b) the management of ongoing Internal Management Systems (IMS) within target agricultural cooperatives as well as Farmer Water user Committees (FWUC).
   ▪ Provide support in the IMS functioning assessment following SRP IMS assessment guidelines.
   ▪ Support SRP producer group to develop group management plan and lead the implementation of the plan.
   ▪ Support the provision of training to internal management system committee (IMS).
   ▪ Provide regular coaching meetings to SRP producer groups and IMS teams to make sure that they comply with the SRP standards.
3. SRP farmers apply SRP standards that increase income and farming sustainability.
   ▪ Participate in conducting SRP standard compliance assessment and SRP performance indicator assessment and in reporting the assessment results.
   ▪ Provide technical inputs in the development of sustainable rice cultivation training guidelines, techniques, and training materials in accordance with Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standards.
   ▪ Provide technical training to SRP producer groups.
   ▪ Provide regular coaching meetings to SRP farmers to make sure that they comply with the SRP standards.
   ▪ Establish SRP demonstration plots which includes development of concept notes, material procurement support, implementation of demonstration plots, and data management.
   ▪ Support access to quality seed for SRP farmers via establish and support rice seed producer groups following quality declared seed (QDS) system in the producer groups and link SRP farmers to authorized QDS seed producer groups.
   ▪ Promote contract farming which includes exploring linkage potential between millers and producer groups and ensuring the agreement compliance among both parties.
   ▪ Promote adoption of cover crops and fallow period improvement that are beneficial to household income and benefits to locally found bird species of critical importance (i.e. Bengal Floricans).
4. Birds and natural habitat protection
   ▪ Work with WCS FWUC and with specialists to establish and strengthen the capacity of FWUC in providing effective services to their members.
   ▪ Support the data collection, activities, and management of Farmer Water Use Committee in preventing illegal extension of canals from command area into Important Birds and Biodiversity (IBBA) and unauthorized pumping of water into IBBA
   ▪ Support WCS biodiversity and GIS teams in conducting grassland assessment and avian monitoring.

Minimum qualifications and experience:

1. An undergraduate degree in conservation, agriculture, or related fields.
2. Minimum of 3 years’ work experience with programs to enhance the environmental sustainability of agriculture in Asia.
3. Experiences in community development, especially agricultural cooperatives, and farmer water user group.
4. Experience in promoting sustainable farming practices. This includes farmer field school, establishment of demonstration plots, and facilitation of contract farming.
5. Experiences in data collection, survey, and data management using participatory tools, Kobo Collect, and GPS
6. Understanding wildlife conservation and protected area management is an asset.
7. Excellent interpersonal ability to work independently and as part of a team.
8. Good in English and fluency in Khmer.
9. Good analytical/problem-solving, report writing, and critical thinking skills.
10. Keen to work under pressure, handle multiple tasks, and meet multiple timelines and assignments simultaneously required.
11. Be able to work in remote areas with regular travel by boat, motorbike, and foot if needed.
12. Maintain excellent communication with the project team, partners, and stakeholders to achieve project goals and objectives.
13. Good Computer skills and Microsoft Office (Ms. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Email).
14. Strong interpersonal, teamwork, and presentation skills.

How to apply

If you are interested in the position, please send your application to cambodiahr@wcs.org. Closing date for application is 08th October 2023. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

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