Community Engagement Technical Assistant at LuxDev: (Deadline 28 August 2024)

JOB ADVERTISEMENT

Job Title: Community Engagement Technical Assistant (CETA)

Organization: Luxembourg Development Agency

Duty Station: Kigali, Rwanda

Application Deadline: 28^th August 2024

Start Date: 01^st October 2024

Contract type: Limited, full-time

Contract length: 57 months

Submit: LuxDev Human It System

Background

The Sustainable Forestry and Efficient Renewable Energy for improved livelihood (SFERE) – RWA/028 project contributes to solving the equation of the demand for wood energy in Rwanda and the overexploitation and degradation of productive forests. It is designed around three components:

• The project plans to engage the private forestry sector, especially smallholders, in adapting to climate change through more efficient and sustainable forest management.
• To reduce the pressure on natural resources due to the growing demand for wood energy and losses related to charcoal production, the SFERE project also promotes “clean cooking” for urban and peri-urban households and to develop the value chain and the wood pellet
• To encourage the adoption of sustainable practices and contribute to the resilience of involved communities, the project will also support income diversification, particularly through value chains such as agroforestry, beekeeping, and non-timber forest products.

The project initially stems from a concept note written by the Ministry of Environment of Rwanda, with technical support from Enabel. The formulation of the project began in November 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2024.

The SFERE project is expected to start on the 1^st of August 2024 and to run for five years with a budget of 12 000 000 EUR.

The SFERE project will be implemented by LuxDev, with a technical team based in Kigali, and two or three satellite offices in the intervention areas. The technical team will be supported by a shared Operational Pool Office covering administrative, financial, and other support functions for all projects implemented by LuxDev in Rwanda.

Key national stakeholders are the Ministry of Environment (MoE) who will chair the Steering Committee, the Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA) and the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), which has authority on the energy sector, including clean cooking. Close links are expected with the Rwanda Green Fund and the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA). The projet will also set partnerships with civil society and private sector organisations, as well as with the Luxembourg-based NGO ADA.

Job purpose

• the CETA represents LuxDev in the implementation structure of the project.
• the CETA will promote LuxDev’s values in the field. S/he passes LuxDev’s main mission, namely capacity building. S/he participates in the implementation of the LuxDev’s vision.
• in this view, s/he ensures that all processes defined by the LuxDev’s are implemented in accordance with the Agency’s Quality Manual.

Main responsabilities and tasks

Essential Job Duties 

• Design and execute community mobilization strategies that effectively engage local communities in SFERE project districts.
• Identify the pilot sites and select local communities for the project implementation during inception phase.
• Assist district teams to develop criteria and select project sites for field implementation.
• Conduct regular community outreach sessions to raise awareness about sustainable forest management, clean cooking, value chain promotion, and alternative livelihoods.
• Collaborate with local organizations and government agencies to strengthen community led development.
• Develop materials and tools to support community awareness, education and promotion.
• Organize and facilitate community meetings and workshops to gather input and feedback on sustainable forestry/agroforestry, clean cooking initiatives, value chain promotion, and alternative livelihoods promotion activities.
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of community mobilization efforts, adapting strategies as necessary to meet program goals.
• Serve as a liaison between the community and service providers to ensure services are culturally appropriate and meet community needs.
• Support the integration of community feedback into program planning and implementation.
• Foster strong partnerships with local partner to ensure sustained engagement and support for sustainable forest management, renewable energy and value chain promotion initiatives.

Monitoring results

• Regularly visit and follow-up on the objectively verifiable indicators (OVI):
• establish data gathering mechanisms and dashboards to ensure OVI follow-up,
• ensure the specific monitoring of crosscutting issues based on the screening results,
• ensure the steering of the project based on the results of the indicators and risk analysis.

Managing information

• Report Preparation
• Assist CTA to prepare draft reports required by LuxDev and the MFA.
• Knowledge management:
• Promote and contribute to knowledge management and experience sharing within the project coordination office (PCO), district offices, and with other stakeholders active in the forestry and energy sectors in Rwanda,
• establish a process for the documenting of activities and support the development of (digital) knowledge products,
• draft support documents.
• ensure capitalisation:
• draft and execute a capitalisation and sharing of experiences plan,
• organise the end-of-project debriefing,
• draft capitalisation reports and support documents;
• manage communication:
• present the quantitative and qualitative risk analysis and identification of threats and opportunities,
• draft an OVI monitoring report (frequency to be defined),
• draft a project monitoring report (frequency to be defined).

Developing capacity

• provide technical assistance and capacity building support to Rwandan stakeholders related to key areas such as PFMU/community mobilization and their engagement, strategic support, sector coordination, etc.
• develop capacity development plan:
• identify training needs and draft a human resources development plan,
• assist district offices and local partner in the identification of the training needs and the drafting of a human resources development plan,
• assist the drafting of the technical reports,
• assist the drafting of the activities’ implementation plan,
• assist the supervision of the teams,
• assist in the design of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism,
• assist in the implementation of daily tasks,
• deliver training to groups or individuals.
• develop capacity at an organisational level:
• assist the drafting of processes and procedures,
• assist the development, implementation or strengthening of a reporting mechanism, a monitoring mechanism, an evaluation mechanism, management tools, and activities and financial planning mechanism,
• assist in development of a partnership framework,
• assist in development mechanisms promoting the flow and dissemination of information,
• assist in processes regarding the identification and selection of providers of works services and goods,
• support in the capacity building of targeted organisations (such as PFMUs), in relevant topics (such as in forestry issues, organisation development and financial literacy),
• support the capacity building of district-level and RFA officers of IPRC and TVET school staff,
• support the mobilisation of internal and external financing mechanism to sustain SFM,
• assist in the development of marketing and communication tools,
• assist in the development of a knowledge management system,
• assist in the setting up of a filing system.
• develop capacity at an institutional level:
• advise and assist the partner in the development, monitoring and evaluation of a strategy, policy, budget, etc.,
• advise on the implementation of sector-wide approach or similar,
• advise on the development of objectives and results.

Education and/or experience – mandatory or desirable 

• mandatory – Graduate degree in social work, agriculture, rural development, communications, or in a related field relevant to the project. Professional training in the concerned field is desirable.
• mandatory – at least 10 years of experience in a comparable position, preferably in the context of community mobilization and training/capacity building in forestry, biomass energy, agriculture, or related field.
• desirable – Knowledge and experience related to climate change adaptation and to environment conservation.

How to apply:

Please apply via our website: https://hcm55.sapsf.eu/sf/jobreq?jobId=1620&company=luxdevelop

Deadline: 28th August 2024 at 04:00 pm