Project Assistant (Admin) - Outcome 1 & 2 for Strengthening Forest Area Planning and Management in Kalimantan (KALFOR) - SC 4 - Jakarta - (For Indonesian Nationality Only)  

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The UNDP Indonesia and the Government of Indonesia collaborate to run a project entitled “Strengthening Forest Area Planning and Management in Kalimantan (Kalfor)”. The project is focused on the Kalimantan island. The island has to suffer from habitat loss, habitat degradation, overexploitation of biological resources and pollution. This is due to high demand on land or area for agricultural activities. Forest land conversion for palm oil production is blamed to be the highest portion in the process of forest land conversion. It is estimated that the conversion may exceed 9 million hectares, accounting for 26% of deforestation between 2005 and 2010. In the last 10 years, the average deforestation rate associated with palm oil production has been 300,000 ha/year. Expansion potential of oil palm plantation is estimated to be 24.5 million hectares of which 10.3 million hectares will be in Kalimantan up from the current planted area of 3.164 million hectares.

Researchers calculated that 47% of oil palm plantation development from 1990 to 2010 in Kalimantan was at the expense of intact forests, 22% at secondary or logged forests, and 21% at agro-forests, a mix of agricultural land and forests. Only 10% of expansion occurred in non-forested areas. It is estimated that by 2020, under current development scenarion, it would convert 9,384,400 hectare of Kalimantan’s forest of which approximately 90% is forested lands with 41% intact forests, leading to massive carbon emissions.

Palm oil land areas have very low biodiversity values and their expansion causes near total loss of habitat value and habitat fragmentation and degradation, heavily impacting on biodiversity and ecosystem services on the island. Furthermore, oil palm monoculture contains lower biodiversity value due to the absence of the major components of forest vegetation, including forest trees, lianas and epiphytic orchids. Palm oil plantations were also reported to have caused water supply problems at downstream as a result of water use and fertilizer and pesticide application. These threats pose not only a negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services, but also have a significant economic cost to the provinces and the nation, from loss of natural capital. These are considered underlying causes include population growth, poverty, unclear land titles and tenure rights and weak natural resource governance.

In order to safeguard Kalimantan’s globally significant biodiversity, it is critical for Indonesia to pursue a green economic growth path. Indonesia needs to define, plan for and create a better balance between the development and management of major estate crops such as rubber, coffee, and oil palm, and the need for improved forest protection. Improvement in palm oil siting and forest landscape planning and management in Kalimantan is one of the most important components for achieving the green development vision. To implement this issue, UNDP is working closely with he Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) to run the Kalfor project.

The Kalfor project is designed to develop and implement various approaches to enhance protection of forested areas in non-national state forest land (APL), as well as lands within the convertible forest (HPK) category, both of which are subject to potential conversion (administratively and/or physically) to estate crops and other land uses. The project thus focuses on creating more effective land allocations and management of forest areas with high biodiversity and ecosystem services in the context of potential estate crop development in Kalimantan and particularly in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) area. Competing priorities between the country’s targeted increase in palm oil production and associated growth and employment targets for the sector need to be reconciled with commitments at both national and international levels to reducing rates of deforestation, forest fires and associated GHG emissions and biodiversity loss.

The project intervention will be focused on three pilot provinces: West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) and other key government institutions such as the National Planning Authority (Bappenas), the National Land Board (BPN) and Province/district governments as well as relevant sub-national government institutions to protect areas with retained forest cover from conversion to other landuses including estate crops. The project is structured into four components, with each component comprising a complementary suite of two to three outputs:

1. Component 1: Mainstreaming of forest ecosystem service and biodiversity considerations into national, provincial, and district policies and decision-making processes for forest area planning and management;
2. Component 2: Strengthened and expanded implementation of best practises in the estate crops sector in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in four target landscapes in Kalimantan;
3. Component 3: Creation of incentives system to safeguard forests, including biodiversity and ecosystem services, from estate crop sector;
4. Component 4: Knowledge management and M&E.

Concrete practices designed to consider and take account of biodiversity and ecosystem services will be mainstreamed into policies and practices for forest area planning and management and into land allocation decision-making for strategic plantations/commodities siting. In relation to this, UNDP is looking for a highly qualified individual to be a Project Asssitant for the project.

This position is located primarily in project management unit under overall guidance project officer or in a large project report to National Project Manager to support the project on a day-to-day basis to cover administration functions such as procurement, HR, general office and general project administration. (Note: Security is a key function can be covered under this position and should be factored as an essential project management/ operational costs. However, security personnel are normally outsourced.)

Under the overall guidance of the NPM (National Project Manager), the Project Assistant provides project support services ensuring high quality of work, ensures accurate, timely and properly recorded/documented service delivery.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Support the project team to ensure effective project planning and implementation focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Compiles, summarizes, and presents basic information/data on specific project and related topics or issues.
• Implement project standard operating procedures in line with the government and UNDP’s regulations;

2. Support to the effective reporting on progress of project implementation

• Support the administration in preparing annual and quarterly work plans as well as project board meetings, audit, operational and financial closure of a project.
• Support to the preparation of quarterly project reports, in line with the monitoring and reporting guidelines and presents it to the project assurance team on a timely manner;
• To provide administrative support and accurate data collection for preparation of results-oriented progress reports.

3. Provides administrative support to the Project Management Unit focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support the focal point for Administrative and office coordination of project implementation activities to process and follow-up on administrative actions, e.g. recruitment and appointment of personnel, travel arrangements, training/study tours, authorization of payments, disbursement of funds, procurement of equipment and services, security compliance, etc.
• Effective administration of general office matters such as response to simple information requests and inquiries; reviews, logs and routes incoming correspondence; establishment of filling system and maintenance files/records; organization of meetings, workshops; routine administrative tasks, including maintaining attendance records, assessing telephone billing, etc.
• Effective implementation of operations policies for gender sensitive approach at the project level

4. Support strategic partnerships, communication and support to the implementation of resource mobilization

• Support in updating database of the relevant public and development partners private sector, civil society and other stakeholders who are counterparts for the project;
• In coordination with UNDP’s Communication unit and other relevant counterpart communications department, support documentation of the project activities as a tool to communicate results, deepen stakeholder knowledge and buy-in to the project, and resource mobilization for the project.
• Effective contribution and support of with data collection for gender analysis and gender mainstreaming at project level

5. Supports knowledge building and knowledge sharing focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Participation in the trainings for the operations/ projects staff.
• Contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice
• Effective contribution to learning and knowledge sharing in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming

6. The incumbent of the position should avoid any kind of discriminatory behavior including gender discrimination and ensure that

• Human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions;
• Activities are designed and implemented in accordance with “Social and Environmental Standards of UNDP”;
• Any kind of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender is respected within all implementations including data production;
• Differentiated needs of women and men are considered;
• Inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is created;
• Necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings etc. introduced.

COMPETENCIES

Core Competencies:

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work

• Analyzes complex technical materials (including data) and makes concise, relevant recommendations

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow

• Proactively identifies new opportunities and challenges

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

• Takes ownership of responsibilities

Communication & Relationship Management

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

• Understands, explains and shares information on assigned tasks with accuracy and clarity

Delivery

Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

• Meets goals and timelines for delivery of products or services;

Functional Competencies:

Results Based Management

Ability to manage programmes and projects with a strategy aimed at improved performance and demonstrable results

Monitoring and Evaluation

Knowledge of methodologies, assessment tools, systems and apply practical experience in planning, monitoring, evaluating and reporting and ability to apply to practical situations

Office Administration

Ability to manage day-to-day office activities (including but not limited to travel management, facilities and asset management, policy and procedures maintenance) to meet operational needs

Collaboration and Partnership

Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside (Programmes/projects) or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support. Sets overall direction for the formation and management of strategic relationships contributing to the overall positioning of UNDP

Learning and Development

Knowledge of enterprise learning and development issues, concepts, and principles, and ability to apply them to enhance the fulfillment and performance of employees

Gender Issues and Analysis

Knowledge of gender issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, including analysis of projects from a gender perspective

RECRUITMENT QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or other relevant fields of study.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of professional experience, preferably in the field of development for candidates with Bachelor’s degree and 4 years for candidates with Diploma Degree
• Demonstrated familiarity with UNDP development projects in Indonesia is an advantage
• Knowledge of and experience in supporting administration of international cooperation projects will be highly desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Bahasa Indonesia in both writing and speaking.