TERMS OF REFERENCE
Position Title: / Enterprise Officer / Salary Range : TBDLocation: / Basankusu, DRC / Department: / Program
Supervisor: / Congo Heartland Director / Supervises: / N/A
Position Summary:
The purpose of this position is to play a key role in the development and management of a Conservation Enterprise Program as a key mechanism for the design and delivery of innovative approaches and services to strengthen conservation enterprises into Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Heartland for maximum conservation and development impact. The enterprise officer in collaboration with the Senior Director, Conservation Enterprise for AWF will develop and implement an economically sound and sustainable strategy to support access to the urban market for the communities involved in the SOIL-program (axe Mompono-Lingomo-Djolu, Equateur Province, SOIL/CARPE). This strategy might become a model to be implemented elsewhere in the Congo Heartland.
Key Duties & Responsibilities:
Essential duties include:
- Analyzing the different options for increasing access to the market for agricultural crops as a way to increase the revenue of the local communities living along the roads that connect the Maringa river with Djolu centre or any alternative evacuation routes. The development of the strategy will be done in close collaboration with the local communities. Consultation with the other MLW-partners (CIAT, ICRAF, UMD, World Fish, and REFADD) will allow for adaptive management (e.g. consult with CIAT on the kind of crops to focus on). The enterprise officer will further develop and help implementing the strategy, monitor the performance and evaluate the effectiveness. The results of the evaluation and the lessons learned will be used for adaptation of the strategy and execution in the next round.
- Identifying new conservation enterprise projects through developing and testing a range of enterprise options aimed at improving the commercial returns to private and communal landholders from natural resources and providing essential services to enable communities to assess the value of their resources against market requirements so as to determine viable business and partnership options. Focus is both on agricultural crops, transformed products from these crops, and non-timber forest products.
3. Executing all due diligence and business planning processes for new enterprises and submitting results for approval to ensure general compliance and good business practice by engaging credible private sector players and advising communities on how to manage resources, distribute and invest income; and promoting enterprise planning at a landscape level to encourage optimal fit between enterprises and to determine the appropriate scale and type of enterprises for commercial and ecological sustainability. The enterprise officer will develop this both on Kinshasa, Mbandaka, Basankusu and local level.
4. Development and structuring of all approved conservation enterprise projects through the facilitation and unlocking of economic/ entrepreneurial opportunities open for rural communities as a catalyst for their involvement in conservation. Such opportunities may include tapping the financial, management and marketing resources of the private sector and access to venture capital, commercial loans and grants.
5. Management and monitoring of all established conservation enterprises projects by providing well targeted business development services and expertise and evaluating their quality and impact as well as measuring the efficiency in the provision of services and goods to a rapidly changing market environment, measuring economic viability and feedback mechanism to the overall conservation enterprise strategy.
6. Supporting the development and management of appropriate partnerships with third party organizations/ individuals that will efficiently accelerate fulfillment of AWF’s conservation enterprise strategy, managing relationships and propagating fair, mutual and beneficial partnerships between private sector businesses and communities and responsively supporting and servicing the demands of all partners and third party organizations relevant to each conservation enterprise project.
7. Playing part in the implementation of ecosystem-wide tourism area planning processes by working with partners, teams/ individuals to initiate key components of coordinating tourism development, institutional capacity building, destination marketing and branding.
8. Timely reporting as required by the Director, Conservation Enterprise in Nairobi and the Congo Heartland Director and the Senior Program Officer SOIL-CARPE to ensure that Conservation Enterprise Program activities are well integrated into AWF's commitment to landscape level conservation
Qualifications:
Education / ü Masters degree in Business Administration, Enterprise Development, Development Studies or Project Management orü Bachelors’ degree in the above mentioned fields with at least 5 years direct experience in Enterprise development
Experience / ü At least 5 years expertise in the private sector or in enterprise development in remote areas, and proven experience in implementing successful enterprise activities in challenging conditions.
ü Experience in advising and designing benefit management strategies and projects that contribute to conservation threat abatement and improve the livelihoods for target value chains and communities.
ü Demonstrated experience in project management including delivering to tight deadlines.
ü Demonstrated experience in working in the field with communities and private sector operators.
Skills & Knowledge / ü Capable of being an interface between local communities, technical experts and private sector;
ü Ability to communicate effectively with a wide group of collaborators, including proactive sharing of information and
reporting;
ü Proficiency in both French and English (spoken and written) is required; competency in lingala is an added advantage.
ü Ability to work and travel in harsh physical environment i.e. isolated remote region of DRC, with basic amenities, working with war-torn local rural population;
ü Commitment to AWF and its mission.
ü Proactive nature of problem solving
ü Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritization
ü Excellent interpersonal skills
ü Excellent verbal and written communication skills
ü Ability to take initiative and to work with minimal supervision
ü Excellent organizational aptitude and coordinating ability
ü Ability to assess and react appropriately to changing circumstances
ü Ability to pay attention to detail and meet strict deadlines
ü Ability to work as part of a team in a multicultural environment
ü Computer literacy – proficiency in Microsoft Office, word, excel and programs statistics;
ü Ability to work under pressure
ü Exposure to travel
ü Drive motorbike on difficult roads;
Enterprise officer drc Page 1 of 3