Land Dispute Resolution Specialist

Abt Associates has been selected by the Millennium Challenge Account-Indonesia to implement the one-year Participatory Mapping and Planning (PMaP) 6 project. Through this project Abt Associates will help over 300 rural villages in fifteen districts throughout the country to delineate and demarcate their boundaries and map their resources to attract future investment in areas that will improve rural livelihoods in an environmentally sustainable manner. In this project, Abt Associates and its team of Indonesian specialists and subcontractors will implement the 21-step Village Boundary Setting/Resource Management (VBS/RM) methodology in collaboration with local communities and government through a participatory process.  

Abt Associates is seeking a field-based Land Dispute Resolution Specialist to support and oversee work in assigned areas of Sumatra Barat and/or Jambi. The Land Dispute Resolution Coordinator will report to the Land Tenure Advisor based in Jakarta and provide technical support to the technical teams implementing the VBS/RM process on the ground. The position requires a five to six-month posting commitment in either Sumatra Barat or Jambi and extensive travel within the region. Living and quarter’s allowance will be provided by the project if relocation is required.

Roles and Responsibilities

Provide expert support to the Kecamatan Technical Working Teams and the Village Participation Teams in regards to village boundary dispute resolution and mediation which may arise during VBS/RM process;  

Participate in the district and subdistrict level planning meeting and serve as a village administrative boundary/land-based dispute resolution resource person in meetings as needed;

Plan for village administrative boundary/land-based dispute mediation and provide oversight during its application as needed; 

Monitor the village administrative boundary/land disputes and associated aspects of the VBS/RM process and provide input and support data for the preparation of reports and presentations; 

Coordinate directly with the Land Tenure Coordinator, Field Coordinators, and other personnel in the planning, coordinating, and implementation of field work, data processing, and preparation of reports and presentations; 

Provide technical support to the Community Liaison/Coordination Specialist and Social and Communications Facilitators on the Kecamatan Technical Working Teams in the following types of activities: 

Investigating the village administrative boundary/land-based issues of each district, sub-district, and village in the assigned districts, including indigenous land (adat land) issues in coordination with the Stakeholders Engagement Specialist; 

Developing a willingness-based mechanism for mediation of village administrative boundary disputes to be used in the case of land tenure, land boundary, and land use disputes;

Preparing data and materials on the fieldwork for use in for technical reports and presentations. 

g.   Write field reports, assist in collating case files produced by the Kecamatan Technical Working Teams, from the agreement/disagreement/dispute administrative boundary processes.

Minimum Qualifications

 

Academic level degree in land tenure, geography, sociology, peace studies / conflict resolution, natural resource management or rural development;

Seven years professional experience in administrative boundary / land-related development projects or research;

Demonstrated technical understanding of natural resource management, administrative boundary / land use and rural community development and administrative boundary / land-based dispute mediation;

Demonstrated skill in coordination, communication, and interaction with local government and community representatives;

Strong knowledge of rural land issues, indigenous/customary (adat) land tenure, and territorial claims; especially local knowledge in the Provinces of Sumatra Barat and Jambi; 

Ability to frequently travel to remote locations in Indonesia;

Fluency in Bahasa Indonesia and working knowledge of English;

Five month posting commitment in Sumatra Barat or Jambi. Extensive travel within region is required.

 

Interested candidates may send a CV and cover letter to abt.pmap@gmail.com before Oct 06,2017.Only qualified candidates will be contacted.