Community Engagement Officer – NZMATES (Maluku)

Program Summary

The New Zealand – Maluku Access to Renewable Energy Support (NZMATES) aims to accelerate renewable energy (RE) development to improve access to energy on Seram and surrounding islands in Maluku province. The five-year program is funded by the New Zealand Government Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is implemented by renewable energy company Infratec Ltd. in partnership with Mercy Corps Indonesia. NZMATES is working towards promoting and accelerating the identification of renewable energy projects and increase their attractiveness and viability, social and environmental assessments, technical considerations, and triggering and facilitating investment and funding from government, private sector, or other donors. NZMATES has partnered and collaborates closely with PLN, EBTKE, Dinas ESDM, and BAPPEDA on increasing the use of renewables and improving energy access through grid-connected and off-grid RE projects. The NZMATES Team is based in Ambon and provides support to fill gaps in knowledge, resources, and research, and that projects are aligned with the Government of Indonesia and community development framework and objectives. The proposed support for RE projects includes assistance with project identification and appraisal, technical and social assessments, finance matching, and project design to strengthen long-term sustainability. NZMATES is also intended to enhance local public and private sector capacity and offer opportunities for direct training, technical exchange programs, and interaction between Maluku educational institutions and NZ renewable energy specialists.

NZMATES is a uniquely flexible program which is designed to respond to the needs and priorities of partner organizations and changing realities on the ground. Work plans and program activities are not pre-defined but are developed collaboratively with partners through a 6-monthly planning cycle.

General Position Summary

This is a full-time, temporary position. The initial contract will be for 6 months, with the possibility of extension or conversion into a permanent role, subject to need and funding availability.

The NZMATES community engagement team, based at Mercy Corps Indonesia’s office in Ambon, requires additional support to carry out assessments in remote program locations in Maluku from a new Community Engagement Officer (CEO). This role will work together with two other CEOs and the rest of the NZMATES team to identify key stakeholders and groups within communities, communicate project activities and objectives, ascertain community needs and barriers to participation, and encourage involvement in project activities following good practice standards. The CES, together with the rest of the NZMATES community engagement and technical team, will also conduct community-level assessments, stakeholder mapping, and energy needs assessments. This role will also work in the coordination of community training and capacity building efforts in communities, and in the development of documentation such as tools, methods, and procedures to support community engagement activities for NZMATES.

The CEO will also support translation for external visitors to target communities and with a translation of documents when necessary. This role will engage, coordinate, collect information, and seek opportunities to collaborate with the district, sub-district, and village initiatives, or other programs or organizations active in target communities. The CEO will support project implementation together with relevant community actors, including assisting communities with the development of renewable energy plans and proposals and execution of renewable energy projects. The Community Engagement team will support monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities, and ensure community-level accountability and feedback mechanisms are in place.

*This position will be hired as temporary staff for a 6-month contract with the potential for extension

Knowledge and Experience

• University degree or work experience equivalent in socio-economic development, social sciences, anthropology, or similar field;
• 5+ years’ experience in community development programming;
• Experience working with humanitarian or development organization (NGO or other);
• Experience engaging with remote communities, local government (village, sub-district, and district level), civil society, and other local stakeholders;
• Ability to foster positive and effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders;
• Experience working in Maluku province and understanding of local context;
• Familiarity in research and gathering data on socioeconomic indicators, statistics and other information on different communities, analyzing data and processing it;
• Experience in carrying out socio-economic surveys and field data gathering processes;
• Experience in conducting community assessments, FGD, MEL, and KII;
• Experience with energy needs assessments, evaluating energy needs priorities, capacity to pay, and other energy project related requirements;
• Experience with defining potential village-level management/support models, identifying champions, and assessing local capacities;
• Experience in engaging and obtaining village representation from all sectors, including the most vulnerable;
• Experience with carrying out disaggregated assessments and reporting;
• Experience with village funds, BUMDes, and other local villages, sub-district, and district entities;
• Strong facilitation skills as used for group meetings, negotiations, training, etc.
• Strong communication skills and experience working as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
• English language and translation skills;
• Ability to take initiative, anticipate and solve problems, meet deadlines, work under pressure, work independently on multiple tasks with limited supervision, work cooperatively with team members and partners;
• Ability to be flexible, open-minded, and creative;
• Familiarity with Word, Excel, and internet; and
• Willingness to spend a large amount of time in remote field locations.
• This role is open to all applicants. Women and people from Maluku are especially encouraged to apply.

Desired and added-value capacities

• At least five years of experience working with communities on renewable energy projects desired;
• Experience in conducting energy needs assessments is desirable and will be highly valued;

Please find the full version of the Position Description on http://shorturl.at/dvJR8  

Please send your CV together with the form on this link with position applied on the email subject to hrd@id.mercycorps.org 

The vacancy will be closed 15 September 2019 and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

We look forward to hearing from those who are interested in taking this opportunity to grow and develop with us.