Project Officer - Africa Programme

Forest People's Project (FPP). Cameroon.

Closing date: June 15, 2013.

Description:

Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) supports the rights of peoples who live in forests and depend on them for their livelihoods. We work to create political space for forest peoples to secure their rights, control their lands and decide their own futures.  

We are looking for a Project Officer to support our Africa programme work in Cameroon and the Congo basin. Successful applicants will speak and write fluently in French and English, and have a master’s degree (or higher) that is relevant to our work. S/he will join our work on the ground with forest peoples and their support organisations to help indigenous and local forest communities protect their forests and exercise their self-determination. The successful candidate must be committed to the principle of self-determination for indigenous peoples and local communities. S/he must be prepared to travel often and be competent in providing technical support to our project teams around the Congo basin region, including reporting on activities and events, and monitoring budgets.  

Experienced candidates wishing to transfer skills and recent graduate students looking to gain more field experience with forest communities and policy makers in Africa are encouraged to apply. The final job description and the salary will be commensurate with experience. The successful candidate will be passionate about human rights and cognisant of the fundamental interaction between international and national laws. The role also requires strong aptitudes for team work and the ability to interact diplomatically with a wide range of people.

In Africa, FPP is engaged with the development and implementation of policies impacting on community lands and forests involving conservation, agribusiness and extractive interests that target community lands. This new post is linked to the rising demands from forest communities for support to deal with the rapid infrastructural development across the Central Africa region that is impacting upon their lands and rights. The successful candidate will join FPP’s multi-disciplinary team with longstanding and extensive experience working directly with indigenous peoples and forests around the tropical belt. It is supported by the FPP office located in Moreton-in-Marsh, UK. The successful applicant will be based in Cameroon, and will be required to travel extensively around Cameroon and the Congo basin.

Qualifications and experience preferred:

• Masters degree or higher in relevant field (anthropology, law, social policy, governance,  environment, etc)
• Working knowledge in one or more of the following areas: human rights, indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and issues, land tenure, legal (and policy) reforms, governance and civil society and natural resource management
• Ability to deliver capacity building support to local partners and communities.
• Experience of working and/or living in Africa 
• Experience of project and budget management 
• Self-motivated with proven abilities to balance priorities, work autonomously and as part of a team
• Excellent communication skills and capacity to modify language, content, and style to address different audiences in French and English 
• Excellent computer skills and efficient use of online communication networks and databases

Specific responsibilities:

• Manage the implementation of FPP’s EU funded project ‘Legitimate decision making and effective representation of the indigenous forest peoples of Cameroon’ in coordination with other FPP project staff and our local partners.
• Strategise and work in coordination with our Cameroon Project Coordinator/ FPP staff working in the Congo Basin

Terms:

• Full-time
• Fixed term contract starting July 2013
• Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience for FPP Project Officer grade 

To Apply:

Please submit a completed application form (available here: http://www.forestpeoples.org/region/africa/news/2013/05/job-vacancy-project-officer-africa-programme-closing-date-15th-june-2013) and a covering letter explaining why you feel you are suited to this position, by email to Julia@forestpeoples.org with Project Officer Africa Application in the subject line.

Deadline for applications: June 15, 2013.