Sustainable Rice Platform Specialist
Position Circumstances
- Career Category: Agriculture - Agronomy, Resources & Environment, Community Development, Social Work
- Schedule:Full-time
- Salary: Negotiable
Reporting to : Team leader.
Duration of contract : 165 days, 7.5 months, 3 months/year between 2026 and 2027.
Location : Kampong Thom Province, Tonle Sap Landscape Office, with frequent travels to other provinces around the Tonle Sap Lake.
Timing : WCS working Schedule.
Scope of Work: The Sustainable Rice Platform Specialist will support the Team Leader and Sustainable rice officers to assess, design, and implement a program of sustainable rice cultivation in the assignment target area, to support local livelihoods and conservation of threatened grasslands and birds with a focus on promotion, partnerships that will provide access to new markets.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Work package 1.1: Promote farmers’ participation in SRP project
- The specialist will ensure that 800 farmers are registered in SRP producer groups by 2027. To achieve this target, the specialist, in collaboration with sustainable rice cultivation officers, will:
- Organize SRP and biodiversity conservation awareness events in the designated target areas.
- Support existing Internal Management System (IMS) teams in registering new members and conducting internal inspections/self-assessments against SRP standards.
- Establish new SRP producer groups where necessary, including member registration, internal inspections, and development of group management structures.
- Carry out additional tasks as required.
- Work package 1.2: Develop rice and service business cooperation
- The specialist will ensure that at least six contract agreements between companies and SRP farmer groups are established by 2027. To achieve this goal, the specialist will:
- Lead multiple multi-stakeholder meetings.
- Facilitate business-to-business meetings between rice mills, input and service providers, and SRP producer groups.
- Initiate SRP-verified rice contract farming arrangements between identified buyers and producer groups and play a key role in ensuring the successful implementation of these contracts.
- Work package 1.3: Enhance and strengthen capacity of producer groups (IMS team)
- The specialist will ensure that IMS teams operate effectively to provide support and services to their members and achieve at least a minimum score of 75% against the IMS SRP standard. To accomplish this, the specialist will:
- Conduct IMS compliance assessments and prepare reports outlining overall scores and key corrective measures for improving compliance with SRP standards.
- Review and update group management plans and organizational structures of established SRP producer groups as needed.
- Develop training materials and deliver training sessions focused on corrective measures for IMS team members.
- Organize coaching meetings and other capacity-building activities for producer groups.
- Work package 1.4: Promote the SRP compliance level among SRP farmers
- This work package aims to ensure compliance with all applicable SRP Standard threshold values and achieve at least a 5% increase in farmers’ overall SRP scores. To meet this target, the specialist will:
- Conduct second-party verification of SRP compliance levels within target producer groups, providing an indication of the success of SRP-verified rice contract agreements outlined in Work Package 1.2.
- Deliver training sessions and capacity-building events on SRP standards for target producer groups.
- Establish SRP demonstration plots and organize field day events to showcase SRP standard implementation.
- Monitor and follow up on SRP Standard adoption by farmers in established producer groups within target areas, ensuring effective implementation and compliance.
- Work package 1. 5: Facilitate access to pure quality seeds
- All SRP-registered farmers must use at least self-saved seeds with quality control for a maximum of three crop cycles, as required under the SRP quality rice seed standard. To support this, the specialist, in collaboration with sustainable rice cultivation officers, will:
- Facilitate the registration of Quality Declared Seed (QDS) systems for target seed producer groups.
- Organize capacity-building events on rice seed production in accordance with QDS standards.
- Monitor seed production through field checks, coaching, and planning activities.
- Conduct seed production field day events.
- Assist the team leader in purchasing and supplying registered rice seeds, tools, and equipment to seed producer groups, and oversee the construction of seed storage warehouses.
- Work package 1.6: Promote environmentally friendly farming practices that benefit biodiversity
- At least 20% of registered farmers will pilot environmentally friendly farming practices that support biodiversity under this work package. To achieve this, the specialist, in collaboration with sustainable rice cultivation officers, will:
- Assess crop suitability for diversification within paddy fields and identify applicable farming practices to be promoted.
- Organize training sessions on environmentally friendly farming practices.
Expected Profile of Candidates
Languages:
- Khmer - Fluent
- English - Good
Qualifications:
- Postgraduate Degree in agriculture, agronomy, agroecology and sustainable agriculture or related fields.
Work History:
- Work experience with programs to enhance the environmental sustainability of agriculture in Asia for 5 years as a minimum
Skills & Knowledge:
General & Technical Skills
- Experiences with sustainable rice cultivation approaches (preferably Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) knowledge and crop diversification) within Cambodia, farmer field school, establishment of demonstration plots, and facilitation of contract farming.
- Experiences in data collection, survey, and data management using participatory tools, Kobo Collect, and GPS
- Good understanding of rice related sectors in Asia and experience in community development, agricultural cooperatives, and farmer water user group.
- Understanding wildlife conservation and protected area management is an asset.
- Good in English and fluency in Khmer.
- Good analytical/problem-solving, report writing, and critical thinking skills.
- Good Computer skills and Microsoft Office (Ms. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Email).
Soft Skills
- Excellent interpersonal ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Keen to work under pressure, handle multiple tasks, and meet multiple timelines and assignments simultaneously required.
- Be able to work in remote areas with regular travel by boat, motorbike, and foot if needed.
- Maintain excellent communication with the project team, partners, and stakeholders to achieve project goals and objectives.
- Strong interpersonal, teamwork, and presentation skills.
