Senior Associate, Petén -- CNCG, TREES

Reports To: 
Deputy Chief of Party – CNCG, TREES
Type: 
Job Opportunities
Location: 
Guatemala - Petén Region

The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Based in New York City, with offices throughout the United States and worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers.

Climate, Nature and Communities in Guatemala (CNCG) will assist in the development of a process to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Guatemala -- improving management of natural resources and conservation of biodiversity, building institutional and technical capacity, and strengthening the policy and legal framework necessary for the country to respond to climate change. The project will strengthen the capacity of local organizations to address biodiversity, forest conservation and sustainable land management and address issues related to food security, adaptation, environmental certification, income-generating opportunities, and low emissions development strategies.

Position Summary: 

The Senior Associate, Petén will be responsible for providing technical assistance to CNCG team to achieve all CNCG main objectives (except Objective 3).  The Senior Associate, Petén will manage the field work plan for forest timber and non-timber products from community based organizations (CBOs) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Petén, train the communities in supply programs, advise them in commercialization techniques, guiding the sustainable management activities for forest timber and non-timber products, and develop training programs for the communities for adoption of sustainable practices. S/he will coordinate with CNCG Objectives 2 and 4 leaders and support them as required.

Responsibilities: 
  • Represent Rainforest Alliance in Petén, Guatemala;
  • Develop and support the creation of monthly working plans detailing activities to be carried out in accordance with the CNCG Project work plan and other donor requirements;
  • Supervise over all Petén CBO/SME monitoring and evaluating outputs and outcomes for each CNCG objective;
  • Train and provide technical assistance in quality control for  specific timber and non-timber forest products for the Maya Biosphere Reserve;
  • Negotiate Memorandums of Understanding with the communities and companies that are part of the commercial linkages;
  • Guide the activities of sustainable management for timber and non-timber products outside of protected areas;
  • Identify linkage opportunities for management of non-timber products in Selva Maya and support the writing of new proposals with the intention of seeking new funding; and
  • Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Manages 6 employees. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws.  Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Qualifications: 
  • Business Administration, Economics, or Forestry Engineering degree, or alike sciences with emphasis in community or rural/social development;
  • 5-7 year minimum of proven experience in coordinating teams, sustainable management practices for timber and non-timber forest products, forest planning, and community forestry management;
  • Excellent analytical and problem solving skills;
  • Strong language skills, reading and verbal in Spanish and English;
  • Ability to adapt to multi-cultural situations;
  • Strong computer skills (MS-Office);
  • Knowledge and experience in forestry certification is preferred; and
  • 5 year minimum experience working in the Petén region and its conditions;
  • Willingness and availability to travel at 50% of time to local CBO/SME; and
  • Live in Petén.
Salary: 

Commensurate with experience.

Notes: 

Only candidates authorized to work in Guatemala will be considered.

Application: 

Send resume, cover letter and salary history to Human Resources, Rainforest Alliance, 8 Avenida 15-62, zona 10, Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala 01010. Fax: (502) 2383-5777; E-mail: guatemalapersonnel@ra.org. If emailing, use the following format in the subject line: first name and last name, job title of position you are applying for.

The Rainforest Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.