ISEAL Alliance

The Forest Stewardship Council is looking for a Policy Officer to support and complement the functions of the Social Program Manager in relation to the implementation of the FSC Social Policy Program. Location: Bonn, Germany. Deadline for Applications: 25 February 2010

Full vacancy announcement

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, not for profit, non-government organization based in Bonn Germany providing standard setting, trade­mark and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in re­sponsible forestry. Founded in 1993, FSC’s mission is to promote environmentally ap­propriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s for­ests. The FSC governance structure ensures that FSC is independent of any one in­terest group by requiring an equal balance between its environmental, social and eco­nomic chambers as well as a balance between interests from the economic north and south. For further information consult our web site www.fsc.org.

This full time position will be located in the Policy and Standards Unit, and report to the Social Policy Manager and the Head of Unit.  The initial contract will be for one year. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting and complementing the functions of the Social Program Manager in relation to the implementation of the FSC Social Policy Program, the three main goals of which are to: 1) build capacity of National Initiatives (NIs), government organizations, and NGOs to prepare small and community producers to obtain and benefit from certification; 2) improve marketing capacity through information and promotion of new labels for small and community producers, and 3) strengthen networks of small and community producers.  The suc­cessful candidate will also help contribute to the achievement of the social objectives of the FSC Global Strategy, in particular the objectives identified under Goal 2 of the Global Strategy.

More particularly, the successful candidate will assist the Social Program Manager to:

1. develop new informational and multilingual materials and organize training events on certification policies and procedures for national initiatives and organizations that work with small and community producers around the globe
2. expand and maintain a comprehensive, multilingual website on certification for small and community producers
3. organize activities to strengthen networks of small and community produc­ers in different regions
4. stay abreast of initiatives and research on topics related to the Social Policy Program and distribute results to the stakeholder community
5. participate in the development of International Standards and Guidelines on specific social issues in collaboration with other members of the Policy and Standards Unit
6. generally, to promote awareness of social issues within the Network 
7. undertake any other task assigned by the Head of Policy and Standards or Social Policy Manager.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The successful candidate should possess at least 3 years professional experi­ence in social themes in the area of natural resource management, preferably including in the Global South, and be able to demonstrate the following key competencies:

• Field-level experience: practical experience with problems confronted and opportunities available to small-scale natural resource managed op­erations or of workers’ conditions in forest enterprises.
• Team work skills: the ability to work well within a multi-cultural, interdis­ciplinary, multi-lingual team within a Global Action Network.
• Good interpersonal communication skills: the successful candidate must be able to speak well and present convincingly, while possessing active-listening skills, being able to facilitate group sessions, and main­tain positive interpersonal relations and confidence in her/his role in rep­resentation of FSC.

• Ability to relate to FSC’s values and approach: the successful candi­date must identify fully with the values and mission of FSC, above all the social values, and be familiar in general with the scope and functioning of FSC’s programs of standards setting, accreditation, trademark man­agement, political dialogue and networking.
• Educational qualifications: the successful candidate must perform her/his work in the English language at the FSC International Center in Bonn, Germany, and also possess good communication skills in other key languages (preferably, Spanish, Portuguese, French &/or German). The candidate must have successfully completed a university degree in a relevant field (e.g., forestry, anthropology, biology, sociology) and demonstrate competence, experience and skills for this position through references of past colleagues and presentation in a group interview for­mat.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• The position is based in Bonn, Germany.
• The job will require international travel.
• FSC is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate nationality, ethnicity or religion.

Contact details

All applications, full CV/resume and a covering motivation letter should be sent to Ms Guillermina Garza, Head of the Director’s Office, via e-mail g [dot] garza [at] fsc [dot] org or via post to Forest Stewardship Council International Centre, Charles-de-Gaulle-Strasse 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany. Further information is available by visiting the FSC web site www.fsc.org

The position will remain open until February 25, 2010, or until filled.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.