MANAGER, STANDARD DESIGN & INNOVATION (SMALLHOLDERS)

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global partnership to make palm oil sustainable. Today, the RSPO is a global, non-profit organisation with over 6,000 voluntary members across 104 countries and territories, representing every link in the supply chain: oil palm producers, palm oil processors and traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and social or developmental NGOs.

At RSPO, we believe that our success is built by the passion, dedication, skills, and expertise of our people. They are the ones who drive our organisation to new heights and guide us through the next phase of our development.

The Standards & Sustainability Division of RSPO is looking for a Manager, Standard Design & Innovation (SDI) to be part of the global SDI team to ensure that RSPO continues to have best-in-class standards for the production and consumption of sustainable palm oil that are inclusive, accessible, credible, and implementable to deliver RSPO’s intended impacts.

The position’s main focus will be on oil palm smallholders, in particular the RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard and the certification system that facilitates compliance to the standard. This will involve leading and managing multi-stakeholder activities required for the effective design, development, revision, interpretation and maintenance of the RSPO ISH Standard (and its associated procedures and systems) to drive adoption of sustainable oil palm cultivation practices by small-scale farmers. There are over 7 million such smallholders worldwide, and including them within RSPO’s standards, systems and procedures is crucial to making palm oil sustainable globally.

The position will also include multi-functional responsibilities, working closely together with the SDI team and other thematic units within the division (Biodiversity, Climate Change, Human Rights and Social Standards), as well as the dedicated Smallholder Unit, the Assurance division and the Impacts unit. Experience in these varied areas will enable coverage and understanding of the wide spectrum of sustainability aspects within RSPO, to be applied operationally and strategically.

The location of this role is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia or Jakarta, Indonesia.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Duties include but will not be limited to the following:

• Lead and coordinate effective management of the development, review, revision and maintenance of RSPO standards, focusing on the RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard.
• Manage, facilitate and coordinate the related and relevant internal and multi-stakeholder activities for development, review, revision, maintenance and implementation of RSPO standards, focusing on the RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard.
• Periodically review and identify issues and challenges in technical and practical implementation of RSPO standards, and work closely together with other RSPO teams to develop solutions to ensure RSPO’s systems are fit-for-purpose, consistent with global best practices and emerging issues.
• Work closely with RSPO’s Smallholder Unit and regional teams (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Africa, Latin America) to understand issues regarding smallholders and sustainable palm oil production in different geographies and assist in developing solutions or enable continuous improvement in RSPO standards in such regions.
• Represent RSPO at conferences and events related to RSPO standards.
• Build and apply data analysis/management and research skills to assist the unit, division and organisation with strategic initiatives and projects. The candidate will also be given opportunities to lead such activities, to build management skills.
• Apart from the duties stated above, to perform any duty or duties reasonably assigned

THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT

Education

• University degree in an appropriate field (Agricultural, Social Science, Sustainable Development or equivalence). Additional academic qualification in the field of Business Management and Environmental & Social Management would be advantageous.

Experience

• At least 5-7 years of experience working in sustainability, certification standards and/or with small-scale farmers
• Experience in oil palm cultivation and palm oil production (or other agro-commodities), particularly on sustainability
• Experience in research and/or auditing
• Experience in, and understanding of, the dynamics of stakeholder engagement and process facilitation
• Experience working effectively with data in an analytical capacity and synthesise complex information

Technical and Professional Knowledge

• Management and leadership skills, including delivering outcomes through multi stakeholder processes
• Working knowledge of environmental and/or social issues
• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and with the ability to learn other software applications quickly
• Professional knowledge in time management and resourcefulness
• Knowledge of third-party certification/ecolabelling schemes and their role in sustainability

Other Special Requirements

• Fluency in Bahasa Indonesia and/or Bahasa Malaysia
• Fluency in one or more East Asian languages (Japanese, Korean, Mandarin) will be advantageous

ESSENTIAL SKILLS

• Excellent interpersonal skills including verbal and written communication, negotiation, cross-team project management and consensus-building.
• Adept at working well with all levels across the organisation, including the ability to communicate across cultures and the ability to say ‘no’ effectively and without negative consequences.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and be able to interact with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills with an ability to think proactively and prioritise work.
• Flexible, well organised and detail-minded.
• Adept at following-through, especially in the management of detail and juggling multiple priorities.
• Demonstrable ability to effectively manage a member-focused support team and collaboratively deliver high-quality administration services.
• High integrity and a good team player.

HOW TO APPLY

Qualified applicants are invited to send in their updated CV giving comprehensive details of educational background, work experience, and related achievements to [email protected]. Please state “Job Application – Manager, Standard Design & Innovation (Smallholders)” in your email subject line.

**RSPO is an equal opportunity employer. Due to the volume of applications received, only shortlisted candidates will be notified.