Markets and SME Specialist, Peru -- TREES Program, Sustainable Forestry Division
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.
The Rainforest Alliance’s TREES (Training, Extension, Enterprises and Sourcing) program promotes sustainable livelihoods and protects biodiversity in forest-dependent communities. We work to enhance the competitiveness of community and indigenous forestry enterprises by building business skills, increasing efficiencies, and facilitating investment in value-added processing, expanding income opportunities from wood and non-wood forest products and environmental services, and increasing access to local and global markets through Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.
The Markets and SME Specialist will lead TREES program activities in Peru related to marketing capacity and market development for products and services produced by small and medium enterprises (SME), communities and indigenous forest operations. S/he will support TREES partners in the application of appropriate harvesting technologies, quality control and enterprise administration, while working with SMEs to forge commercial alliances employing a supply chain, market-demand approach to add value to forestry production, open access to finance for growing partner operations and create new linkages with buyers interested in sourcing products and services from sustainably managed forests. A particular focus will be on growing national, regional and international market demand for certified products produced by partner organizations.
- Prepare periodic work plans and budgets for marketing and business development activities for forest SME;
- Organize basic training programs in business tools for SME and for community members of TREES partners;
- Develop and implement marketing strategies for partner forest products (both timber and non timber) and environmental services;
- Provide support to forest partners in the areas of appropriate harvesting technologies, quality control, contracting, administration, business organization and planning, market strategy development and access to market information and buyers;
- Coordinate with Rainforest Alliance marketing counterparts in the Latin America region and at Rainforest Alliance headquarters to identify potential linkages with buyers and new marketing opportunities;
- Forge relations with national and international buyers and engage interested parties to develop commercial alliances with SMEs;
- Build demand for lower grade wood, non-traditional species and small volumes (lesser known species) and environmental services;
- Assist buyers with supply chain analyses, procurement policy development, sourcing action planning, and creating and maintaining business relationships that favor partner producers;
- Create and develop innovative alliances with other agencies, enterprises and projects working in forest products and payment for environmental services;
- Coordinate technical inputs to periodic reports on marketing activities and achievements in the field;
- Oversee planning, logistics and reporting on technical consultancies and other inputs related to marketing activities; and
- Other duties as assigned.
- Bachelor's Degree in Forestry, Small Business Administration or related field required; Master's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance or related field preferred;
- Minimum 5 years of experience in renewable natural resources management, preferably with at least 1 year of experience in environmental services projects (i.e. forest carbon);
- A minimum of 3 years experience in forest markets; knowledge of non-timber forest products, environmental services and marketing of lesser-known species in the context of SMEs a major plus;
- Extensive work experience with forestry SMEs and communities, experience working regionally or internationally a major plus;
- Excellent organizational skills, ability to work independently as well as in an interdisciplinary team environment;
- Experience in international and national markets and public sector procurement policies for sustainably produced forest products is highly desirable;
- Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks with a strong attention to detail, against targets and deadlines set in periodic operational plans;
- Ability to formulate and write technical inputs for projects (planning, funding, budgets, management, evaluation, and monitoring) and to negotiate commercial alliances with the community-based enterprises and national and international buyers
- Strong computer skills (Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Spanish; proficiency in English;
- Strong teamwork skills, ability to work in multi-cultural settings and capacity to engage wide range of actors – from indigenous communities to high-level government partners to private sector players and technical specialists; and
- Willingness and ability to travel 40% of the time, nationally and internationally.
Commensurate with experience.
Only candidates authorized to work in Peru will be considered for this role.
Send resume, cover letter and salary history to Human Resources, Rainforest Alliance, Lima, Peru; Email: perupersonnel@ra.org
The Rainforest Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.