Job Description
Position: Associate – Green Economy & Community-Based Agroforestry
Location: Guwahati, Assam
Project: Green Economy: Leveraging Climate Finance for Agroforestry & Agriculture Land Management
Employment Type: Full-time
Reporting to: Project Lead (IORA) + Joint Steering Team (IORA & AADB)
- Programme Overview
The Green Economy: Leveraging Climate Finance for Agroforestry & Agriculture Land Management initiative is a joint effort between Iora Ecological Solutions (IORA) and the Assam Agroforestry Development Board (AADB), Government of Assam. The programme aims to scale community-based agroforestry, strengthen ecological restoration, promote sustainable agriculture, enhance livelihoods, and build nature-based value chains across Assam’s.
Under this collaboration, IORA and AADB are working on:
- Designing and implementing community-led agroforestry and restoration models
- Strengthening nursery systems, species selection, and site planning
- Facilitating community mobilisation, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) processes, and participatory land-use mapping
- Promoting sustainable agriculture practices (natural farming, regenerative agriculture, etc.).
- Developing NTFP and agroforestry value chains
- Building local capacity and climate resilience through field implementation mechanisms
The Associate will support these joint efforts by working closely with the IORA project lead, AADB officials, district administrations, and communities to enable meaningful, ecology-centred field implementation.
The position is based in Guwahati, with frequent travel to project locations.
- Key Responsibilities
- Project Implementation & Field Coordination
- Support implementation of agroforestry and sustainable agriculture/ land management activities jointly with AADB and other stakeholders.
- Facilitate site identification, community mobilization, farmer on-boarding, and boundary mapping.
- Assist AADB in scaling plantations, nursery development, and climate-resilient models across targeted landscapes.
- Ensure timely and high-quality field execution aligned with implementation plans approved by AADB and IORA.
- Government & Stakeholder Coordination
- Serve as a liaison between IORA and AADB and other key stakeholders in the State, coordinating with senior officials, district nodal officers, DFOs, Agriculture Department staff, and other relevant government bodies.
- Facilitate meetings, workshops, trainings, and reviews at state and district levels.
- Support integration of project activities with relevant state/national schemes such as agroforestry missions, watershed development, NTFP promotion, and other programs.
- Community Engagement & Capacity Building
- Conduct PRA exercises, community consultations, and participatory resource mapping.
- Facilitate training sessions on agroforestry practices, nursery management, soil and water conservation, natural farming and NTFP opportunities.
- Mobilize farmers, youth groups, women’s collectives, and community institutions to support adoption of project interventions and restoration planning.
- Strengthen community awareness on ecological restoration, livelihoods, and long-term sustainability mechanisms.
- Field Support, Monitoring, Documentation & MIS
- Maintain comprehensive field documentation, including community maps, PRA outputs, meeting minutes, training records, and field photographs.
- Prepare qualitative field notes, case studies, best-practice documentation, and monthly progress updates.
- Support AADB and IORA in preparing feasibility assessments, site plans, and implementation review materials.
- Assist teams in maintaining plantation records, nursery registers, and agroforestry activity logs.
- Track plantation health through regular survival assessments and field visits to restoration sites.
- Update MIS entries and ensure timely coordination with district teams for accurate data consolidation.
- Ensure high-quality data collection, transparent reporting, and consistent information flow.
- Required Qualifications
Education: Master’s degree (with 2-3 years’ experience) in Agriculture, Agroforestry, Forestry, Environmental Science, Rural Development, Climate Studies, Natural Resource Management, or related fields.
Experience: 2-3 years and in at least two of the following, especially in the North East region of India, will be preferred:
- Community engagement, PRA, participatory mapping
- Agroforestry, ecological restoration, nursery management
- Rural development or forestry programmes (experience with Government of Assam preferred)
- Work with community institutions, FPOs, producer groups, or forest-fringe villages
- NTFP sector development, value-chain strengthening, or livelihood promotion
- Skills & Competencies
- Deep interest in ecology, forests, biodiversity, and landscape restoration, especially in Northeast India and Assam.
- Strong understanding of community-based agroforestry systems, species diversity, and local ecological contexts.
- Demonstrated experience in community engagement, PRA tools, and participatory planning.
- Ability to build trust and work sensitively with rural communities and local institutions.
- Strong coordination skills for working with government departments and field teams.
- Good documentation, qualitative field research, and reporting skills.
- Proficiency in MS Office; basic familiarity with GIS/mobile mapping tools is an advantage.
- Fluency (spoken and written) English and Assamese is mandatory; working knowledge of Hindi is required.
- Personal Attributes
- Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach.
- Ability to navigate government processes and multi-stakeholder environments.
- Thoughtful, reflective, and genuinely interested in ecological and community-centred work.
- Self-driven, proactive, and able to independently take initiatives in the field.
- Patience, cultural sensitivity, and humility in community settings.
- Comfortable with extensive field travel across Assam.
- Contract & Compensation
- Tenure aligned with project duration; extendable based on performance and funding.
- Compensation as per experience and organizational norms.