Background
The region of Papua occupies a special place in Indonesia. It is the country’s easternmost, largest and most sparsely populated region. Indonesia’s decentralisation laws, and particularly the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy for Papua, have ensured it receives significant fiscal resources. In revenue terms Tanah Papua is one of the wealthiest regions in Indonesia, yet it also suffers from the highest rates of per capita poverty in the country – with over 40 per cent of households living below the poverty line (well over double the national average).

Much of this poverty is concentrated in remote rural areas. Provision of basic services at the district and sub-district levels remains very poor. One third of Papuan children do not go to school. Nine out of ten villages do not have a health centre, doctor or midwife. Infant mortality is significantly higher than the national average and the province has the highest per capita rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Indonesia.

In response to these challenges, the first directly-elected governors of Papua and West Papua provinces launched a village development strategy, RESPEK, to spur development in the focal areas of: (i) food and nutrition; (ii) basic education; (iii) primary health care; (iv) livelihoods; and (v) village infrastructure. In 2008, RESPEK was merged with the World Bank-supported national community empowerment program, PNPM. The provincial governments provide block grants of 100 million Rupiah to the provinces’ more than 4,000 villages and to the 420 sub-district governments to support its implementation, while the national Home Affairs Ministry (drawing largely on a World Bank loan) supports over 1,000 community facilitators through PNPM.

World Bank staff and consultants provided technical assistance for the initial design of the RESPEK policy framework and facilitator training, and continue to provide operational support and supervision to the program. The World Bank PNPM-RESPEK team has also worked with the provincial government and other development partners to design and pilot a number of related initiatives that seek to strengthen the participation of marginalized groups, particularly women and indigenous Papuans, and to build their confidence, skills and broader employment prospects.

General Responsibilities
The Consultant will provide technical oversight of the program, monitoring and assessing the institutional and fiduciary soundness of field projects (PNPM and pilots) in West Papua province, and strengthen the capacity of provincial and kabupaten governments in program management. The consultant, based in Manokwari, will make regular field supervision visits to kabupatens throughout the province, and maintain a policy dialogue with the provincial government.

Specific Responsibilities

• Conduct regular field reviews of the implementation of PNPM Mandiri RESPEK and related pilots and provide specific recommendations to the World Bank Task Team Leader on policy and operational issues including:

1. Village-level planning and community participation;
2. Quality of technical assistance (performance of kabupaten and distrik program consultants);
3. Local government engagement;
4. Fiduciary controls: financial management, transparency and complaints handling;
5. Technical quality of infrastructure projects, from design to implementation and maintenance;
6. Integration of pilots (including PNPM Pertanian, PNPM Pesisir and Green PNPM)

• Support key provincial government officials (BPMD, Bappeda, Sekretaris Daerah) and Regional Management Committee (Korprov and specialists) in West Papua to strengthen overall program management structures and systems to ensure timely project implementation; provide day to day support in anticipating and addressing operational and policy issues.
• Strengthen the engagement and capacity of key kabupaten governments.
• Support the refinement of the RESPEK policy framework in accordance with the needs of local government, particularly the special requirements of extremely remote sub-districts.
• Monitor and support the implementation of the Barefoot Engineers Initiative and other trust fund-supported activities being managed by the University of Cenderawasih.
• Promote harmonization with other West-Papua based development partners on community development projects.
• Other duties as directed.
• Outputs
• Monthly reports to the task team leader analyzing current issues and problems, and providing specific recommendations to address them.

Selection Criteria
The position requires the following qualifications and attributes:

• Master’s degree in Economic, Finance/Accounting or Social Science plus 2 years experience or equivalent combination of education and experience;
• Working experience in community development programs in Indonesia and other developing countries; experience with PNPM or KDP highly desirable;
• Understanding of the particular development challenges in indigenous Papuan communities;
• Knowledge of/experience with World Bank policies, procedures, and operational activities;
• Strong organizational capacity, and a demonstrated ability to anticipate and resolve operational problems in the field;
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships, with local and national governments, project consultants and other development partners;
• Fluency in Indonesian and English languages;
• Willingness to travel frequently to remote, rural areas of West Papua.

Length of Contract
The Consultant will be hired on an STC contract for a maximum period of 50 working days from 1 May to 30 June 2009, with a likely extension of 150 days from 1 July 2009.

Reporting to:
The Consultant will report to PNPM Task Team Leader, with day-today supervision and coordination provided by Operations Officer (Papua/West Papua). The Community Development Consultant will work closely with other World Bank consultants, and with members of the PNPM team in Jayapura, Manokwari and Jakarta.

How to Apply

• This is a local hired position, open for Indonesian nationals only.
• Please only submit your cover letter, CV, and references (at least three names with full contact details) to: jobsindonesia@worldbank.org.
• Do not forget to state your name and position applied in the e-mail subject.
• Deadline of application is 27 April. Late submission will not be considered; hard copy applications and phone inquiries will not be accepted.