Coordinator- Tea in Tezpur | WWF-India

World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India)

WWF-India is a conservation organisation that has worked across India since 1969. It protects forests, rivers, wetlands and wildlife, and works closely with the communities who live alongside them. In Assam, WWF-India helps people and elephants share the land more safely, including in tea growing areas where conflict is common. Its projects pair conservation with better farming and fairer markets, so that protecting nature also supports local incomes.

Role

As Tea Coordinator, you will help small tea growers in Assam farm in ways that are good for their income and good for nature. You will bring together research institutes, certification bodies, tea factories and buyers, run hands-on training for farmers, and help growers earn certification and sell their tea through formal supply chains. You will report to the Project Manager and travel often across the tea growing districts of Assam.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Assam Agricultural University, ICAR and other research bodies to build a local guide of farming practices (Package of Practices) for small tea growers, with a focus on Integrated Pest Management, a way to control pests with fewer chemicals.
• Make sure tea garden guidance is nature-positive and safe for wildlife, in line with the project's goal of reducing conflict with elephants.
• Work with research partners over time to test and update the farming guide.
• Design and run Farmer Field Schools with experts and research partners, using good farming practices and certification rules as the course content.
• Plan school schedules, venues and farmer turnout with local partners and community groups, and track attendance, learning and which practices farmers adopt.
• Work with certification bodies such as Rainforest Alliance to guide small growers through compliance checks and certification audits.
• Support farmer groups and estates to meet and keep certification standards, including record keeping and internal management systems, and track each group's status, gaps and renewal dates.
• Coordinate with domestic and export-focused tea estates and international brands to bring certified smallholder tea into formal supply chains.
• Build sourcing agreements that create steady demand for smallholder green leaf, and support the branding of smallholder tea with WWF's communications team.
• Work with Bought Leaf Factories, which buy green leaf from small growers, so that smallholder tea meets FSSAI food safety standards, including safe pesticide use and clean harvesting and handling.
• Deliver project activities on time and within budget, and raise risks or delays early with the Project Manager.
• Keep accurate records of stakeholder meetings, farmer participation, certification progress and spending, and contribute to donor and internal reports.

Requirements

• 5 to 7 years of relevant work experience
• Strong skills in coordinating with stakeholders across research institutions, government, the private sector and local communities
• Able to design and run farmer level training; experience with Farmer Field Schools is a plus
• Good understanding of agricultural supply chains and how to build market linkages
• Strong planning, budgeting and reporting discipline
• Proficient in Assamese and/or local dialects, along with working English and Hindi
• Willing to travel extensively within Assam's tea growing and conflict hotspot districts, and outside Assam if needed

Benefits

• Work with a global conservation organisation on a project that supports both farmer incomes and wildlife.
• Build working relationships with leading research institutes, certification bodies, tea estates and brands.
• Gain hands-on field experience across Assam's tea growing landscapes.

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