VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Programme Officer – Training & Capacity Building on Forest Rights and Governance
Organisation: Vasundhara
Location: Vasundhara - Head Office, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with extensive travel to programme districts
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: Initial contract for 1 year, with 3-months’ probation, renewable based on performance.
Reporting to: Team Leader – Tenure & Tenurial Security
About Vasundhara
Vasundhara is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation focused on natural resource governance and sustainable forest-based livelihoods. We mainly engage in research and policy analysis, capacity building, and community-based forest management systems, particularly concerning the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
As part of its ongoing Forest Rights and Governance programme, Vasundhara is strengthening the capacities of community institutions, Gram Sabha leaders, government functionaries, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to promote effective implementation of the FRA and strengthen community-led forest governance.
Role Overview: The Program Officer (Training Coordinator) will develop and deliver training programs to enhance stakeholders' capacity to implement the Forest Rights Act, PESA, and forest governance frameworks effectively.
Key Responsibilities:
• Conduct stakeholder mapping, capacity-gap analysis, and Training Needs Assessments (TNA) to identify capacity-building priorities.
• Develop and periodically update capacity-building strategies and training plans across state, district, block, and community levels.
• Design and update practical, participatory training modules, manuals, facilitator guides, and learning resources on FRA, PESA, and forest governance.
• Plan and facilitate orientations, trainings, Training of Trainers (ToT), cross-learning, and knowledge-sharing programs.
• Build capacities of Gram Sabha institutions, community leaders, government functionaries, PRI representatives, CSOs, and other stakeholders.
• Develop and mentor a pool of trainers/resource persons and provide ongoing technical support and handholding.
• Integrate gender equality, social inclusion, and the meaningful participation of women and marginalized groups across all capacity-building initiatives.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and document relevant good practices, case studies, innovations, and field learning.
• Use training feedback and learning outcomes to continuously improve training approaches, materials, and methodologies.
• Coordinate with district teams, the State Leadership Team, government departments, CSOs, academic institutions, and program partners.
• Provide technical inputs to program planning, strategy development, reviews, and other forest rights and governance initiatives.
• Support partnerships and resource mobilization for capacity-building initiatives, as required.
Educational Qualification:
• Postgraduate degree in social sciences, rural development, development studies, forestry, natural resource management, tribal studies, gender studies, public policy or a related discipline.
• Candidates with relevant professional qualifications and ubstantial experience in the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, community governance, PESA, or capacity building may also be considered.
Experience:
• Minimum 5-7 years of relevant professional experience in capacity building, training, facilitation, community development, natural resource governance, tribal development, land and forest rights or related development programmes.
• Strong preference will be given to women candidates and the candidates with demonstrated experience working on the Forest Rights Act, community forest rights, Gram Sabha institutions and forest governance.
• Experience in designing training modules, manuals and learning resources is essential.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating training programmes and ToTs for multiple stakeholder groups.
• Experience of working with government departments, PRI institutions, CSOs/NGOs and community institutions is an added advantage.
Skills and Competencies:
The ideal candidate should demonstrate:
1. Strong knowledge of the Forest Rights Act and Gram Sabha, FRC, and CFR governance.
2. Proven skills in training design, facilitation, TNA and capacity-gap assessment.
3. Ability to develop training modules, manuals and learning materials.
4. Strong understanding of gender equality, social inclusion and participatory governance.
5. Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
6. Ability to communicate complex concepts in simple and practical language.
7. Strong documentation, report-writing and knowledge-management skills.
8. Proficiency in MS Office/Google Workspace, PowerPoint and Excel.
9. Ability to work independently and collaboratively with diverse stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams.
10. Willingness to undertake frequent field travel.
11. Fluency in English, Hindi and Odia is essential.
Remuneration/Salary: Commensurate with qualification, experience and organisational norms.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should apply with a CV and cover letter to hr@vasundharaorissa.org by 15 October 2026. Applications must include Program Officer (Training Coordinator on Forest Rights and Governance) as the subject line. Applicants are required to provide the contact details (active phone number and email address) of two professional references familiar with their current or previous professional experience. Vasundhara is an equal opportunity employer, and women and SC/ST candidates are especially encouraged to apply.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the further selection process/ for the next stage of the selection process. Vasundhara reserves the right to modify the recruitment process, qualifications or other requirements based on programme needs.