Program Support Officer - Lao PDR

C-Quest Capital LLC (CQC) is a leading global carbon project developer, social impact investor and climate finance specialist. Our mission is to transform the lives of families in the poorest communities in developing countries by providing access to clean and sustainable energy solutions and improving the health and wellbeing of women and children. We do this through making investments in carbon reduction and removal programs, which provide clean and efficient energy appliances, small-scale agriculture, and forestry services to the rural poor.

CQC’s carbon programs have improved the lives of over 20 million people in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Central America. Our ambition is to reach over 175 million people by 2035 and we are well on our path to do so with current committed funding.

CQC is headquartered in Washington DC, USA, with subsidiaries in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Australia as well as on-ground teams in Malawi, Zambia, and other Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries and Southeast Asia countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia & Lao PDR).

In 2021, CQC partnered with two large investors to launch a 3.65 million household expansion program across SSA and another two large investors to launch a 650,000-household program across Southeast Asia. This has seen $75+ millions of external capital raised to finance the deployment of cookstoves via multiple SPVs.

Currently, CQC has one key investment opportunity to pursue in Lao PDR, an improved cookstove distribution project. However, it will seek to identify additional investment opportunities that meet the overall mission of the company. The project entails the deployment of improved cookstoves to 75,000 households in the rural community of Laos over 3 years. CQC is attempting to improve the behavior of households that cook using solid fuels. such as firewood with open fires or traditional stoves has negative effects on health as the smoke from cooking contributes to high levels of household air pollution, which can lead to a number of deadly diseases. lt also puts pressure on local natural resources such as forests and wooded lands which supply the firewood. ln order to help address these challenges, The introduction of improved cookstoves under the Project, will reduce the consumption of non-renewable biomass compared to the baseline stove (tripod or three-stores fires), and thus reduce CO2 emissions. The use of more energy-efficient cooking appliances will furthermore reduce the dependency on natural resources, and in addition, contribute to improved health outcomes for the local population as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cooking.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Program Support Officer reports to the Country Manager and works closely with Implementing partner and local stakeholders in Laos. S/he will be primarily responsible for coordinating and facilitating the CQC project implementation in Laos to accelerate carbon transformation activity.

Key responsibilities of this position include:

• Onsite oversight of the project as per SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
• Coordinate with local stakeholders/implementing partners to develop activities
• Facilitate the implementation and sensitize the awareness of the target community
• Train third parties (as required) on project guidelines/ SOP
• Conduct the follow-up and spot check to monitor and enhance the quality of the action on the groundwork and ensure that it is in line with CQC Standard protocol
• Build a robust and trustworthy relationship with local stakeholders and the target community to ensure long-term and mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Scout the fieldwork for data cleaning to ensure the high quality and accuracy of data
• Prepare written reports and presentations to keep track of fieldwork

Qualifications

• Proven work experience in community development, project management, extension and capacity building
• Bachelor’s degree in rural development, forestry, agriculture, environment, and social science or related fields with 2-3 years of working experience
• High-energy individual who wants to develop in a fast-growing and innovative company. Strong aspiration to work with the rural community to improve social and environmental impact
• Able to work fast-paced, flexible hours
• Good communication skills
• Flexible and troubleshooting
• Proficient in Lao, able to communicate in English, both written and spoken, knowledge and understanding of ethnic minority language is a plus
• Excellent Microsoft Office skills
• Valid driving license and car