Program Overview
WRI Indonesia is an independent research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. At WRI Indonesia, we aim to bring innovations in research and business approaches in order to create the enabling conditions for Indonesia to achieve robust economic growth while respecting environmental and social values. We seek to contribute to the accomplishment of ambitious sustainable development goals through working with leaders in public and private sectors, as well as collaborating with civil society organizations, in turning big ideas into action.
Within our Food, Land, and Water (FLW) Program, we envision critical ecosystems such as forests and peatland across Indonesia to be governed fairly and sustainably. We believe sustainable land use management is key for Indonesia to meet its climate goal, in line with keeping the global climate target below the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold, while providing sustainable livelihoods to forest-dependent communities and conserve biodiversity in the landscape. We intend to achieve this through safeguarding the remaining forest and peatland from deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation; maintaining forests and peatland quality through sound stewardship; and restoring degraded ecosystem to improve its productivity, conservation value, and ecosystem services.
To effectively safeguard the remaining forest and peatland, WRI Indonesia champions the use of technology solutions such as our cutting-edge Global Forest Watch platform to strengthen forest monitoring through publicly-accessible and actionable forest data and insights. We also focuses on supporting the combat against illegal logging and other forest-related crimes through research and policy advocacy that aims to improve accountability of land use and forest-related data, and strengthen the use of existing legal framework to enforce laws on forest protection.
WRI Indonesia is currently implementing a project that aims to generate alternatives to developing the agriculture expansion in Merauke that utilise degraded land to support economic plan for sustainable development in Papua. The output of the project is a detailed analysis of amount of degraded land for agriculture expansion that considers local food crops and reducing deforestation.
Job Highlight
The Timber Valuation Analyst will conduct research and analysis to come up with recommendations to support national food and energy sovereignty programs. Specifically, key responsibility of this position is to conduct estimation on the value of the timber on degraded land and primary areas. Furthermore, this position will also contribute to the analysis and spatial mapping of degraded land for agricultural development in Tanah Papua.
This position reports to the Peat and Forest Monitoring Senior Manager, and work with the FLW Program team and Papua regional team to support the implementation of WRI Indonesia FLW strategy. This position will be based in Jakarta with office-flex working arrangement and conduct travel as needed. In support of WRI's DEI commitment, you are responsible for actively participating in these collaborative efforts by integrating equity into your work, our workplace, and the organizational culture.
What You Will Do
Research (70%)
- Conduct data collection and pre-process high-quality, time-series satellite imagery from reliable sources using desktop or cloud-based remote sensing engines to estimate the value of the timber on degraded land, primary forest, and essential ecosystem related to food sovereignty.
- Conduct field surveys and organizing the collected data for model training, validation, and accuracy assessment
- Support the analysis on negative impact on emissions, biodiversity, and IPLC if degraded land converted, and if whole Food Estate is converted.
- Support the analysis on how much forest has been cleared for food sovereignty in Tanah Papua.
- Contribute to the research and analysis to further develop insights related to degraded land within the Merauke Food Estate and other areas across Indonesia, assessing their suitability for food crop cultivation or ecological restoration.
- Contribute to developing presentation, technical report, and briefs with topics related to spatial analysis of deforestation and degradation.
Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement (20%)
- Support coordination and engagement with key stakeholders such as local government and local CSOs to gain feedback on food sovereignty analysis.
- Liaise with WRI Indonesia communication team for any communication-related products and events.
Program Management (10%)
- Provide administration support for project implementation (e.g. procurement of services, travel documentation, etc.), including arrangement of big events, such as workshop, focus group discussion, and regular meeting with project partners.
- Assist the Peat and Forest Monitoring Senior Manager outreach and communications works in front of project partners (i.e. government institution, CSOs, universities, and research institutions) if necessary.
What You Will Need
- Bachelorโs degree in Geomatics Engineering, Earth Sciences, Forestry, or other related fields. Masterโs degree is preferred.
- Minimum 3 (three) years of relevant work experience in spatial data and satellite image processing, and having basic knowledge of forest issues in Indonesia.
- Demonstrated ability to effectively manage and process remote sensing datasets within desktop environments (e.g., eCognition, ENVI, ERDAS Imagine) and cloud platforms (e.g., Google Earth Engine, Microsoft Planetary Computer), including a strong understanding of data structures, formats, and pre-processing techniques.
- Experience in programming and scripting languages commonly used within Google Earth Engine, such as JavaScript and Python, is preferred.
- Proficiency in using version control systems (e.g., Git) is highly desirable.
- Experience in writing reports, both in Bahasa Indonesia and English.
- Ability to communicate clearly, as well as express ideas in structured manner, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to manage professional relationships to effectively communicate with people at all levels and from various background.
- Highly organized and systematic with strong time management skills and ability to juggle competing priorities and deadlines required.
- Professional fluency in Bahasa Indonesia and English.
- Highly responsible and self-motivated.
- Ability and willingness to travel as assigned.
- Legally able to work in Indonesia.
Performance Standard
- Responsibilities are expected to be carried out in timely and satisfactory fashion with minor supervision.
- Must be capable of setting priorities.
- Ability to work well with internal and external participants.
- Good communication skills for correspondence purposes, reports, and knowledge products, both in Indonesian and English.
- Ability to work well in group/team as well as working individually.
- Ability & willingness to do business travel to meet project goals.
Duration
This position is expected to start immediately with an initial contract period up to 31 January 2026, with possibility of extension subject to individual performance evaluation, project needs, and budget availability.
Deliverables
- Comprehensive analysis report on degraded land in Merauke Food Estate and other areas in Indonesia, including assessment of suitability for food crop cultivation and/or ecological restoration, delivered in line with WRIโs research standards.
- Cleaned and pre-processed datasets of satellite imagery and field survey results (including metadata for model training, validation, and accuracy assessment), delivered in organized and accessible formats.
- Knowledge products (e.g., policy briefs, presentations, and reports) related to spatial analysis of degraded land, deforestation, and degradation, are delivered on time according to project needs.
- Project management support outputs, such as procurement documentation, travel records, and event reports (workshops, FGDs, regular meetings), delivered in timely and satisfactory manner.
- Review and feedback contributions to analysis, research, and communication products related to forest and landscape monitoring, ensuring adherence to WRIโs research quality standards.
Terms of Payment
Daily rate-based consultant with maximum of 10 (ten) working days per month.
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Contract Arrangement
Individual consultancy contract (Part-time, limited term)
What we offer
- Consultant rate that is commensurate with experience and skills
- Travel insurance for both domestic and international for any travel duty as assigned by WRI Indonesia
- Access to the WRI global network
- A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
Must have authorization to work in Indonesia to be eligible for this position.
Final candidates might be required to take a writing test and to produce two writing samples when needed.