Business Engagement Expert

Workplace Circumstances

• Environment: Government
• Languages: English, Khmer
• Location: Working from home / online

Position Summary

Assignment Title: Consultant – Business Engagement Expert to engage the private sector to the development of ABS business models that aligned with the ABS Sub-Decree (Activity 3.1)

Post Level: Specialist

Contract Type: Individual Contractor

Duty Station: Home Based

Expected Place of Travel: Project sites in Cambodia

Contract Duration: 65 days (between October 2026 – March 2027)

Scope of Work

Cambodia’s biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge (TK) are facing accelerating threats due to economic development, deforestation, habitat loss, overharvesting, and rapid land-use changes. As the country transitions from a subsistence-based agrarian economy to a consumption-driven cash economy, competing demands for land from agriculture, urbanization, and infrastructure development have contributed to biodiversity loss. Despite covering about 40% of its land area with protected areas, Cambodia’s biologically rich ecosystems continue to decline. Over 324 native medicinal plant species are classified as threatened, posing risks to the livelihoods of IPLCs, which depend on them for traditional medicine, food, and cultural practices. Modernization and unsustainable practices have led to the erosion of TK associated with these genetic resources.

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Duties & Responsibilities

• Private Sector Mapping and Engagement
• Conduct a desk review and market assessment to identify potential national and international buyers, traders, processors, and manufacturers engaged in herbal medicines, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and related biodiversity-based products.
• Map private sector actors with an interest in the species available in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces, including pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics companies, and agricultural processing companies.
• Assess and document the conditions for each buyer/processor/trader to engage with IPLCs and CPAs, including their procurement requirements, quality standards, pricing structures, and willingness to comply with ABS regulations.
• Linking Private Sector with IPLCs/CPAs
• Facilitate meetings between the project team, IPLCs/CPAs, and potential buyers/processors/traders to build trust and mutual understanding.
• Support the negotiation of ABS agreements between IPLCs/CPAs and private sector entities, ensuring that agreements are fair, equitable, and compliant with the national ABS framework, the Nagoya Protocol, and the provisions of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT), using the model contract developed by A-ABS
• Develop and recommend business models that link private sector actors with IPLCs/CPAs, including co-development, contract farming, joint ventures, and benefit-sharing arrangements. These models should be gender-responsive and inclusive of vulnerable groups.
• Provide technical advice to IPLCs/CPAs on business acumen, contract negotiation, pricing, and value addition, in coordination with the capacity-building activities under Component 2.
• Market Analysis and Value Chain Development
• Conduct a market analysis to identify niche opportunities for bio-products derived from the selected species in domestic and international markets, including market trends, demand, pricing, and certification requirements.
• Develop a gender-smart and ABS-compliant value chain strategy and roadmap for the identified genetic resources in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces, in collaboration with the Biodiversity Specialist and other project consultants.
• Reporting and Coordination
• Prepare and present the inception report, draft report, and final report to the PMU, the ABS TWG, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate with the Biodiversity Specialist to ensure that the species selected for business engagement are aligned with the conservation assessment and sustainable harvesting protocols.
• Document lessons learned and best practices from the private sector engagement process to inform policy reforms under Component 1 and future ABS initiatives.
• Propose at least two ABS agreements (one per province).

Languages

• Khmer - Fluent is required
• English - Fluent is required

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Management, and Other related fields
• Master's Degree is preferred

Work History

• Natural resources management, biodiversity and forest conservation, ecosystem protection, or related field for 5 years as a minimum

General & Technical Skills

• A Cambodian National with a high level of fluency in written and spoken English and Khmer is required.
• Understanding of Access and Benefit Sharing, including an understanding of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol; Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT), ABS contract negotiation, and permit/certificate issuance.
• Experience working with the private sector businesses working with local communities and understanding of their business strategies.
• Understanding of Cambodia’s business landscape, biodiversity, and ecosystem issues.
• Experience in secondary and field-related data collection and analysis
• Experience in working with community groups, particularly with CPAs and IPLCs, with and understanding of GR, TK and IKSP.

Soft Skills

• Good team player, self-starter, has the ability to work under minimal supervision and maintain good relationships.