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 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.
Effective Policies and Governance for the Sustainable Protection of Nature, Climate, and Communities in Tanah Papua
In the aftermath of the administrative expansion in Tanah Papua, resulting in the establishment of six new provincesโPapua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, West Papua, and Southwest Papuaโemerging governance and policy challenges have become increasingly complex. This program is conceived to provide strategic support to subnational governments in comprehensive understanding the ecological characteristics, governance contexts, and sustainability imperatives unique to each province within this new administrative framework. Through a structured set of guidelines and technical assistance, the program aims to equip newly elected regional leaders with the capacity to safeguard natural resources, enhance community well-being, and foster inclusive and sustainable development trajectories. The initiative seeks to strengthen the institutional capacity of local governments by equipping them with contextually relevant knowledge and resources to anable informed and adaptive decision-making grounded in environmental and socio-economic realities. Furthermore, the program encourages cross-sectoral collaborationโamong governmental institutions, the private sector, civil society, academia, and local communitiesโto promote equitable and sustainable forest and land governance across Tanah Papua.
Applying a Social Lens to the Development Dynamics of The New Provices
Tanah Papua represents a socially intricate landscape, characterized by high ethnic diversity, vibrant local cultural systems, and a historically embedded relationship between indigenous communities and the natural environment. Despite substantial development investments in recent decades, many initiatives have adopted top-down approaches with limited meaningful engagement of local populations. Consequently, these efforts often fall short of addressing the specific aspirations and needs of Indigenous Papuan communities. The region continues to grapple with persistent structural challenges, including disproportionately high poverty ratesโ26.03% in Papua and 20.49% in West Papua, significantly above the national average of 9.36%โas well as consistently low Human Development Index (HDI) scores. The increasing influx of non-indigneous populations has further intensified competition over land and natural resources, thereby reinforcing underlying socio-political tensions.
Job Highlight
In light of these dynamics, there is a critical need to adopt a more contextually grounded, participatory, and culturally attuned development paradigm. The Social Research Assistant will support the Tanah Papua team in developing formulation of a dynamic, integrative model that harmonizes social, economic, spatial, and policy dimensions. Key responsibility is to support the social research analysis that will serve as a cornerstone in ensuring that the resulting development model is inclusive, context-sensitive, and responsive to the multifaceted challenges of sustainable and equitable development in Tanah Papua. This position requires strong insights into the sociocultural complexities of Papuan communities, including traditional governance systems, land tenure arrangements, cultural values, and human-environment interactions.
The Social Research Assistant will be working under direct supervision of Social Impact and Conflict Transformation Specialist, based in Jayapura, Papua, with office-flex working arrangement. 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
- Assist implementation of qualitative and quantitative data collection, including conduct interviews, focus group discussions, capacity building, and observation in selected area and communities.
- Collect and systematize information on traditional governance structures customary land tenure systems, cultural beliefs, and community values, especially those influencing land use, natural resources management, and social cohesion.
- Contribute to cleaning, coding, and thematic analysis of social and cultural dimensions of development.
- Draft summaries, field notes, and contribute to internal prsentations, reports, and communication products highlighting local perspectives and community narratives.
- Work closely with social team, and other team, to ensure that research outputs are integrated into broader midels of inclusive development planning.
- Contribute to the identification of lesson learned, challenges, and opportunities for improving social research in Tanah Papua.
What You Will Need
- Bachelorโs degree in social science, anthropology, development studies, geography, environmental studies, or other relevant study.
- Minimum 2 (two) years of professional working experience in social research, community engagement, or development programsโpreferably in the context of natural resource management, indigenous people, or rural development in Eastern Indonesia.
- Experience conducting social research using qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Ability to support discrete elements of research projects with limited manager guidance, e.g. systematically reviewing, analyzing and synthesizing existing literature; collecting, cleaning, organizing, and visualizing data.
- Strong analytical and research skills supported with the ability to employ collaborative and consultative approaches to problem-solving
- Familiarity with indigenous and local community dynamics in Tanah Papua, particularly in relation to land, culture, and livelihoods.
- Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work respectfully and effectively in culturally diverse settings.
- Ability to work independently and in coordination with a multidisciplinary team.
- Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and organized individual with a proven ability to manage multiple priorities
- Ability and willingness to travel (including to remote area) if assigned, to conduct fieldwork and engagement activities with local communities and stakeholders
- Proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia and English on both verbal and written communications.
- Legally able to work in Indonesia.
Deliverables
- Collect, organize, and updating data on OAP demographics, health, local food system, education, economic participation, and gender-based indicators from sources such as BPS, Bappenas, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, local government, and NGOs.
- Identify and summarize existing programs or policies targeting OAP communities, particularly those that focus on women, youth, and local livelihoods.
- Conduct qualitative and/ quantitative research, through interviews, FGD, and observations.
- Develop concise analytical briefs exploring specific topics such as economic opportunities and barriers for OAP, gender access to education and healthcare in OAP, youth roles in preserving or transforming local traditions, and indigenous knowledge; these briefs will directly feed into and support the social analysis manuscript.
- Join weekly coordination meeting with social research team and WRI Regional Papua team.
- Comprehensive monthly report
Duration
1 September 2025 - 31 December 2025, with possibility of extension subject to individual performance evaluation, project needs, and budget availability.
Terms of Payment
Daily rate-based consultant with a maximum of 18 (eighteen) working days per month.
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.
How to apply: In order to be formally considered, please submit an updated resume and cover letter through WRI career portal.
Application close: 1700 (DKI Jakarta local time), 26 August 2025. We will close the advert earlier when the best candidates are identified at earlier dates.
This is a locally engaged position; Indonesian nationals are encouraged to apply.
About Us
Founded in 1982, World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean. WRI has a global staff of over 1,800 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.
The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the worldโs greatest environment and international development challenges and improve peopleโs lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.
Our mission and values:
WRIโs mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earthโs environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.
Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Impact, Integrity, Independence, Partnership, and Care.
Our culture:
WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, gender diverse communities, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.
WRI Indonesia is national entity (Yayasan) associated with the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global environmental research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. WRI work with various stakeholders in the natural resources sector to support policy and management that are both profitable and sustainable. WRI work with leaders in more than 50 countries for more than 30 years, with offices in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States.
Launched in early 2014, WRI Indonesia builds on WRIโs 10-year history in the country, and strengthens our impact on the ground. In the short-to-medium term, WRI Indonesia aims to expand its presence and portfolio to include projects in the climate, energy, as well.