DIRECTOR’S PERSONAL ASSISTANT

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Organization : Pai Seedlings Foundation

Job Description

Pai Seedlings Foundation (PSF)

Pai Seedlings is a grassroot non-profit organization created in 2017 by Damien Masselis and Lyse Kong in Pai district, Mae Hong Son province, to develop environmental education, nature-based lifestyles and ecological restoration. PSF operates from it Permaculture Farm & Research Center and supports local farmers in the villages of Vieng Nuea and Muang Noi.

The projects include:

R&D in soil biology and natural farming to regenerate soil’s health;
Low techs: natural construction, composting, water filtration, hydroponics, etc...
Education & training programs for travelers and locals;
Community Supported Agriculture: membership based food box to support local growers;
Regenerative Agriculture Cooperative: a 5 years, 16 farmers, 10 hectares agricultural-land regeneration project to restore soil fertility, business opportunities and community health.

Project : Regenerative Agricultural Cooperative

This pilot project aims at supporting 16 farmers for 5 years, with the ambition to develop and implement an alternative agricultural model that can be replicated elsewhere. We want to prove that biological agriculture can generate better and more sustainable income/lifestyles than chemical based agriculture, whilst also restoring natural ecological functions (water retention and filtration, pollination, biodiversity) and protecting the farmers’ health (no chemicals, food security for the community).

The objectives are to regenerate :

The ecological landscape : improve soils fertility, support biodiversity, limit erosion, stop burning, establish natural ecological functions ;
The economic landscape : increase yield, increase income, develop a premium distribution network, diversify revenue streams, pay back agricultural debt ;
The social landscape : create education and training opportunities, produce healthy and nourishing food for the community, lower exposure to chemicals (health).

Job Position : Director’s Personal Assistant

Project Manager: Damien Masselis, Pai Seedlings’ co-founder and president.

As Damien’s personal assistant you will have a privileged position in the organization: you will be his direct interface with the thai speaking community (language and culture). If you are passionate about ecological restoration, if you have organizational skills, and if you are a socially open minded person, this may be the job for you!

Missions & Responsibilities

1.Damien Masselis’ assistant.

a. Translate conversations, situations and documents: contexts range from conversation with farmers and business owners to contracts with lawyers and letters to government officials;

b. Online research for material, information and partners;

c. Write and edit activity reports.

2.Projects Coordination

=> Maintain the relationship with all partners and coordinate actions: farmers, lawyers and accountant, government officials, suppliers and clients, etc.

a. Call and message the farmers and managers to follow everyone’s work progress and report to Damien; inquire about everyone’s needs and eventual issues to make sure they are addressed in time;

b. Keep track of meeting agreements, deadlines and commitments.

c. Administrative tasks: weekly activity reports, bookkeeping, maintain the online collaborative workspace (notion.so).

3.Other responsibilities (optional)

a. As all other members of the organization, you may be expected to (sometimes) take part in a range of hands-on activities such as cooking, gardening & farming, education workshops, etc.

Qualification & Skills

Positive Mindset

Passion for restoration work: your work will take you on a regular basis to remote farmland, we’ll spend time outdoor and do hands-on work on the field. This is necessary to better understand our work as managers.
Highly organized: you must be able to stay organized in all your tasks, and also to keep track of the progress of all the collaborators (managers and farmers) to coordinate everyone’s actions with Damien.
Growth mindset: Pai Seedlings is a young dynamic and growing organization. A ‘growth mindset’ is what allows us to grow, become better and progressively increase our impact.

Communication & relational skills

Languages : very good written & spoken communication skills in English and Thai, native speaker of the northern Thai language.
Management: understand everyone’s place & role in the organization, and develop this human ecosystem;
Social: you must have excellent social skill to create positive relationships, and an ability to communicate across cultural divide and with different social status, including : local farmers, foreigners, business owners, public authorities, banks, etc.

Technological skills

Digital: you must be computer literate and able to use (or learn) the following tools: