Australia’s Market Development Facility (MDF) helps countries in the Indo-Pacific region to grow through improved productivity, economic diversification, competitiveness and trade. 

MDF helps business partners and government to identify markets that have high potential to grow, be profitable, and deliver social and environmental value. 

Our aim is to do good by supporting good business. MDF supports business investment and innovation that reduces poverty, economically empowers women and combats climate change. We currently operate in Fiji, Timor-Leste, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga and Sri Lanka.

MDF is funded by the Australian Government. It is implemented by Palladium, in partnership with Swisscontact. 

About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28.

Project Summary

The RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), implemented by the RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of RCEP through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise.

The following project is approved under RISP.

• Project name: Promoting the utilisation of RCEP, especially in digital trade, through better understanding and enhanced engagement of the private sector, MSMEs and women-led businesses.

• Project Objectives: In celebration of the third anniversary of RCEP’s entry into force, this project aims to reinforce the practical utilization of RCEP commitments by MSMEs and women-led enterprises through the following objectives:

o to assess the awareness and utilization of RCEP among MSMEs, women led businesses in Viet Nam, identifying gaps and areas for improvement. 

o to address identified gaps by raising awareness and improving communication on RCEP benefits among MSMEs and women-led enterprises, especially in digital trade, through capacity-building workshops and the development of user-friendly materials to enhance understanding and utilization.

o to strengthen collaboration between the MSMEs and women-led enterprises, and policymakers to improve FTA implementation and support. 

The Program Officer - Operations will be responsible for grants administration across the AHP portfolio and overall administration tasks to assist the Support Unit with ongoing operational support to the partnership. The Support Unit administers multiple grants to Australian NGOs for the provision of humanitarian assistance and also manages grants for the Disaster READY program. The role requires a highly competent individual with administration and finance skills who is able to work under direction and independently as required. The role will require drafting of grant agreements and monitoring agreements and reporting requirements including the maintenance of a grants database. The position will be expected to ensure that all grant documentation is up to date and on file, ensure that grants funds are distributed within agreed timeframes, track proposals and reports, and work with the Support Unit specialists to ensure timely technical reviews and inputs to all submitted proposals and reports. In humanitarian situations these timeframes are critical.

The role will also provide key assistance to the Support Unit team including logistics support for events and workshops, keeping minutes of meetings, supporting the analysis of data collected under the Support Unit’s management information system, support the update of reporting templates, and work with the Operations Manager on budget analysis reporting. The role will include support to the broader AHPSU functions with particular emphasis on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and Communications.

The AHPSU is small and collaborative team. Based on the candidate’s background and areas of interest, we would look to build capacity and provide opportunities to incorporate duties and tasks into the position related to specific areas of AHPSU operations.

This role would suit someone starting their career in international development with strong initiative and excellent interpersonal skills. The role is a great opportunity to gain an all-round perspective of the humanitarian space in Australia and internationally, develop skills in the international development/humanitarian sector and gain exposure to the work of non-government organisations and DFAT.