Fiji Program Support Platform (FPSP)

• Locally Engaged Role - commencing May 2025 to May 2027 with possibility of 2-year extension  
• Based in Suva, Fiji

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. 

KEY INFORMATION
Position: Team Leader
Sector: Facility Management, Expert Deployment Mechanism and Framework Agreements
Duration: 25 months
Base City: Hanoi, Vietnam
Start Date: 10 June 2025
Reports to:  Contractor Representative, Cowater 
Contractual arrangement : Eligible for both Vietnamese residents/citizens and international applicants.

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT
The Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) Program is a flagship initiative of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).  The Program promotes sustainable women’s economic empowerment (WEE) in the ethnically diverse north-west region of Vietnam by applying a market systems development (MSD) approach. The primary beneficiaries are women living in the provinces of Son La and Lao Cai, while an overarching emphasis is placed on the inclusion of women from ethnic minority communities.
 
The Program is in its second five-year (2022-2027), AUD 33.7 million, phase (GREAT 2) continuing its focus on agriculture and tourism - sectors that lend themselves to opportunities for advancing WEE. The Program works with multiple private and public sector stakeholders to address constraints, generate opportunities, drive market growth and increase the productive value of the sectors. Cross-sector strategies such as women’s leadership, access to finance, digital transformation, policy advocacy, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and social norm and behaviour change inform and complement sector interventions.
 
The Program works in close collaboration and coordination with provincial government agencies to ensure alignment with national and provincial Government of Vietnam plans and goals.