Learning Document Consultant (ROOTS Program, Dairi District)

Project Title: Learning Document Consultant (ROOTS Program, Dairi District)

Project Location(s): Dairi District, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Program: ROOTS (Resilience-Oriented Solutions for Thriving Smallholders)

Background

Mercy Corps Indonesia, in collaboration with The Starbucks Foundation, is implementing the ROOTS (Resilience-Oriented Solutions for Thriving Smallholders) Program in Dairi District, North Sumatra. According to the 2023 Coffee Statistics, North Sumatra is the third-largest coffee-producing province in Indonesia, making the sustainability of coffee farmers’ livelihoods important to the local economy and coffee sector. Coffee farmers in Dairi are increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards, including droughts, extreme weather, and landslides. These hazards can affect coffee production, farmers’ livelihoods, and household income. Farmers’ vulnerability is further increased by limited access to early warning system information, preparedness training, and risk reduction infrastructure, as well as limited awareness and understanding of climate-related risks. As a result, farmers may have limited capacity to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate shocks, which can lead to economic losses and longer-term risks to coffee production. At the same time, limited access to financial mechanisms, such as parametric insurance, savings, and emergency funds, can constrain farmers’ ability to cope with and recover from losses following a hazard.

In response to these challenges, ROOTS Program aims to strengthen the resilience of coffee farmers in Dairi District by improving their capacity to manage climate and disaster risks and increase access to financial mechanisms that can support preparedness and recovery. The program targets 1,000 coffee farmers, with 60% women and 40% men, who cultivate less than two hectares of coffee land and depend on coffee as their primary or secondary source of income. The program has been implemented since June 2025 and will complete in November 2026.

Throughout its implementation, ROOTS Program has delivered a range of activities to strengthen farmers’ resilience. These include training on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation; the establishment and strengthening of village-level Disaster Risk Reduction Forums (Forum Pengurangan Risiko Bencana/FPRB); capacity building on Participatory Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA), nature-based solutions through the provision of shade tree seedlings, improvements to water infrastructure, installation of Automatic Weather Station (AWS), development of an extreme weather climate early warning system with BMKG and BPBD Dairi District and activities to strengthen economic resilience through financial literacy training, access to financial services, including parametric weather index insurance and savings, as well as digital marketing and cybersecurity. Building on the program’s achievements, implementation experience, challenges, and key lessons learned, Mercy Corps Indonesia will develop a learning document to capture evidence and practical lessons from the ROOTS Program. The document will provide evidence-based recommendations and practical insights that can inform future programming and support efforts to strengthen the resilience of smallholder coffee communities. The learning document is expected to be finalized and submitted by 18 November 2026.

Goals and Outcomes Program

ROOTS Program aims to improve disaster risk reduction and resilience strategies and strengthen the preparedness of coffee-farming communities in Dairi Regency, North Sumatra.

Outcomes:

1. Improved disaster readiness, engaged inclusive community disaster risk management groups, and promoted adoption of disaster risk management and risk mitigating livelihood practices to strengthen assets, capacities, and behaviours to prepare and respond to natural hazards
2. Established or strengthened partnerships with National and Local government agencies, and private sector actors to build enabling environments that can enhance the disaster-ready capacities of coffee farmers before, during, and after disasters

Consultant Objectives

The consultant will develop a learning document in Bahasa Indonesia that captures effective strategies for supporting coffee-growing communities in Dairi District to strengthen their assets, capacities, and behaviours to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural hazards, and to enhance their disaster preparedness and resilience before, during, and after disasters.

Specifically, the consultant will:

• Priority learning areas that are expected to be covered include: (i) the establishment and strengthening of village FPRB and DRR action plans; (ii) Nature-based solutions and WASH infrastructure; (iii) Dissemination and Use of DCEWS (Digital Climate Early Warning System)/BMKG Information; (iv) Automatic Weather Station (AWS) with Early Warning Systems Information and BMKG–BPBD Collaboration; (v) Stakeholder Engagement and Disaster Risk Management Partnerships; (vi) Financial inclusion, including financial literacy, parametric insurance, savings and digital marketing; (vii) GESI, Safeguarding, CARM, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
• Review relevant program documents, monitoring data, reports, and learning materials to triangulate findings from the field.
• Assess implementation experiences against the program’s outputs, intended outcomes, and milestones to identify achievements, implementation challenges, adaptive management practices, and emerging opportunities.
• Identify good practices, innovations, enabling and limiting factors, and recommendations to strengthen implementation during program.
• Conduct interviews and discussions with key stakeholders, including Mercy Corps Indonesia staff, facilitators, coffee farmers, government partners at village, sub-district and other relevant stakeholders.
• Produce high-quality Learning Package (Learning Document, Presentation Deck, and Executive Summary) in Bahasa Indonesia, with publication-ready layouts.

Learning Questions

• The establishment and strengthening of village FPRB and DRR action plans

1. How well and in what ways has the establishment and strengthening of village FPRBs improved community preparedness and capacity to respond to disaster risks?
2. What key factors have influenced the effectiveness and sustainability of village FPRB and DRR action plans?

• Nature-based solutions and WASH infrastructure

1. How well and in what ways have nature-based solutions and WASH infrastructure contributed to communities’ capacity to manage climate and environmental risks?
2. What key factors affect community ownership, maintenance, and sustainability of these interventions?

• Dissemination and Use of DCEWS (Digital Climate Early Warning System)/BMKG Information

1. How well and in what ways has the dissemination of DCEWS/BMKG information improved farmers’ access to and use of climate and weather information for preparedness and farming decisions?
2. What key factors have enabled or constrained farmers’ access to, understanding, and use of DCEWS/BMKG information?

• Automatic Weather Station (AWS) with Early Warning Systems Information and BMKG–BPBD Collaboration

1. How well and in what ways have early warning systems and BMKG–BPBD collaboration improved farmers’ access to and use of information for preparedness and decision-making?
2. What key factors have enabled or constrained the effective dissemination and use of early warning information at the community level?

• Stakeholder Engagement and Disaster Risk Management Partnerships

1. How well and in what ways have stakeholder engagement and partnerships with government and other relevant actors strengthened disaster risk management and preparedness in Dairi?
2. What key factors have enabled or constrained effective coordination, collaboration, and ownership among stakeholders?

• Financial inclusion, including financial literacy, parametric insurance, savings and digital marketing

1. How well and in what ways have ROOTS interventions influenced farmers’ access to and use of savings and parametric insurance as mechanisms for managing climate-related financial risks?
2. What key factors influence farmers’ uptake and continued use of savings and parametric insurance?

• Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI), Safeguarding and CARM

1. How effectively were GESI, safeguarding, and CARM integrated into program implementation and community engagement?
2. How has ROOTS influenced women coffee farmers’ participation and leadership in community resilience and decision-making processes?
3. What are the key lessons to further strengthen inclusive participation, safeguarding practices, and community feedback mechanisms in future programs?

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

1. How effectively did the MEL system support program monitoring, learning, adaptation, and decision-making?
2. What MEL approaches and practices generated the most useful evidence and learning for program implementation and future programming?

Deliverables and Timeline

The Consultant will work from 12 October 2026 to 18 November 2026

The Consultant will report to:

Deputy Program Manager ROOTS.

Works Directly With: MEL Officer ROOTS

Required Qualifications and Skills:

Education

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in development studies, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Communication, Economics, Business, Gender Studies, Knowledge Management, International Development, or other relevant fields.

Professional Experience

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in knowledge management, organizational learning, qualitative research, learning documentation, program documentation, or knowledge product development within international development programs.
• Demonstrated experience in developing learning documents, lessons learned reports, case studies, knowledge products, or similar publications for donor-funded programs.
• Experience working with international NGOs, development agencies, or donor-funded projects is required.
• Experience in coffee farmers empowerment, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, financial inclusion or community development programs is highly desirable.
• Understanding of the context of North Sumatra, particularly Dairi District, is an added advantage. The consultant is expected to undertake field visits as part of the assignment.

 Technical Competencies

• Strong qualitative research and stakeholder interview skills.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize program evidence into actionable lessons learned and strategic recommendations.
• Excellent analytical, writing, and editing skills in English.
• Proven experience in producing high-quality reports and knowledge products for technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Good understanding of adaptive management, knowledge management, and learning approaches in development programming.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

Interpersonal Skills

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination abilities.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to meet tight deadlines.

Language

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Bahasa.
• Experience producing bilingual (Bahasa Indonesia and English) knowledge products.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting relevant experience in learning documentation, knowledge management, qualitative research, publication development, and stakeholder engagement.
2. Technical Proposal (maximum 5 pages), including:

• Understanding of the assignment and proposed approach.
• Proposed methodology for documenting program learning, including stakeholder engagement, data collection, analysis, and validation.
• Proposed work plan and timeline.

3. Financial Proposal, including:

• Proposed consultancy fee (lump sum).
• Breakdown of professional fees and any anticipated reimbursable costs (if applicable).

4. Portfolio / Writing Samples, including:

• At least two (2) examples of learning documents, knowledge products, research reports, case studies, or other publications that the applicant has authored or substantially contributed to.
• If available, examples of professionally designed publications (e.g., learning reports, annual reports, policy briefs, knowledge products, or impact reports).
• A brief description of the applicant’s role in producing each document (e.g., lead writer, researcher, editor, or publication manager).

Applications should be submitted to procurement@id.mercycorps.org  with the subject LDC_Name no later than [6 October 2026]. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

DATA PROTECTION

Mercy Corps is committed to protecting the confidentiality, privacy, and security of organizational information and the personal data of program participants and other stakeholders. All team members, consultants, and other individuals or parties engaged by Mercy Corps are expected to handle information responsibly and in accordance with Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and applicable data protection requirements.

SAFEGUARDING & ETHICS

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Thank You,

Mercy Corps Indonesia