BREWING CHANGE: EMPOWERING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN COFFEE ORIGIN COMMUNITIES IN GAYO HIGHLANDS, ACEH (BENTANI ACEH)
Mercy Corps Indonesia (MCI) is a local Indonesian non-profit organization, which will implement humanitarian, and development assistance programs throughout the country. MCI’s mission is to empower people in Indonesia to become healthy, productive, and resilient communities. Resilience means an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
Program Summary
A desk review, internal discussions, and a rapid assessment in February 2026 identify persistent gendered challenges in coffee-growing communities. Women make substantial contributions to farm and household income but have limited financial literacy, restricted decision-making power over major expenses, and low ownership of individual bank accounts. Financial inclusion is further constrained by reliance on cooperatives, limited access to nearby financial agents, and minimal use of digital financial services, causing many women’s accounts to remain dormant. At the same time, gender gaps persist in the coffee sector: while education access is similar for boys and girls, young women increasingly avoid coffee farming raising concerns about the future pipeline of women farmers and women-led coffee enterprises.
Beyond coffee production, many women operate micro-businesses but struggle to market products, reach new customers, or use digital tools effectively, limiting income diversification despite widespread smartphone ownership. Broader community challenges also affect women and girls, including persistently high child stunting rates in Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah, signaling ongoing gaps in nutrition, health education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure. Environmental risks compound these issues, as poor waste management threatens soil health, community wellbeing, and long-term coffee sustainability, with cooperative-led waste management training showing low adoption.
Mercy Corps Indonesia’s BENTANI ACEH program aims to support women and girls in coffee origin communities in Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah to overcome barriers to wellbeing and financial resilience. The primary beneficiaries are approximately 3,000 women, including female coffee farmers, farmers’ wives, and girls actively engaged in coffee-related and household economic activities. The program is expected to benefit an additional 9,000 individuals indirectly, including household members and wider community networks.
Program Objectives:
- Women in coffee origin communities have improved financial management practices, financial literacy, and usage of financial products and services provided by formal financial service providers (FSPs), including agent networks,
- Women in coffee origin communities strengthen their capacity to use appropriate digital marketing channels, including e-commerce, WhatsApp business, and social commerce, to expand markets for their farm and non-farm products, and
- Women in coffee origin communities have improved access to WASH education and community waste management initiatives through partnerships with local government programs.
Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah Districts, Aceh, Indonesia
PROGRAM ASSISTANT (PA) – BENTANI ACEH
General Position Summary
The Program Assistant will be responsible for general program and administrative arrangements, with a focus on the arrangements of travel; meeting logistics; collection, organizing, and management of program activity documentation; and other administrative tasks. The PA will report to the Program Manager and will be based in Bener Meriah District, Aceh.
Essential Job Responsibilities
- Support the program team in the processing of procurement needs, such as purchase request, direct purchases and financial completion reports for all BENTANI ACEH events and activities, according to Mercy Corps Indonesia (MCI) Procurement guidelines.
- Support the BENTANI ACEH teams in reviewing and processing cash advances and follow-up of operational and travel advance requests, in accordance with the MCI financial field manual guidelines.
- Ensure proper document filling of completed Purchase Requests, completion report, payment request and other related documents for the program records (hard and softcopies) of approved advances, proposed budgets and acquittals.
- Maintain payment requests and financial completion reports for all BENTANI ACEH events and activities.
- Maintain all other program filing and documentation related, including reports, maps, photos documentation/ management and media monitoring files.
SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES
- Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
- Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
- Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.
Knowledge and Experience
- Entry level position with 3 years of experience is required. Financial experience is a must.
- The candidate must have good communication skill, document/ report writing, adequate understanding and skills of English speaking and writing, as well as Bahasa Indonesia and finance background.
- S/he should have pleasant personality, be organized, efficient, proactive, flexible and able to work under pressure and with short deadlines when required. Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and other computer programs is a must.
- Demonstrated attention to detail, meet deadlines, take initiative, anticipate, and solve problems.
- Effective time management and organization skills include priority setting and responding to program needs.
- Having willingness to learn and strengthen his/her capacity with open-mindedness and creativity.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Team Engagement and Effectiveness
Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work. We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).
How to Apply
Please send your CV and a cover letter that specifically addresses how you will handle these job responsibilities via https://www.mercycorps.or.id/peluang and fill in the position code:
“076-PA BENTANI ACEH”
By applying for this position, applicants attest that they have never violated a sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding, or human trafficking policy and have never been disciplined for violating an employer’s code of conduct.
The vacancy will be closed on 16 June 2026 and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview. We look forward to hearing from those who are interested in taking this opportunity to grow and develop with us.
Thank You,
Human Resources Department
Mercy Corps Indonesia
