The Mekong Land Initiative (MLI) is the four-year successor programme to the Mekong Region Land Governance (MRLG) programme, mandated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Land Equity International with four national partners. MLI covers Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), with an Inception Phase from April to October 2026 and Phase 1 from November 2026 to October 2030. The overarching goal of MLI is:

Smallholder women and men farmers in CLMV countries, especially those from ethnic minorities, enjoy secure, equitable, and sustained access and control over agricultural land and forest, and benefit from sustainable livelihoods as responsible agricultural investment practices become more widely adopted.

MLI’s vision looks to 2035 when the Mekong region will be characterised by a more just and sustainable model of land governance where all communities — especially Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, ethnic minorities, women, and smallholder farmers — exercise secure, recognised, and equitable land and resource rights. While MLI builds on MRLG’s core work on Customary Tenure (CT) and Responsible Agriculture Investment (RAI), it introduces additional thematic focus areas: private sector engagement, agroecology, climate change and resilience, and cross-border engagement, particularly with China. MLI supports country-owned, and regionally connected approaches to strengthen customary tenure recognition, equitable land governance, sustainable natural resource management, and climate resilience.

In Myanmar, the Myanmar Alliance for the Recognition of CT (Doh Htar Nay CT Platform) was established in June 2018 with support from the Mekong Region Land Governance project to strengthen civil society’s strategic engagement in shaping land and natural resource governance reforms. Since its establishment, the Myanmar Alliance for the Recognition of CT has advanced CT documentation, raised community awareness, and promoted the recognition and protection of customary land rights and natural resource governance.

MLI continues to support the Myanmar Alliance for the Recognition of CT, including civil society organisations and local communities, to strengthen institutional resilience and technical capacity. The programme places particular emphasis on tenure security, climate resilience, and community adaptation, with the aim of improving land tenure security for smallholder farmers and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LCs) in Myanmar.

Position Summary

Land Equity International is seeking a Myanmar National to serve as Myanmar Programme Lead for MLI Phase 1, based in Yangon. The Programme Lead will play a leading role in the Myanmar national team and be responsible for the effective management of the Myanmar programme, providing strategic oversight and support to the Myanmar Alliance for the Recognition of CT. The Programme Lead will work closely with the MLI National Partner to ensure effective programme delivery, coordination, and collaboration.

The successful candidate will be a trusted, proactive, and collaborative leader with a strong understanding of Myanmar’s diverse ethnic contexts, land and natural resource governance, and civil society landscape. The Programme Lead will demonstrate conflict sensitivity, impartiality, and sound judgement when working with different ethnic organisations, civil society organisations, communities, and development partners. This role requires strong strategic facilitation, leadership and coordination, political sensitivity, partnership management and programme implementation capacity in a complex and rapidly changing environment.

This position offers a unique opportunity to play a strategic leadership role in shaping a flagship land governance initiative, strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations and building a resilient, sustainable Alliance. For professionals committed to land governance and equitable development, this role offers meaningful opportunity to contribute to long-term change for communities while working with a diverse network of partners across the Mekong region.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Management, Technical Support and Strategic Engagement

• Lead the strategic planning, implementation, and reporting of MLI’s programme in Myanmar, ensuring alignment with the programme’s vision, strategic priorities, and Theory of Change, and the timely delivery of work plans, outputs, budgets, and contractual obligations and works with the National Partner to support logistics and organisation of Alliance activities.
• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships and opportunities for constructive engagement, collaboration, and coordination with relevant stakeholders, including donor agencies to scale up programme impacts.
• Provide technical advice on land governance, CT, natural resource governance, engagement, and conflict-sensitive programming to Myanmar Alliance partners.
• Facilitate collection of monitoring data against MLI MEL frameworks, ensuring it is put to good use for accountability and adaptive management.
• Monitor developments in Myanmar’s political, land governance, and natural resource governance context, identifying emerging policy opportunities and risks and providing strategic advice to inform programme direction. Provide conflict-sensitive, context-responsive, and adaptive approaches across all programme activities.
• Monitor the security context in Myanmar, provide regular updates to the MLI Risk Officer (the MLI Team Leader), review security briefings, and communicate significant developments to Alliance partners, working closely with the National Partner.
• Support the preparation and dissemination of research findings, policy briefs, and other knowledge products to inform programme learning and policies.
• Represent MLI’s Myanmar portfolio in strategic meetings, dialogues, donor engagements, particularly SDC, and coordination forums, as needed.
• Coordinate with the regional team, donors, consultants, and implementing partners to ensure effective programme delivery.
• Undertake field visits, where feasible, to monitor programme implementation, engage with local partners and stakeholders, and provide technical support.
• Undertake other duties assigned by the Deputy Team Leader or other membesr of the MLI Management Team that are consistent with the responsibilities of the position.

Alliance Coordination and Facilitation

• Support the Myanmar Alliance for the Recognition of CT and its Steering Committee by fostering collaboration and coordination among Alliance members and strategic partners and supporting reflection and learning processes.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with ethnic organisations, civil society organisations, relevant stakeholders, and regional partners across the Mekong region.
• Facilitate the co-creation of a shared Alliance agenda with common objectives and goals, including the coordination of Alliance meetings, strategic planning workshops, and multi-stakeholder dialogues in close collaboration with the MLI PFU.
• Facilitate the collaborative development and implementation of Alliance strategic planning, strategic priorities, concept notes, proposal preparation and workplans. Identify and support capacity building needs for the Alliance.
• Support the long-term sustainability and resilience of the CT Alliance through strengthening governance, proposal development, resource mobilisation, fundraising, and cross-country learning and knowledge exchanges across the four MLI countries.

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g development studies, public policy and governance, sociology, land governance, forestry, agriculture, climate change, environmental governance, or a related discipline). A bachelor’s degree with an additional two years of relevant professional experience can be considered in lieu of a master’s degree.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively professional experience in rural development, with demonstrated extensive experience in land and natural resources governance and tenure security with a strong understanding of Myanmar’s political, economic, social, and institutional contexts.
• Proven experience working with civil society organisations, ethnic organisations, community-based organisations, development agencies, and other relevant reform actors.
• Demonstrated capacity in programme coordination, strategic facilitation, planning and leadership, programme management, partnership development and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience in climate resilience and the gender aspects of land rights is an asset.

Preferred

• Demonstrated ability to prepare high-quality analytical reports, briefing notes, policy drafts, and other technical documents in English.
• Familiarity with customary tenure rights and recognition, and ethnic land governance.
• Experience working in politically sensitive or conflict-affected contexts.
• Experience in research design, coordination, and publication is highly desirable.

Skills

• Excellent communication, collaboration, interpersonal and organisational skills.
• Very good written and spoken communication skills in both English and Myanmar.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision, manage competing priorities, and operate effectively in a complex and rapidly changing environment.
• Advanced proficiency in the Microsoft Office and familiarity or willingness to use Microsoft Teams.

Reporting and Contracting Arrangements

The Myanmar Programme Lead is contracted by Land Equity International. The Myanmar Programme Lead will co-locate with the MLI National Partner in Yangon and report to the DTL and receives strategic guidance from the Team Leader, as well as well as technical support from the Regional Climate and Gender Advisor. The role also involves close cross-functional collaboration with team members of the PFU. The position will be supervised by the former Myanmar Programme Lead for the first four to six months.

Expected start date: 1 November 2026

Contract details and duration:  Full-time for first three years (4^th year subject to funding), with a probation period of 6 months.

Location: Yangon, Myanmar, with occasional travel within the country and the Mekong region

How to Apply

To apply: Please send a one-page cover letter and CV in English to home@landequity.com.au. Please direct any questions about the position to this email address and we will endeavour to respond to you within 48 hours. Applications will close on 28 August 2026.