Abt Associates is seeking a suitably qualified individual to fill the role of Fisheries Administration Advisor with our Bougainville Partnership - Australia Papua New Guinea Subnational Program.
About the Program
For Australia and New Zealand, the emergence of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Bougainville is a key national interest;
supporting the Government of PNG and the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) to implement the Bougainville Peace Agreement is an explicit commitment in the Australia government 2017 White Paper. An overriding interest is to maintain the peace that the Agreement brought about and that is enabled by political dialogue, within and outside Bougainville, and economic development. It implies a readiness to engage for the long term, accepting that the development of institutions and diversified economic opportunities will be slow.
The Bougainville Partnership (BP) took on its current form in 2016, inheriting activities from a number of separately administered initiatives. The structure of the program remains similar to the BP’s previous program, but with updated outcomes as follows:
Pillar 1 - Capable Institutions
1. GoPNG and ABG institutions are able to carry out high priority tasks that support Bougainville’s development and the post-referendum dialogue:
Supporting defined tasks connected with the development of essential institutions, the draw-down of powers, and Post-Referendum Dialogue.
Pillar 2 - Economic Development
2. ABG and business associations jointly plan and implement initiatives to improve the private sector environment for inclusive economic development:
Measures to improve the environment for private sector development and deepen the dialogue between the government and the private sector will be promoted through technical assistance.
3. Women and men engaged in primary production have increased incomes and benefit from inclusive associations and cooperatives: The current agricultural value chain activities will be continued, focussing on improving cocoa quality and linking producers to markets.
Pillar 3 - Stronger Communities
4. Community, youth and women’s groups collaborate effectively to establish sustainable community assets, deliver services and advocate for their
target groups: Formerly the peace-building component, activities will include continuation and expansion of the existing successful community grants program, initiatives to provide skills and foster networks for youth, and community
infrastructure.
Pillar Crosscutting Outcome:
5. Women increasingly participate in decision making and take on leadership roles in civic, economic and political spaces: The program will use the entry points from its range of activities to promote women’s leadership.
The BP is part of the Australia PNG Subnational Program (APSP), which is an enabling mechanism comprised of three separately designed
programs including: BP, the Western Province Partnership (WPP), the Kokoda Initiative Partnership (KIP), and the Subnational Governance Implementation Plan (SGIP). Each program has its own outcomes, theory of change, operational approach and separate monitoring and evaluation systems.
Position Overview
The overarching objective of this assignment is to provide the ABG and development partners with a comprehensive long-term “roadmap” for the development of the fisheries sector, with clear, short- and mid-term actions.
Anchor Bougainville Economy Strategy
Economic development is a priority for the ABG and the Bougainville Partnership. The ABG’s approach to supporting economic development is articulated within the Anchor Bougainville Economy (ABE) Strategy in the near term and the Economic Roadmap in the mid-long term.
The ABE Strategy 2025 priorities have been confirmed as the following five areas in a recently released Information Paper:
The ABE Strategy also prescribes the three-pillar approach for the draw-down of powers, including: 1) ensuring ABG has enabling laws, 2) ensuring ABG has the organisational structures and personnel migrated from GoPNG to deliver the service and, 3) determining the cost of delivering the new ABG services and capturing the required funding to deliver.
Bougainville Fisheries Management Authority Act 2020
The Fisheries Administration Advisor (the Advisor) will contribute to ABE Strategy Priority Project 4: Implement Economic Laws, as the Bougainville Fisheries Management Authority (BFMA) Act 2020 is a priority law for operationalisation.
The BFMA Act, while passed by the Bougainville House of Representatives in 2020, was only gazetted in 2025, as there had been contestation in relation to how to take the legalisation forward.
There is now broad agreement within the ABG that the BFMA Act requires amendment. Concurrently, there is also agreement that the ABG should begin to operationalise parts of the BFMA Act where and when practicable.
The Fisheries Administration Advisor Role
To support these dual requirements, the Advisor will draft a Fisheries Administration Roadmap, which will outline:
This Fisheries Administration Roadmap will help clarify where we are now, where we want to be, and what resources are required to reach the destination. The roadmap is intended to outline and enable future support for the fisheries sector from the ABG, the national government and development partners. It will provide a guide towards achieving sustainable fisheries management for Bougainville’s inshore and offshore waters, in terms of economic, environmental and ecological outcomes.
It should be highlighted that the Advisor work will be confined to Bougainville’s “internal waters” as defined by the BFMA Act 2020 (includes any waters extending to three (3) Nautical Miles to sea from the baseline).
The Advisor will have dual reporting to the Director for Fisheries (ABG), Secretary, DPIMR (ABG) and the Team Leader, Economic Development (BP). Ultimately the Advisor will be accountable to the Team Leader, Economic Development (BP).
The Advisor will also work collaboratively with personnel from the New Zealand-funded Te Pātui program, including, ensuring alignment/demarcation of respective workplans, sharing lessons learnt, and providing in-country support (if/where practicable).
About You
Qualifications
Knowledge
Skills/Experience
Personal Attributes
How to Apply
For more information on the role and how to apply, please click on ‘Apply Now’
