Helen Keller International (HKI), an International NGO, has been working in Bangladesh since 1978. HKI implements different projects in partnership with national and international NGOs, development partners, academic and research institutions, and the private sector. HKI takes a gender-sensitive approach to improving nutrition, food security and eye health. Current program areas include Dhaka, Khulna, Barisal, Sathkhira, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Chittagong, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) districts of Khagrachari and Bandarban.

USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) awarded HKI a five-year cooperative agreement to lead the Development Food Aid Program, “Sustainable Agriculture and Production Linked to Improved Nutrition Status, Resilience, and Gender Equity” (SAPLING) on September 30, 2015, with the overall goal of improving gender equitable food security, nutrition and resilience of vulnerable people within the Bandarban District of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). To achieve this objective, HKI is working in partnership with CRS, CARITAS Bangladesh, five local implementing partners, individuals, communities, institutions, traditional ethnic leaders and the Government of Bangladesh to affect enduring positive change in its program areas by addressing immediate needs while investing in the future of food security and resilience.

HKI is seeking qualified candidates for Technical Officer – Marketing for its SAPLING program.  The positions will be supervised directly by the Manager – Markets & Value Chains.  Applicants from the CHT area will be given preferences.

Scope of Work

The Technical Officer – Marketing will ensure that the marketing activities in the USAID funded SAPLING project are implemented with the maximum efficiency and professionalism to bring about a positive change in the lives of the program’s participants, through providing constant support to the assigned partners.

Job Responsibilities:

The Technical Officer – Marketing will play a key role in ensuring that the program participants access and use marketing information and linkages to expand their income. Specifically, s/he will provide direct technical assistance and oversight of the marketing component of the project. S/he will be responsible to carry out the following duties:

• Ensure effective implementation of marketing component activities (both agricultural and off-farm) through regular site visits and meetings with SAPLING staff;
• Provide hands on technical assistance to front line staffs and project participants on marketing, microenterprise, gender, and economic development;
• Ensure the targeted participant HHs have access and use market information and linkages to expand their income;
• Advise partner NGO staff on production timing, variety selection, and value-added marketing techniques;
• Support the development of a marketing and micro-enterprise training module;
• Develop different technical and informational materials on marketing;
• Lead the business plan development process for producers and micro-entrepreneurs involved in IGAs.;
• Supervise and provide necessary support forming Marketing Committees.
• Support producer associations in terms of formation and help them secure strong market linkages and cost-effective marketing practices;
• Facilitate training on group marketing, agriculture and non-agriculture product marketing and micro-enterprise development for the partner NGO staff as well as participants (producer groups and/or individual microentrepreneurs);
• Develop the business linkage capacity of marketing committee and producer groups;
• Actively seek, facilitate, and maintain new marketing channels between farmers and different levels of market intermediaries;
• Develop appropriate mechanisms to collect and disseminate market information;
• Provide necessary technical support to partner NGOs to establish and effective functioning of marketing committees (MCs);
• Ensure product aggregation points/collection points are functioning properly;  
• In coordination with the M&E team and SBCC specialist, assess behavior change and constraints through Focus Group Discussions (FGD), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and other monitoring tools, and share findings;
• Organize formal and informal meeting and workshop with local market actors and other stakeholders at Upazila and District level; 
• Assist NGOs to establish linkage with other NGOs/private agencies/Govt. officials for input procurement and other services;
• Provide necessary support for value chain and market governance study and labor market study;
• Compile and prepare monthly and quarterly field activity reports, training/workshop reports, market surveys/assessment report and document the key learning & findings;
• Maintain effective coordination and communication with NGO contact persons, and other relevant stakeholders;
• Engage with local level GoB departments and public stakeholders to ensure support for project activities;
• Provides close and supportive supervision and guidance to the field team and other stakeholders in the assigned areas to demonstrate outcomes and impact.

Required Qualifications

• Honor’s/Master’s degree in Business Administration (Marketing/Management), Agriculture Economics, Agricultural Marketing, Development Studies and Entrepreneurship or related field.

Desired Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of practical experience in the related field preferably in agricultural product marketing with small-scale producers.
• S/he must have excellent networking skills resulting in deals between farmers, market actors, service providers, private sector actors, and public sector actors;
• Should have excellent understanding of rural markets, trading relationships and rural service providers;
• Demonstrated facilitation and training skill and experience;
• S/he should have experience collecting and analyzing market data, value chain analysis, assessing market opportunities and constraints;
• Experience working with the private sector; willingness to engage with vulnerable groups in a participatory manner;
• S/he should have experience of working through partners (consortium partners, local NGOs and GoB);
• Should have experience of managing food security and livelihood activities at a rural household and farm level;
• Pro-active in problem solving and implementation of solutions;
• Good report writing skills in both Bangla and English;
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, fluency in spoken and written English;
• Working experience in CHT will be an advantage;
• Familiar with MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and
• Able and willing to ride on a motorcycle (with valid driving license) for field visits and travel by local transport.

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Interested persons are requested to apply with a complete resume with contact telephone number and a copy of a recent passport size photograph. Applications should be sent to: The Head of HR at E-mail: Bangladesh-Recruitment@hki.org by June 22, 2017. Note: Please mention the position title in the subject line. Only short-listed candidates will be called for interview.

Founded in 1915 by Helen Keller and George Kessler, the mission of Helen Keller International (HKI) is to save the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. HKI combats the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition by establishing programs based on evidence and research in vision, health and nutrition. Headquartered in New York City, HKI’s programs prevent blindness and reduce malnutrition in 21 countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States.”

www.hki.org