CARE is one of the world's leading international humanitarian and development organizations, committed to helping people in poor communities improve their lives and alleviate poverty. Founded in 1945, CARE is working over 100 countries to fight global poverty and marginalization. CARE has been active in Bangladesh since 1949 and is one of the largest programs in CARE confederation. Women and girls are at the core of all CARE programs because they represent half of the marginalized group and it is not possible to overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE Bangladesh works to implement programs with long-term impacts that result in sustainable changes for the extreme poor and marginalized communities.

CARE Bangladesh’s Humanitarian and Resilience Program is committed to provide people affected by disasters and conflicts with life-saving assistance, with a special focus on women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by disasters. Our action also includes preparedness and early action, emergency response and recovery, and resilience and adaptation to climate change and equitable development.

Satkhira, a climate-vulnerable region, relies heavily on agriculture, fishing, and livestock for livelihoods. Climate-induced disasters have harmed the natural ecosystem and made life harder. Salinity intrusion converts 500 hectares of land to saline annually, leaving many cultivable lands unused. On the other hand, the government aims to produce 1 million tons of cooking oil by 2025 without compromising rice production, focusing on sunflower cultivation in Satkhira. However, challenges like seed quality and price fluctuations hinder sunflower production. Considering all these conditions CARE Bangladesh and HSBC is planning to develop a project titled “Developing Sunflower value chain for sustainable farm household income at the Southwest coastal region of Bangladesh” to building resilience of small holder farmers through adaptive agricultural practices, market-based approaches and green innovative agri-mechanization modalities. The prime objective of the project will be strengthening agricultural adaptation of smallholder farmers against climate change induced salinity stresses through intensified cropping and agri-mechanization in a market-based approach in a two-year program, at Satkhira district of Bangladesh.

The project will directly benefit around 2000 households where more than 1200 households will be under the cultivation of Sunflower along with the market development activities in Satkhira. The project will follow a community-based approach and promote adaptive technology-driven practices to implement its major components successfully. By doing so, it aims to achieve both food security and market development for high-value crops, especially Sunflower, in the designated project areas. Once the farmers are selected, they will receive comprehensive technical training, enabling them to effectively utilize adaptive varieties and technologies in their agricultural practices. This will also equip them to employ agricultural machinery efficiently in their fields.

Project will also ensure an energy efficient grain storage facility where a community-driven approach will be adopted, taking into account current requirements, ensuring women-friendly facilities, and incorporating energy-efficient modalities. These storage facilities will serve as community-based storing sunflower grain and will also facilitate connections with local and national-level market actors. To foster effective collaboration between farmers and market actors, farmer groups will be organized. This team will work to establish a robust network with local stakeholders to form a local-level value chain. CARE management will play a pivotal role in ensuring engagement between national-level stakeholders and local farmers, enhancing the overall impact of the project. Furthermore, the project will actively promote green growth by implementing climate-adaptive agricultural techniques. By integrating climate-resilient practices, the project aims to foster sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural approaches. The project will uphold quality standards by embracing community-based adaptation strategies, leveraging adaptive technology, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. By ensuring the engagement of various stakeholders and adopting climate-resilient techniques, it seeks to achieve its objectives of food security, market development, and green growth effectively.

The principal purpose of the Project Officer - Agro-Processing and Mechanization position is to play a crucial role in building the knowledge and capacity of local farmers and stakeholders by communicating knowledge and skills necessary for adopting modern agro-processing and mechanization techniques. Additionally, s/he will be entrusted with efficiently managing project resources, including budgets management and mechanization, to maximize productivity and yield throughout the sunflower value chain. S/he will continuously monitor the project progress, ensure the outputs of agro-machineries, evaluate the post-harvest management and adapting strategies as needed to ensure the long-term sustainability and impact.

• Implement quality control measures during vegetable production and processing, supervising operations to ensure that processing standards are up to date. Monitor factors such as hygiene, sanitation, and adherence to processing protocols to maintain the quality and safety of processed products.
• Managing the successful installation and operation of solar dryers for efficiently drying agricultural produce, specifically for the local context in Satkhira.
• Collaborate with local markets and cooperatives to establish effective channels for the distribution and sale of processed agricultural products. Explore opportunities for value addition through product diversification and packaging innovations to enhance market competitiveness.
• Facilitate training programs for local farmers and processors to adapt solar drying techniques, ensuring proper usage and maintenance.
• Conduct a thorough assessment of the community's agricultural storage and mechanization requirements. Gather data on existing infrastructure and farming practices.
• Oversee the implementation of innovative agricultural storage solutions, such as controlled atmosphere of the storage, energy efficiency etc.
• Closely follow up the construction and development phases of the community agro storage maintaining the standard quality.
• Organize training programs and workshops for local farmers and operators to ensure they can effectively use the new storage and mechanization technologies.
• Ensuring the efficient mechanized harvesting of sunflower seeds through the utilization of thresher machines.
• Performing a thorough evaluation of harvested sunflower seeds after harvesting, prior to storage.
• Managing the collection and storage of sunflower grains after harvest according to standards.

Responsibility # 2: Providing support in the planning and execution of activities related to market research, scoping studies, the development of agricultural value chains, and the establishment of sustainable market systems.

30%

• Collaborate with project members to outline research methodologies, objectives, and timelines for market research and scoping studies.
• Assist in gathering relevant data through surveys, interviews, and field visits to support market research and scoping studies.
• Contribute to data analysis and interpretation, helping to draw meaningful insights from research findings.
• Assist in preparing comprehensive reports summarizing the results of market research and scoping studies, with clear recommendations.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration among stakeholders, including farmers, businesses, and government agencies, to enhance value chain development efforts.
• Assist in the allocation of resources for value chain development activities, ensuring efficient implementation.
• Support the design and delivery of training programs to build the capacity of local participants in sustainable agriculture and market system development.

Responsibility # 3:  Strengthening the capabilities of local farmers and stakeholders by imparting the essential knowledge and skills required to embrace modern methods of agro-processing and mechanization.

20%

• Conduct thorough assessments to identify the specific knowledge and skill gaps within the target community, ensuring required training programs.
• Design comprehensive training curricula and materials that cover various aspects of agro-processing and mechanization, making them accessible and understandable to diverse audiences.
• Active participation in the process of design and development of agro-storage for the community.
• Actively engage with local farmers and stakeholders through workshops, demonstrations, and learning sharing sessions to transfer knowledge and hands-on skills effectively.
• Implement a robust system for tracking the progress of participants, measuring the impact of training, and adjusting the curriculum as needed.
• Foster collaboration with local agricultural organizations, government agencies, and industry experts to leverage their expertise and resources in support of the capacity-building efforts.
• Maintain detailed records of training activities and outcomes, and regularly report on the project's success and challenges to relevant stakeholders and funding agencies.

Responsibility # 4: Documentation, Reporting and Knowledge Management

10%

• Contribute to the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks and assist in tracking project progress against established goals.
• Maintain detailed records of project activities, budgets, and expenditures, ensuring accurate documentation for reporting and auditing purposes.
• Communicate project updates, achievements, and challenges effectively to keep all relevant parties informed.
• Assist to ensure that the project complies with all relevant regulations, standards, and guidelines.
• Assist to prepare and facilitate audits of project documentation to ensure accuracy, transparency, and adherence to compliance requirements.
• Assist to develop training modules on high value crop production and adaptive technologies, IEC/BCC materials, and other knowledge products in coordination with the KML team. 
• Support Finance and Government Relations Department for timely submission of annual report, budget/revised budget

Responsibility # 5 Adhere to and support CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems

As part of this role, the job holder will be expected to adhere to and support CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems as part of their day to day duties, and comply, at all times, to safety & security protocols and directives, including reporting. Staff must maintain situational and self – awareness and be aware of the safety – security related consequences of their actions upon themselves, their team and the organization as a whole.

Responsibility # 6 Safeguarding

CARE is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behavior at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct and expects staff to promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at all times.  CARE expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our Code of Conduct.  We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate this commitment are recruited to work with us.

Project Manager - Production and Value Chain

IV.          Working Conditions:  

Based in Satkhira

• 5 to 8 years’ experience in Agro-mechanization, Agriculture value chain development, market linkage, climate change adaptation, community engagement in humanitarian and/or development programs.
• Masters in agriculture from any reputed university (Agri-Engineering will be preferable).
• Previous experience of working in UN/INGOs/NGOs.
• Strong in written and verbal English and Bangla communications.
• Have proven computer skills on MS word, Excel, Power point, SPSS, GIS.
• Experienced motorcycle rider with driving license.
• Strong communication, report writing and presentation skill in Bangla and English.
• Computer skills on computer software e. g MS office, internet. CARE Core Competencies as noted below: