Helen Keller Intl. Bangladesh
Job Announcement

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with communities striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition and clear vision, we help millions of people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in more than 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we are ensuring every person has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their true potential.

Country Program Overview:

Starting in 1978 by promoting and implementing Nutrition programs, today, Helen Keller Bangladesh is implementing large scale food and health systems program work in Dhaka, Cox's Bazar, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and Sylhet through and with the government of Bangladesh, as well as national and international partners and NGOs, academic and research institutions, and the private sector. Since its beginning, Helen Keller Bangladesh has worked with over 150 local, international and government partners to establish Enhanced Homestead Food Production (HFP) programs benefiting over 4.5 million people. We are currently implementing programs to prevent blindness and Neglected Tropical Diseases alongside to programs to improve nutrition and food security that integrate gender-sensitive approaches

Job Title: Technical Officer, IGA and Market Development   

Base station: Field Based, Bishwambarpur under Sunamganj District. 10 month

Background: The project aims to create income-generating opportunities for marginalized individuals and communities, particularly women and vulnerable groups, by promoting sustainable and scalable livelihoods. It will provide training, resources, and market linkages to empower 500 participants from economically vulnerable households.

A market assessment will identify local economic opportunities and challenges and select viable income-generating activities (IGAs). Participants will receive training in on and off-farm IGAs, including livestock rearing, vegetable cultivation, poultry farming, and high-value crop production, handicrafts or small-scale enterprises. Training will focus on technical skills, business management, and financial literacy to enable participants to establish small businesses. Conditional cash transfers via mobile banking will support IGA kick-start and expansion.

The project will strengthen community capacity by promoting skills development, collaboration with government and private sectors, and access to financial services. Collection points for produce will improve market aggregation, connecting producers with larger buyers. Field visits will showcase resilient practices, fostering knowledge sharing and inclusivity. Savings and loans groups will offer access to financial services and a safety net.

Ongoing coaching and mentoring, combined with linkages to institutional support systems, including government agriculture extension and livestock and MFIs, will ensure sustained support. Robust monitoring and evaluation will track program quality, outputs, outcomes and impact, promoting long-term economic stability for participants and their communities.

Scope of Responsibilities:

The Technical Officer, IGA, and Market Development will play a vital role in enhancing community well-being and achieving the project’s objective of improving the livelihoods of targeted participants in the project area. The Technical Officer, IGA, and Market development are responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of the project’s Livelihood activities within his/her designated sub-district, including strengthening Income Generating Activity (IGA), High-Value Commodities (HVC) through market linkages.  This position will coordinate and collaborate with district, upazila, and union-level team members and key stakeholders, and support reporting, achieving targets, providing actionable insights for program improvement, and enhancing accountability.

Supervises: Field Facilitators

Job Responsibilities:

Work Planning

Support developing and regularly updating the Detailed Action Plan (DAP) to implement all livelihood activities in the designated upazilas based on the Project Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP).
Prepare monthly work plans for Livelihood and Market Development activities based on the DAP, carry out planned activities against DAP targets, and track progress against them.
Assist the Field Facilitators to plan activities and track progress.
Prepare achievement reports and share with supervisor.

Program Implementation and Capacity Building

• Recommend key programmatic activities to achieve desired outcomes in agricultural production and productivity and income generation
• Provide guidance and training on livelihood activities/modules, etc. at the Upazila and Union levels.
• Train field staff to effectively facilitate sessions on income-generating activities (IGA), HVC, EHFP related activities.
• Provide on-the-job technical support to field facilitators and participants to promote the adoption of appropriate techniques and technologies and improve implementation practices
• Identify technologies, services and/or markets to diversify, expand, and/or increase sales within IGA.
• Support market systems development by strengthening microenterprises and market structures such as the Collection Points and LSP, savings group, link to MFIs, local inputs seller, ensuring they are able to function as fee-for-service businesses.
• Monitor day-to-day field activities, providing real-time feedback to ensure alignment with project goals.
• Undertake frequent field visits to both directly carryout and supervise implementation of Livelihood and Market development activities and provide on-the-spot solutions and guidance.

Coordination and Communication:

• Participate in monthly upazila, and union-level coordination meetings and provide insight in relation to Livelihood activities. 
• Liaise and coordination with different GOB agencies/ departments at Upazila level.
• Contribute to the documentation of lessons learned, success stories and best practices.
• Participate in any orientation/training organized by program team/management
• Collaborate closely with the MEL team to receive, provide and address feedback to improve data quality and accuracy and for base line and endline.
• Monitor the progress and effectiveness of resilience-building activities and infrastructure development.

Accountability:
This position reports directly to the Project Manager and is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of project activities. A key performance measure will be the ability to contribute significantly to the successful achievement of the project's objectives within the defined framework.
Recruitment Requirement:

Education and Aptitude, Job-related experience and knowledge

1. Education:
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension or a related field.
2. Working experience:

At least 5-7 years of experience in any development organization.
Experience training, coaching and/or mentoring frontline staff on livelihood and Market Development.

3. Other Requirements:
• Fluency in Bangla and English (both spoken and written).
• Willingness to travel to project sites and work in rural settings.
4. Preferred:
• Experience with IGA or livelihood projects or other donor-funded development initiatives.
• Familiar with training approaches.

Application Process

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their updated resume and a brief cover letter explaining their interest in the position to Bangladesh-Recruitment@hki.org with "Application for the Position of Technical Officer, IGA and Market Development" in the subject line by January 15, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submissions are encouraged.

“Helen Keller Intl is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified women and minorities candidates. The organization has a smoke free working environment.”