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Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project
Information Technology Intern – Position Description
Background:
Land O'Lakes Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness in the United States committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.
Project Description:
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded Bangladesh Trade Facilitation project (BTF) will expand regional and international trade in agricultural goods by addressing systemic constraints to agricultural trade at Bangladeshi ports; simplifying and automating import and export processes; improving the capacity of government agencies, laboratories, and warehouses; and by fostering private and public investment in temperature-controlled logistics and cold storage facilities. The project aims to reduce trade costs, increase transparency, and enhance the capacity of relevant government agencies involved in facilitating trade of food and agricultural products.
Position Summary:
The Information Technology (IT) Intern will collaborate closely with BTF Technical Team and work full-time on specific BTF project initiatives for a four-month period, which can be extended upon mutual agreement. The work initiatives provide opportunities for the Intern to build understanding about the challenges and opportunities for modernizing procedures and systems for cross-border trade, specifically food and agriculture products. The Intern will be responsible for a specific assignment, with a set of deliverables and timeline for completion. Moreover, while completing the assignment, the Intern will gain hands-on project implementation experience, knowledge about the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and country specific requirements for export and import. BTF will train the recruited interns to understand the assignment and conduct the tasks.
Past interns analyzed legislation and regulations impacting food and agriculture import and export, researched market entry requirements for Bangladeshi export items, and researched and organized a repository for documentary compliance for import and export of food and agricultural products organized and searchable by HS Code (i.e., Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System used worldwide for international shipping and customs operations). BTF offers two opportunities starting in February 2025.
Learning Opportunity:
BTF supports Government of Bangladesh (GoB) agencies to automate procedures and digitize the issuance of certificates, licenses, permits, or other orders or documents (CLPOs). The GoB agencies regulate import of food and agriculture products, monitor and ensure food safety, and promote export including the Department of Agricultural Extension, Department of Livestock Services, Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority. BTF also supports food and chemical laboratories to implement laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and integrate programs and applications with the systems used by Bangladesh Customs, including the National Single Window.
The IT Internship offers a unique opportunity and exposure for recent graduates and final year students who are preparing to pursue a career in fields related to software development, process automation, helpdesk services, and business process analysis. The Intern will gain understanding about the provision of trade services by GoB and the software and mobile application development cycle as well as system implementation. BTF is implementing a number of projects in collaboration with GoB agencies including the Department of Agricultural Extension, Department of Livestock Services, Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, and Bangladesh Food Safety Authority. Many of the systems aim to automate internal workflows and to provide end-to-end solution for clients and applicants, providing online application, digital payments, and the issuance of certificates or other verifiable documents. The intern will be assigned to one or more project implementation and will support coordination with contracted software development/IT firms, collect and document system requirements, analyze business processes, participate in User Acceptance Testing (UAT), engage on rollout of the solution, and help organize training for end users. The IT Intern will be exposed to and engage with multiple project teams on UAT, project implementation and rollout and user training.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Assist to conduct UAT sessions for a Contract Farming and Traceability application and help coordinate delivery of broad base training for exporters and farmers.
- Work closely with IT engineers, analysts, quality assurance specialists, and design teams to identify procedural inefficiencies and implement improvements, under the guidance of a BTF staff IT Specialist.
- Support to prepare and communicate project correspondences, including presentations, meeting minutes, and emails.
- Support consultations, meetings, and user training activities.
- Record data and notes and draft minutes of meetings, consultative sessions, and trainings.
- Support communication with IT contracted vendors as and when required.
- Contribute to other relevant tasks to support the project’s objectives as assigned.
- Supervised by BTF Information Technology Specialist
Required Skills and Qualifications:
- Willingness to look for, learn, and acquire new knowledge, and to exhibit flexibility. Demonstrate professional conduct and behavior suitable per BTF office culture and environment.
- Completed or pursuing degree in computer science and engineering, information technology, communications or other relevant fields.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Teams, Sharepoint, and Outlook is required. Experience using documentary tools such as Draw.io and Visio is advantageous.
- Working knowledge of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and basic project management principles is beneficial. Demonstrated practical experience in project planning, scheduling, gathering requirements, coordination, and team communication is advantageous.
- Advanced command and proficiency in English and Bangla languages is required. The ability to read, interpret, and type Bengali script is advantageous.
- Demonstrate high-quality written, oral communication, and presentation skills. Proven ability to synthesize information or decisions and draft concise written communications is preferred.
No. of Positions: 01
Duration: 4 months (full-time), starting February 2025
Compensation: BDT 40,000/- (Taka Forty thousand) per month
How to apply:
Interested candidates are requested to submit their CV and Cover Letter in a single document highlighting their suitability for the positions. Please send your application to umtama@landolakes.com.
Closing date: 27 January 2025