Swisscontact, Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation, is headquartered in Zurich and was founded in 1959 by leading figures from the Swiss private sector and Swiss universities. It is exclusively involved in international co-operation and since 1961 has carried out its own and mandated projects. In Bangladesh, Swisscontact is registered as an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) under NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. It has been implementing various development projects in areas of skills development (ASTHA, B-SkillFUL, Sudokkho, Uttoron), SME promotion (M4C), financial and insurance services (Sarathi, BMMDP) from its office at House 19, Road 11, Baridhara, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh.

Swisscontact has been implementing the M4C project in collaboration with Rural Development Academy, Bogura, over two phases since 2012. The project has been mandated by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Rural Development & Cooperatives Division, Ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives of the Government of Bangladesh. The main thrust of M4C Phase I & II was to improve the livelihood options and reduce vulnerability of extremely poor people in remote locations by strengthening the market system. In Phase I, M4C benefitted 92,000 households, by increasing their income by CHF 13 million (CHF 141 per household) and Phase II, the project benefitted 32,000 households with a net additional income of CHF 7.7 Million. Due to M4C’s effectiveness is benefitting some of the most vulnerable people living in the remotest of the locations in Bangladesh, SDC and GoB have launched a new phase of M4C. By 2024, the result of M4C Phase III will be an increase in net additional income of 75,000 char households, comprising of 375,000 women, men and children, by CHF 14.5 million across six districts.

Swisscontact invites applications from qualified candidates to contribute in M4C’s Innovation and Knowledge Management Team. This role will be reporting to the Senior Manager, Innovation and Knowledge Management. The position is based in Dhaka but requires frequent travel (up to 50% of the time) to project implementation unit at RDA Campus, Bogura and the project areas.

Position
:
Coordinator, Innovation and Knowledge Management
Location
:
Dhaka with regular visits to field locations
Duration
:
Initial contract of one year; based on performance, the contract will be extended up to December 2023
Reports to
:
Senior Manager, Innovation and Knowledge Management

Purpose of the Job
This is one of the key staff positions within the project for implementing innovative interventions in areas such as enterprise promotion, health, energy as well as capturing and disseminating project knowledge to internal and external stakeholders. Specific functions and responsibilities for this position are mentioned below:

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

  • Working closely with Senior Manager, Innovation and Knowledge Management to design and roll-out innovation and knowledge management related activities
  • Ensuring proper selection, partnership development and management of project’s public/ private partners for Innovation related activities
  • Supporting Public Sector Engagement Team in establishing and maintaining effective liaison with project’s key partner Char Development and Research Center
  • Assisting the Project’s core management team in business planning, budgeting as well as contributing in writing relevant project reports (semester/annual reports, ad-hoc donor reports etc.)
  • Supporting MRM Manager to collate data and capture project’s overall progress as part of routine knowledge management activities and achievements of designated interventions and intervention area(s)
  • Managing external consultants and research firm to capture project’s experiences and disseminate learnings through appropriate knowledge products
  • Developing and managing contracts with project’s third-party service providers; coordinating with the admin and finance team in th process of Request for Quotation/Proposal (RFQ/RFP) preparation, evaluation and final selection of vendors
  • The incumbent may, at times, be required to perform duties that are beyond the scope of the job description given above.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

  • 5-7 years of in-depth experience of working with Inclusive Markets/ M4P approach within the context of Bangladesh
  • Experience in public/ private partnership management and experience of working with and building capacity of private sector organizations
  • Ability to work with a variety of actors, such as government bodies, private sector, local stakeholders, communities and international development actors
  • Practical understanding of the socio-political and economic context of rural Bangladesh, particularly market systems in char context
  • Significant experience and knowledge in themes such as Gender, Environmental Sustainability and Conflict sensitive project management etc.
  • Knowledge of various entrepreneurship funding mechanisms as well as energy and healthcare market system of Bangladesh
  • Excellent analytical and strategic skills
  • Strong leadership and management capacity
  • Excellent negotiation, problem solving and relationship skills
  • Strong communication skills (both English and Bangla)
  • Willingness to travel extensively within the project locations

Fiscal Responsibility
Oversee and ensure proper utilization of the approved budget of the M4C project and of the resources of Swisscontact Bangladesh.

Extent of Public Contact and Marketing
The position, as part of the job description, requires extensive contact with stakeholders. However, any agreement proposal/ decisions having programmatic and/or budgetary implications must be done in consultation with the Line Manager.

Physical Demand
Field visits play a large part in the incumbent’s activities; as such, it is expected that the incumbent is willing and be able to take part in such activities.

Working Conditions and Environment
This will be applicable in accordance to the Swisscontact Bangladesh Finance and Operations Manual.

Application details

Please email your application form along with your CV and a cover letter (elaborating your competencies for the position and expected salary) to bd.infom4c@swisscontact.org addressing Senior Manager, Business Administration, M4C, Swisscontact Bangladesh.

The prescribed application form can be downloaded from our website https://www.swisscontact.org/en/country/bangladesh/work-with-us/jobs.html

Please mention the name of the position applied to in the “subject” line of your email. Applications must be submitted on or before August 19, 2020.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for final selection process.

Swisscontact is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage female professionals to apply.