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, Dhaka1212, 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 Public Sector Engagement team. This role will be reporting to the Senior Manager, Innovation and Knowledge Management. The position is based in Dhaka but requires frequent travel (minimum 50% of the time) to the project areas.

Purpose of the Job:

This is a junior-mid level and key position within Public Sector Engagement team, will broadly be responsible for

• supporting the Manager, Public Sector Engagement (60%) in ensuring all the activities related to project’s anchoring and institutionalization.
• appropriate design, implementation, management of project interventions by the partnership and grants team (40%) comprised of Manager, Partnership and Grants, Cluster Managers, Cluster Officers, Consultants and Implementing Partners team. Bangladesh We create opportunities www.swisscontact.org/bangladesh Under the guidance of Senior Manager, Innovation and Knowledge Management s/he will work closely within the Public Engagement team to accomplish the given duties and responsibilities which are mentioned below:

Essential Functions and Responsibilities
Officer, Public and Private Sector Engagement will carry out the following tasks:

• To develop the M4C’s public sector engagement plan with the assistance of the Adviser, Government Relation and the Manager, Public Sector Engagement, incorporating effective and measurable public sector performance indicators
• To Identify opportunities to engage the public sector to new initiatives focusing on the char development, in collaboration with the Char Development Research Centre (CDRC)
• To support the involvement of Char Development Research Centre (CDRC) in the market development activities, training, workshops and relevant local network building
• To ensure the proper quality of public sector led activities and the success of knowledge dissemination campaigns and events carried out on a regular basis
• To manage M4C’s communication with relevant public sector stakeholders e.g. Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Department of Livestock Service (DLS) and/or Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) etc. with support from the Manager, Public Sector Engagement and the Manager, Partnership and Grants
• Contribute to designated private sector partnership(s) that may involve budget preparation, partnership design and following up of activity progress in order to achieve the agreed targets.
• To maintain all public sector engagement contents through Management Information System (MIS)
• To develop resources relevant to the capacity development of private and public sector actors to achieve all levels of M4C’s strategic objectives relevant to anchoring and institutionalization
• The incumbent may be, at times, required to perform duties that are beyond the scope of the job description given above.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The individual must possess these skills and abilities or explain and demonstrate that s/he can perform the essential functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some combination of skills and abilities.

• Minimum graduation in any discipline is required, post-graduation will be preferable
• At least 3 years’ experience working in the development sector with respect to partnership management especially in public and private sector
• Academic training on Agribusiness, Public Administration, Public Policy, Rural Market Development or Agricultural Science will be an advantage
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to initiate productive working relationships with potential partner organizations
• Experience of developing innovative partnerships through engaging relevant public sector actor(s)
• Proven writing and communication skills
• Must be willing to go to the fieldworks in the remotest part of Bangladesh
• Work experience relevant to ensure environmental sustainability will be an advantage
• Experience of designing communication materials for development projects is desirable

Fiscal Responsibility
Look over the good use 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 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 September 24, 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.