Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) is a Swiss based non-profit international development organization aiming at creating value for smallholders in Asia and Africa by promoting sustainable agriculture technologies and activation of value chains that help farmers to increase food production, improve access to markets, and mitigate risks. SFSA, with its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland focuses on scalable innovations and act as a catalyst and incubator. Syngenta Foundation’s presence in Bangladesh since 2011 and has been implementing several cutting edge agricultural development projects for improving the income and livelihood opportunities of smallholders in Bangladesh.  To learn more, please visit www.syngentafoundation.org.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is initiating a project on Nutrition in Secondary Cities “Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE)” from July 2021. The project will be implemented by a Swiss Consortium comprising the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, ETH Zürich, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, Sight and Life Foundation. The goal of the NICE project is to improve the health and nutrition of city populations with a particular focus on women and youth. It will facilitate multisectoral action for nutrition, local public private partnership and introduce social business models to strengthen the demand and supply of local, nutritious, agroecological foods. The project will be implemented in the selected secondary cities of Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda.

SFSA is the implementing agency of “Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE)” project in Bangladesh. The project will focus on 2 cities in Bangladesh and scale the learnings to a further 4 cities in the country over the first 4 year phase.

SFSA Bangladesh is looking for a suitable candidate to fill up the position of ‘Project Manager’ for NICE.

Project Manager with a background in Nutrition, Public Health, Agriculture and/or Food Systems with relevant work experience in Bangladesh

Job Summary:

The Project Manager will be responsible for overall planning, management and implementation of the NICE project in Bangladesh under the programmatic management guidance of the SFSA Country Director and Swiss consortium for overall coordination, project management and technical issues of the project and work closely with relevant SFSA Bangladesh team members for successful implementation of the project. S/he will ensure the partnership implementation the project in close collaboration with the selected city corporation authorities and the local project implementation partners.

Specific roles and responsibilities:

Within this new project co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), your tasks will include:

• Overall oversight of 4 work streams in the project related to governance; supply, demand and learning, with support from local implementation partners and local experts /consultants
• Engage with the leadership and other stakeholders in the 2 “front runner” cities
• Serve as liaison person to national level Ministries, SDC Bangladesh office and other development partners working in Nutrition (such as WFP, FAO) e.g. to set up and arrange steering committee meetings, with support as necessary
• Liaise with the Swiss consortium for overall coordination, project management and technical issues, as well as with the coordinator in the other 2 countries involved in the project (Kenya and Rwanda)
• Support the cities to set up /strengthen a multisectoral committee for nutrition that gives a platform to women and youth
• Oversee the implementation of activities involving women and youth to improve the production and availability of diverse, local, nutritious, agroecological foods
• Oversee the implementation of activities to increase knowledge and demand for diverse local, nutritious, agroecological foods
• Facilitate learning events and documentation of lessons learnt with support from local consultants
• Oversee project monitoring and reporting, including that attention is paid to gender and inclusion
• Track the project budget execution
• Support to any other relevant activities in the role of project manager, including  inputs to project communications, accompanying implementation research
• Any other specific tasks or responsibilities provided by the management.

Required qualification and competencies:

To best fit into this dynamic, interdisciplinary team we expect the following qualifications:

• Advanced degree (minimum Master level) in Nutrition, Food Systems, Public Health, Agriculture or a related field;
• Minimum of five years’ experience in nutrition, public health, food system or value chain project management, preferably in Bangladesh
• Experience of working in complex, multi stakeholder environments with understanding of the global, regional and national landscape and efforts to improve nutrition;
• Experience in managing complex multiple project activities effectively and efficiently to meet timelines and in achieving programme success;
• Strong analytical skills and ability to relate programmatic performance and budgeting;
• Excellent command of English (oral and writing), and any local languages spoken in the cities
• Excellent report writing and communication skills;
• Strong ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines;
• Excellent Interpersonal skills and ability to work in team.

Additional desired experience and skills:

• Ability to interact with diverse stakeholders and professionals in a multi-cultural context, including high-level officials;
• Dedicated and highly motivated professional, with a strong spirit for teamwork and sense of initiative.

An attractive salary package will be offered according to the organization policy.

Application Instruction:

Only those who meet the above requirements are requested toemail CV (maximum 4 pages), one recent passport size photograph and one page motivational letter to the hr.sfsabangladesh@gmail.com mentioning the position applied on the subject line by close of business (COB) of 15 May 2021. 

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview.