Organisation overview:

In late 2021 Self Help Africa (SHA) and United Purpose (UP) merged. The two organisations – one headquartered in Ireland and the other in Wales – implement projects to end extreme hunger and poverty.

This merger doubled our size and reach – and means that in 2022 we are implementing poverty eradication projects in 17 countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Collectively, we are also part of a group that includes social enterprise subsidiaries Partner Africa, TruTrade and Cumo Microfinance. 
In 2022 our work will reach more than six million people and invest upwards of €45m in more than 100 development programmes designed to improve food systems, facilitate access to markets and financial services, combat climate change, gender inequality, and improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.

United Purpose (UP) is a UK-based international development and humanitarian organisation. UP works in conjunction with local government, community partners, and private and public stakeholders in some of the most under-resourced and climate vulnerable parts of the world to challenge the systemic causes of poverty and inequality while building innovative, community-led strategies for resilience, health and wellbeing in the context of the social, economic and environmental challenges faced globally. UP is working in Bangladesh since 1993.

UP vision is a world where "justice, dignity, and respect prevail for all”.

This is an exciting time to join us as we unite two like-minded and entrepreneurial organisations seeking to tackle the global challenges in progressive and innovative ways.

About the UP’s Social Enterprise and Market-Based Programming

United Purpose puts livelihood at the core of everything it does as a means to ensure independence among its community partners from future aid and support the growth of grassroots enterprise to address wellbeing, health, nutrition, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, community response management, and WASH needs for the most vulnerable and at-risk communities in Bangladesh. United Purpose implements numerous activities in these sectors across the country through the Women’s Business Centre (WBC) model, supporting the personal and professional growth of women and adolescent entrepreneurs as established change makers and leaders in their communities. This in turn further strengthens the efficacy of community designed and led activities, positioning community partners as agents in development rather than beneficiaries. This has included WBC-initiated mask & soap production efforts, youth run business that provides on-the-job training to vulnerable adolescents, entrepreneur-led water service delivery and health counselling services, and the introduction of a wide range of food and non-food products through centres to improve access to wellbeing resources for the most vulnerable communities in Bangladesh. In each case, United Purpose provides technical expertise in social marketing, ICT resource, and connectivity with public and private sector as a force multiplier – accelerating and expanding the diverse achievements of these entrepreneurs.
United Purpose (formerly Concern Universal) has been in Bangladesh since 1994, and operating in CHT since 2010. It has an interesting and exciting current and growing portfolio of multi-sectoral interventions in the CHT districts, many of which have WASH as a central or integral component. Whilst market-based approaches in WASH are commonplace elsewhere in Bangladesh, there are few approaches that have been shown to be really effective in the CHT context. UP, as a major player in CHT, with a considerable portfolio in WASH there, and with it’s network of WBCs and wider market-linkages, has the potential to change this.
This is an exciting opportunity to help steer the definition of highly scalable WASH solutions for CHT, and contribute to the strategic direction of UP Bangladesh’s WASH and wider enterprise approach more generally.

Position Summary:

The Implementation Advisor - Social Enterprise and Wash Marketing will be a key driver of the refinement and roll-out of UP’s approach to market-based and enterprise-based WASH across CHT (and maybe beyond, in future). They will be responsible for ensuring UP’s projects develop and/or implement and refine, robust, market-driven enterprise and community-driven that support local investment and innovation in the WASH sector in CHT and beyond. The Advisor will work initially across three key projects in CHT to review and evolve current thinking and approaches for the market and enterprise-based approach to WASH. A key component of this will be adapting what works to the project and operational context reality. They will provide direct training, mentoring and technical support to UP’s project teams and local implementing partners (and sometimes directly delivering activities of the project), to ensure activities implemented are strategic, quality and impactful.  They will directly support the implementation of market assessments, business mapping, and analysis of UP’s WASH projects, providing recommendations and guidance to entrepreneurs and project teams, as well as facilitating market linkages with public and private sector actors.

Key Responsibilities:

• Engage directly with project stakeholders to ensure relevance of programming, capture key learnings, and improve programming design
• Review project plans and approaches (with project managers, global/national advisors and local partners), to help deepen and evolve existing plans and strategies for market-based approaches in WASH
• Provide training and guidance material for staff, partners and entrepreneurs to deliver the market-based WASH activities effectively
• Provide updates and local coordination on WASH aspects of projects in CHT on behalf of Dhaka-based managers and advisors
• Support data gathering and management, support analysis, and provide insight on findings/learnings throughout the project period.
• Conduct trainings on business development and management for women’s entrepreneurs & staff (UP and partner staff)
• Coordinate with regional WASH/health officials and private sector
• Support business plan development for WASH service delivery by WBC networks.
• Provide strategic and technical support to field teams in ensuring on time implementation of activities around WASH
• Provide strategic and technical support to field teams in strengthening capacity of Women Enterprise Groups. 
•  Improve planning, design and delivery processes of WASH enterprise and market-based project activities in Project Activity Implementation Plans (PAIP).
• Monitor and ensure planned activities are implemented as per PAIPs and budget allocations
• Coordination and provide support to MEAL team (especially M&E Specialist) to tracking and monitoring of progress, data collection, database administration, documentation of the project’s impacts and results, and M&E related coordination with counterparts, as required
• Inputs into proposal development where needed, particularly where they relate to WASH and/or market-based approaches in CHT
• Conduct regular visits to fields, documentation on field activities including project’s impacts and results, and submit reports to line manager timely
• Other duties as assigned by the line manager and UP management.

Key Relationships:

Internal: Programme, Operations and Global WASH Advisor

External: Beneficiaries and Stakeholders

Knowledge, Experience and Other Requirements

Person Specifications:

The successful applicant ideally have experience and skills in the following:

• Readiness to be based in CHT and travel across CHT, and ideally strong experience within CHT, familiarity with the context. Ability to speak one or more CHT language a plus.
• A strong creative and entrepreneurial mindset, ambitious, proactive and problem solver
• At least 4years’ working experience with market-based and enterprise-based approaches and business development, ideally in WASH
• Strong experience and insights, and track record into marketing and sales of products and services, ideally (but not necessarily) in the context of rural communities
• Understanding and experience in WASH products and concepts certainly desirable, but not essential. Experience in sanitation marketing and social marketing in WASH, water filters, menstrual hygiene, enterprise-based management of water services etc a plus, but not essential.
• Project management experience a plus
• Ability to pay attention to details
• Clear theoretical and practical understanding of marketing approaches
• Experience developing / supporting business plans for enterprise activities
• Micro, small, medium enterprise business plan development, implementation, monitoring, and analysis
• Experience and knowledge in WASH programming a plus, but not essential if the candidate shows clear capacity in enterprise and ability to rapidly learn WASH
• Community organising, particularly with women’s groups
• Market assessment design, implementation, and analysis
• Design and review of marketing materials for small businesses (social marketing is a plus)
• Working with women’s groups and businesses
• Very strong interpersonal skills and experience networking in the private sector
• Budget management, monitoring, and implementation
• Be willing to travel to the field across CHT, and potentially beyond
• Be willing to learn and implement new methodologies
• Is self-driven and proactive and a creative problem solver
• Is a strong communicator with good report writing skills, and diplomacy skills
• Works well with a multi-cultural team, particularly within the context of CHT
• Written and oral proficiency in English

Education and other qualifications:

• Master’s degree in relevant subject.
• Skills on ICT operation, and proficient in using MS Office
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Respect to cultural diversity and gender sensitivity
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Commitment to Safeguarding

Application Procedure:  

Application Procedure:  

• Please fill in your CV in official form available Here. CV without official template shall not be considered.
• Please submit your CV at upb.recruitment@united-purpose.org
• You must use the Name of the Position in the subject line of email while submitting CV. 
• Application to be submitted by 31 January 2023.