Description

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of specially-abled.

 FUNCTION:

The Program Manager-Agriculture Value Chain will serve in accordance with HPIB’s vision, mission, goal, objectives, policies, and procedures. The PM-AVC will lead coordination and collaboration with local government in project design and resource leverage at the local level and ensure local needs and national development goals are considered. S/he will provide strategic guidance for effective implementation and coordinate with thematic leads to ensure social capital, supply chain, market system development and cooperative development aspects of the project are impactful. S/he will provide continuous backstopping to project partners and manage all stakeholders for optimum project results.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES: (including approximate percentage effort)

Supply Chain, Enterprise and Market development and Project management (50%)

• Provide oversight of the entire project management cycle and ensure project plans and milestones are on time, budget, and scope.
• Select potential areas for vegetable production and relevant stakeholders at the locality for developing supply chain for national and export market in the vegetable and fruit sub sector.
• Identify key opportunities and underlying issues for vegetable businesses.
• Assist the Heifer Bangladesh Country Office in designing interventions that best serve to unlock potential and minimize challenges to accelerate the living income of smallholder farmers.
• Ensure appropriate and timely implementation of vegetable value chain activities related to vegetable/flower training, collection and processing for marketing.
• Provide technical expertise in all aspects of the value chain (linkages with public and private sector, technical trainings to farmers, food production, post-harvest handling, marketing, etc.) to solve technical problems that inhibit production and productivity.
• Build the capacity of vegetable farmers on globally accepted sustainable vegetable production, farm management, good practices, food safety and hygiene, improved social and environmental practices at the community level.
• Coordinate and promote demonstrations, field trials, field days, exposure visits, etc. on the horticulture and flower sub sector.
• Work directly with private and public sectors to increase farmers’ access to national and export markets and to build the capacity of local service providers.
• Apply systemic change to the market development approach.
• Communicate and negotiate with the market actors in value chains at national and regional markets; jointly develop MoUs and operational guidelines. 
• Coordinate with other thematic leads (Cooperative and Market Development, Access to Finance, Social Capital Development, Livestock Technology and One Health, MELS, etc.) to ensure timely and quality project service delivery and to ensure that the thematics are integrated in the programs.

 Partnership with Public and Private sector stakeholders for mobilizing financial resources (30%):

• Work closely with project partners, women farmers’ self-help groups and cooperatives as community organizations. 
• Establish functional relationships between producers’ organizations and business development services. 
• Maintain networks with appropriate counterparts (private sector, Department of Agriculture, BARI, BINA, SRDI, universities and other relevant organizations, Government officials) for smooth project implementation. 
• Link project participants with public and private sector extension service providers, market actors, food processors, financial institutions, and follow up the establish required linkages. 
• Organize and facilitate demonstration plots. 
• Understand national and local government priorities and analyze how the project and Heifer’s Values Based Holistic Community Development (VBHCD) model can play a catalytic role. 
• Engage in continuous discussion with the line department and develop a common understanding on how the partnership can be strengthened with support from the local government authority. 
• Provide support in fulfilling all program and government requirements for project implementation. 
• Provide leadership in the selection of partners and developing technical and financial proposals for partnership with private sector and government departments to mobilize financial resource and other leveraged resources for projects.
• Provide support and guidance for organizing regular meetings with Project Implementation and Monitoring Committee (PIMC) at the upazila and union level. 

 Coordination with Stakeholders (15%)   

• Develop and maintain good working relationships with all project stakeholders - government, private sector, NGO/INGOs and civil society organizations, research and academic institutions.
• Bring all related stakeholders and value chain actors to a common platform. Analyze gaps, opportunities, and solutions in the context of smallholder friendly practices.
• Coordinate with related private sector (market actors, BFIs, insurance companies, Agri companies, etc.) and ensure required services are available in an efficient manner.

 May perform other duties as assigned (5%)

 QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• A Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university in Agriculture, Horticulture, or other related field and a minimum of seven (7) years of experience with an international organization in a similar context is required.
• Clear understanding of the vegetable value chain. Innovative, analytical, and solutions oriented.
• Knowledge of enterprise development and linkages to poverty alleviation. Strong interpersonal/people management skills and excellent oral and written communication skills a must.
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills.
• Proficient knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, presentation tools, electronic mail (Microsoft Office preferred) and Internet.
• Demonstrated proficiency in English and other local languages, both oral and written.
• Significant experience in building public/private partnerships.
• Experience working with farmer group programs.
• Experience in the commercial sector with skills to develop and evaluate investment opportunities and promote such opportunities to financial institutions. Strong consumer marketing, financial analysis and management skills.
• Excellent command of report writing, analysis and presentation skills using Word, Excel and Power Point.
• Experience in supporting and monitoring field-based programs in the country. Proven experience in building the capacity of partner institutions to document and disseminate industry information, manage knowledge, measure progress and plan and advocate within the industry.
• Track record of building strong client and stakeholder relationships. Ability to generate innovative solutions in work situations. 

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES:

• Demonstrate a high degree of honesty and integrity.
• Willingness to work flexibly outside normal working hours.
• Ability to foster and maintain a spirit of unity, teamwork and cooperation.
• Constant face-to-face, telephone and electronic communication with colleagues, potential donors, and the public.
• Motivated to work responsibly with little supervision.
• Ability to meet and deal with others in a courteous and tactful manner.
• Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.
• Sensitivity in working with multiple cultures and beliefs, and to gender equity.