Project Coordinator - Access to Inputs and Services: Care Bangladesh

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Position Title, Location & Contract Duration
Project Coordinator - Access to Inputs and Services (for Strengthening the Dairy Value Chain Project Phase II (01 Position, CARE Bangladesh Headquarters)
The duration of the proposed contract is up to December 2015.
Application Deadline: September 12, 2013

 
Project Summary
Through the current phase of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Strengthening the Dairy Value Chain (SDVC) Project Phase II, CARE has been working toward sustainable solutions to overcome the major challenges to smallholder participation in the dairy sector market, particularly women, in North and Northwestern Bangladesh.  

• CARE identified increasing access to quality inputs and animal management practices, increasing access to markets, organizing and educating farmer groups, improving milk collector’s business options and markets, and influencing dairy sector policies as the key leverage points needed to make the value chain work for the benefit of rural smallholder low-income producers.
• SDVC targeted private sector companies and worked with them to pursue inclusive business models that both strengthened the value chain; and better and more equitably integrated poor producers in their supply and distribution chains.
• SDVC’s major interventions addressed the most critical short-medium term constraints to unlock smallholder dairy productivity and profitability— specifically, access to affordable quality feed and veterinary drugs, better animal health and management at household level, improved access to livestock health services, establishing small-holder dairy farmers into producer groups, and increasing the efficiency and transparency of milk collection.

The project has made an impressive contribution to producer access to diverse and competitive community-level service provision across input supplies and collection, while upgrading local level businesses and creating opportunities for women in more advantageous roles.

I.             Job Summary:

In a brief paragraph, state the position's overall purpose or objective, highlighting the general functions for which the position is responsible. Why does the position exist and what must it accomplish

CARE Bangladesh is seeking an energetic and entrepreneurial leader for an emerging agricultural microfranchise network. A CARE-sponsored enterprise, Krishi Utsho aims to ensure smallholder farmers across the country have access to high-quality and affordable inputs and progressive agricultural extension and marketing services. The incumbent will have the opportunity to guide the growth of the existing network from 50 to 250 shops over the next three years via existing resources and help define a path to sustainability. Key responsibilities will include delivering and developing a sound franchisee network, supervising a highly energetic team, improving customer experience and retention, building supplier relationships, resource mobilization, monitoring network performance and supporting external and internal communications and collaboration. Candidate should bring significant business and private sector experience to the role, including at least five to seven years of management preferably focusing on rural supply chain or distribution systems. The Project Coordinator, Access to Inputs and Services will play as head of enterprise development role for Krishi Utsho, S/he does this by strategically addressing key behavioral and systemic (institutional) constraints related to access to quality dairy and other agriculture & livestock inputs and services for the overall region and poorest households in close collaboration with businesses engaged in the sector. In order to achieve this objective, the Project Coordinator will be responsible for strategic thinking, business development, leadership of the team, networking, collaboration, administrative, financial and all other relevant aspects of planning and implementation of access to inputs and services component of CARE Projects

II.            Responsibilities and Tasks:   Describe the major responsibilities, principal tasks, competencies and end results for which the position is accountable (try to limit responsibilities to five).  List the responsibilities in the order of importance and state the percentage of time the employee spends on each responsibility during a typical year. Employees who supervise other regular employees on a continuous basis should have Staff Management as the number one Job Responsibility.  The general rule of thumb for percentage of time for management of others is 5% per direct report.  Example: If a supervisor has six direct reports then at least 30% of his/her job should be allocated to supervising those employees.
Responsibility # 1: Staff and performance management  including developing a multi-year business plan for the franchisor and determine key drivers for growth and financial sustainability	% of Time
Provide programmatic and technical inputs to develop strategies, policies and plan to expand the network with expected business viability and franchise sustainability Make sure that implementation strategies for access to inputs and services are in place and operational as planned in the SDVC II, Shouhardo II, Switch Asia Jute project, Agriculture extension project and other CARE projects Ensure that the franchisee recruitment procedure is followed in new franchisee recruitment Put in place an effective franchisee development plan for each franchisee and work closely with Regional Technical Supervisors to ensure its implementation Work closely with financial partners to ensure franchisees get access to credit Identify new business opportunities in the region Ensure strategic thinking on franchisee operations manual and action for national programming around Access to quality inputs and services for farmers in livestock, aquaculture and agriculture and according to Krishi Utsho program principles, priorities and issuesf. Lead work around the potential future legal status of business development (as an independent enterprise)	30
Responsibility # 2: Improve customer experience and retention
Ensure high level of customer service in company run stores as well as for franchisees Develop a customer service charter/protocol Put in place a mechanism of measuring customer feedback to ensure high retention rate Ensure the customer experience in KRISHI UTSHO outlets meets best practice Develop a master customer database for the region and ensure it used to improve marketing and customer service standards Engagement in true partnership with all the suppliers and private sector companies to KRISHI UTSHO, Financial Institutions, other relevant organizations and communities. Visit private sectors top management offices on a regular basis and interact management on further product and revenue opportunity for Krishi Utsho. Assist and guide the field teams in developing their plans and timely implementation accordingly. Observe activities, shop and franchise performances in the field and provide written feedback to senior management and field teams on their performances and next steps. Expand into new areas with new franchisees with rigorous understanding of Regional dynamics, agro input demand supply context, innovation, action research, opportunity and challenges posted by the privates sector and learning for those.	20
Responsibility # 3: Business Development
Explore new business opportunities for KRISHI UTSHO in the region Determine market share of each franchisee territory and develop a plan to increase the same, warehousing plans while increasing franchisee share. Develop and package innovative service packages for livestock keepers Analyse KRISHI UTSHO animal health provision approach and give direction on focus areas in terms of effectiveness and profitability of the services and products Prepare annual plan and growth scenarios for fund and revenues for the franchisor Assist field staff (KU and private sectors) in their capacity building for resource management. Coach & mentor program staff to improve their programming and analytical skills, which include skills in project planning, management, communication and monitoring activities. Develop team spirit and cooperative attitudes among project personnel and project partners. Ensure that any grant program to KU is implemented in a cost-effective manner, within the budget framework and make sure that burn rate is up to the expected level. Regularly monitor status of record keeping and provide feedback to project management Ensure that all the positions in the region are filled with skilled staff in a timely manner, and are being served with adequate guidance so that they can perform their jobs properly. Create a Gender Equitable, women friendly, sensitive work environment in the regional office Review all annual performance appraisals and provide inputs where needed.	25
Responsibility # 4: Monitoring/Evaluation and Program Reporting
Become fully acquainted with the M&E plans of the KU and ensure proper implementation of the plan. Assist the Regional M&E Coordinator/Officer in planning for monitoring the progress of the activities and interventions by KU. Participate in monitoring visits. Facilitate technical inputs to develop appropriate, unbiased and simple routine monitoring systems for the program. Plan and oversee all evaluations, as required by donors or private sectors, sales and growth as well as undertake special assessment as required. Review findings of the Monitoring visits and initiate action according to needs. Lead documentation of the innovation, case studies and other pilot initiatives involving the Program managers and other Technical staff in the region.	10
Responsibility # 5: Efficient Information & Communication Management and effective networking and collaboration
Share information on the Overall Strategic Directions of the KRISHI UTSHO Program & disseminate to appropriate audiences. Involve a system of communication across appropriate staff, partners, private sectors  and communities on  KU  Contribute to and support new initiatives undertaken by mission in areas such as pro poor value chain programming and access to inputs and services, strengthening networks of agro dealers etc. Communicate efficiently to a multidisciplinary group of senior managers in different regions in performing their operational work Help organize effectively to senior management on a regular basis throuhg steering committee meetings and by providing lessons learned from the field operations etc.	15

III.          Reporting to:

Coordinator,  Agriculture and Value Chains

IV.          Working Condition:

Based in CARE-Bangladesh's Head office with approximately 30% time to travel in field.

V.          Qualification:

Masters in Business Studies/Economics or any related discipline. 5-7 years of experience in business development with SMEs/companies. A good conceptual understanding of key development priorities in Agricultural inputs and commodities supply chain in Bangladesh. Excellent communication skills and fluency in English and strong team players skills. Also a professional who is passionate about supplier development and keen to develop in his/her role. Oversight of budget and other resources, able to manage multi-year grants ensuring donor compliance. Analytical and report writing skills. Staff performance management skills, including team building. Computer literacy (MS Word, Excel, Power Point, E-mail).

VI.          Core Competencies:

Deep knowledge of business management, ability to create and run complex business set-ups, project management competence, ability to make risk analysis and scenario planning, proven experience in leading the business and people Good knowledge on M&E systems that can feed information and data required for improving agro input shop quality and generating deeper impact; Good networking and liaison skills with counterparts especially with private sector suppliers and partners

Candidates need to be highly motivated and committed to CARE Bangladesh’s vision, mission, and long term development work to significantly improve the lives of the most vulnerable and marginalized. Candidates must be capable of displaying great learning agility, support and encouragement of knowledge sharing across projects, to the ultimate benefit of all of CARE’s mission wide initiatives.

This is an interesting time in the development of CARE as an organization which is shifting towards a program approach where it has developed longer-term impact visions to have MORE sustainable changes in the lives of the extreme poor and marginalized. CARE is looking for a Project Coordinator - Access to Inputs and Services who will play a key role in the leadership of the Strengthening the Dairy Value Chain Project Phase II whilst at the same time building a learning culture that promotes knowledge sharing across CARE and excellence.


Compensation
Monthly gross salary is Taka 1, 02,700 plus other admissible benefits as are per policy.
CARE Bangladesh invites applications from qualified individuals. Summary job descriptions and the application format can be found on the website at: www.carebangladesh.org. Please note that only applications filled in as per CARE format will be considered. Please email the application to hr@bd.care.org on or before September 12, 2013. For the candidates who are interested to send hard copies of the CARE application format, please send to: HR Manager, HRD&M, CARE Bangladesh, 20-21, Kawran Bazar, Dhaka 1215. Interested persons may also collect the application form from our Reception desk at 9th floor.  This is important that the candidates who applied before need not apply again.

Note: 1. Women are particularly encouraged to apply 2. Any persuasion will disqualify the candidates 3. Internal and external applicants shall be treated equally in the entire selection process 4.  Please write the position name at the top of the envelope.