advisors: The Asia Foundation

Agro-Inputs Project in Bangladesh
The Asia Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, and open Asia-Pacific region, is seeking qualified long-term advisors in the area of agricultural production and productivity to serve as Chief of Party, Agricultural Input Supply Chain Advisor, Agro Input Quality Control and Standards Specialist, Senior Capacity Building Advisor, and Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor for an upcoming 5-year project in Bangladesh.

Candidates should be development professionals with specific sectoral expertise, including but not limited to: supporting private sector activities that result in improved availability, quality and safe usage of agricultural inputs, yield improvements, environmental degradation in an agricultural context, and improving product quality and export opportunities, capacity building in the agricultural sector,  addressing gender related constraints in the agricultural inputs market, and addressing policy and regulatory obstacles.

Qualifications

Chief of Party

•     A minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in international development and an advanced degree in a relevant field
•     Strong professional credibility and technical knowledge
•     Demonstrated capabilities in high-level strategic visioning and leadership, and demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including national and local government, donors, community-based organizations, think tanks and universities, and the private sector
•     Proven managerial experience with a large multi-year donor-funded project
•     Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills in program management, including managing budgets and personnel, motivating and supervising team efforts and achieving success in complex activities
•     Proven record of achieving development impacts in a similar context
•     Experience developing and managing multi-sectoral projects, leading and supervising multi- cultural and multi-disciplinary teams, and working with donor communities
•     Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills, including the ability to manage high-level relationships and motivate subordinates
•     Demonstrated understanding of the Bangladeshi or regional context
•     Strong oral and written communication skills in English required.

Agricultural Input Supply Chain Advisor

•     Minimum of seven years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
•     Proven record of achieving development impacts in a similar context
•     Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders
•     Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
•     Demonstrated understanding of the Bangladeshi context
•     Strong oral and written communication skills in English required.

Agro Input Quality Control and Standards Specialist

•     Minimum of ten years of relevant experience and an advanced degree (graduate level: Doctorate, Master’s, etc.) in a relevant field
•     Proven record of achieving development impacts in a similar context
•     Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders
•     Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
•     Demonstrated understanding of the Bangladeshi and/or regional context
•     Strong oral and written communication skills in English required.

Senior Capacity Building Advisor

•     Minimum of ten years of relevant experience and an advanced degree (graduate level: Doctorate, Master’s, etc.) in a relevant field
•     Proven record of achieving development impacts in a similar context
•     Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders
•     Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
•     Demonstrated understanding of the Bangladeshi and/or regional context
•     Strong oral and written communication skills in English required.

Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor

•     Minimum of seven years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
•     Experience with financial management of a large multi-year donor-funded project
•     Experience in monitoring and evaluation work for donors/U.S. Government agencies or international NGO’s.
•     Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
•     Strong oral and written communication skills in English required.

Essential Skills

All candidates must be able to demonstrate an understanding of value systems, traditions and social norms and practices of different cultures and religions. Excellent consulting skills will be required including: Communication, both oral and written, consensus building, team facilitation, all with an emphasis on results and cultural sensitivity.

Desirable skills include but are not limited to: knowledge and experience in complex agricultural programs, knowledge and/or experience of the legal, political, economic, administrative and socio-cultural context of agricultural programs in Bangladesh and/or South Asia ; experience undertaking effective consultation with a wide range of national and international stakeholders; and familiarity with USAID program design principles and methods. Local language capability is desirable.  Experience or knowledge of Bangladesh is strongly preferred.

Applicants are requested to send their CV with a brief cover letter to:
Human Resources Manager
The Asia Foundation,
House 5, Road 8, Baridhara, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh.

Or by email to jobsbg@asiafound.org (specifying the position in the subject line) by March 9, 2012. Applications that do not meet the minimum requirements will not be considered. No telephone enquiries please. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.