Project Assistant, YASP

About the Role

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is seeking a Project Assistant, YASP to support the implementation of Youth-led Agribusiness Service Providers (YASP) project activities in Bangladesh. This role will be offered on a fixed-term contract basis until December 2025 with the possibility of extension, subject to availability of funding. You will be based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Reporting to the Private Sector Coordinator, you will support the Private Sector Coordinator in successfully implementing YASP project activities in collaboration with partners. This role will specifically provide support to two youth-led agri-service provider start-ups in developing their capacity and growing as organizations. The Project Assistant will provide necessary basic technical, logistic and administrative support to the project.

The postholder is expected to have experience of working in or with start-ups and be familiar with the start-up ecosystem in Bangladesh.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Providing administrative support to the project and related activities in accordance with GAIN guidelines for successful implementation
• Collecting, collating, and compiling project related data for project database, reports and updates
• Tracking and monitoring progression of the project by taking periodic updates from the two Agribusiness Service Providers (ASPs) and other relevant stakeholders and flagging any potential delays, risks or issues to the program team in a timely manner
• Assisting in field visits to monitor project progress and drafting reports about project activities and updates
• Supporting with the preparation of letters, notes, terms of reference (ToR), and technical documentation as per the project activities and requirements
• Facilitating logistics support for organising meetings with partners and writing meeting notes for circulation to relevant stakeholders
• Supporting budget administration, procurement and contracting processes
• Supporting the project team in maintaining good relations with the farmer communities and field officers where the ASPs will be operating (i.e. Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Tangail, urban areas of Dhaka etc.) to ensure smooth communication and collaboration
• Assisting in drafting documentation of the activities including monitoring reports based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), quarterly reports, annual reports, best practices, and capacity building manual for mainstreaming the best practices of the project

About You

The ideal candidate will have demonstrable experience in an administrative or project management support role in supporting multiple members of a geographically dispersed team and to work with multi-stakeholders such as vendors, clients, end users and donors. Candidates with experience working within an international development setting is desirable.

The postholder will be familiar with the start-up ecosystem in Bangladesh and have good working knowledge of monitoring and evaluation tools. Candidates with understanding and some experience/technical knowledge in food systems would be an advantage.

You will possess good interpersonal and communication skills and willing and able to work in multicultural, multi-lingual environments. In addition to this, you will be fluent written and spoken English and Bangla, a highly flexible individual who is willing to travel field sites (in and outside of Dhaka).

A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in business administration, agronomy, Food Technology, or related field (candidates from other social sciences background may also apply). The ideal candidate will be passionate about the agricultural industry in Bangladesh and with the willingness and enthusiasm to work with all stakeholders in the agri-industry (from farmers to back-end suppliers – all actors of the value chain).

About our Offer

The starting salary on offer for this role is from BDT 876,456 – BDT 998,760 per annum (gross salary), depending on experience.

GAIN has a fair and competitive salary structure that allows for annual progression subject to good performance. In addition, GAIN offers a total of 37 days holiday per year (including annual leave, public holidays and additional office closure days), an attractive pension scheme and competitive insurance cover including health, travel and life assurance.

We are committed to the health of our staff, especially in these challenging times, and have developed a programme of wellbeing that includes flexible working, additional leave allowances, wellbeing days, mindfulness coaching and access to independent and confidential counselling.

GAIN also has a strong commitment to professional development. We will support you to grow in your career through both formal and informal training, and are committed to providing opportunities through internal recruitment, secondments and promotion. All of this is delivered in a supportive and collaborative environment.

About GAIN

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Due to COVID19, conflict in Ukraine and climate change, malnutrition and hunger have worsened significantly since 2019, reversing a decade of progress. There is growing recognition that our food systems need to change if we are to reverse these trends.

GAIN’s Strategy aims to transform food systems to make healthier diets from sustainable food systems accessible to all people and especially those whose are most vulnerable to shocks. By 2027, we aim to improve the access of 1.5 billion people to nutritionally enhanced staple foods, improve the access of 25 million people to healthier diets, and support positive food system change in 10 countries. This is bold and complex, and the only way to achieve this is to work together with partners including governments, businesses, and civil society at the country and global level. These goals, and the ways of achieving them, build on our twenty-year legacy of transforming people’s lives with improved nutrition through concerted action and effective policy change.

Our Working Culture and Environment

We provide a flexible working environment that includes a combination of home and office working opportunities through our global hybrid working policy. This encourages our staff to have a healthy work-life balance and increases staff motivation, enriches employee wellbeing, and improves performance and productivity.

All of our positions are based in one or more of GAIN’s designated offices as stated on our job advertisements. Successful candidates will be based in one of GAIN’s country offices and must have the existing right to live and work within a reasonably commutable distance of the relevant city / cities in which the role is advertised. Please note, that GAIN does not sponsor working visas and relocations.

GAIN reserves the right to withdraw an offer of employment for candidates who are considered to ineligible under the above conditions during or after the recruitment process.

Applicants must be currently based and have the existing right to live and work in the Dhaka, Bangladesh region to be eligible to apply for this position.

This advert closes on 18th March 2024. Early applications are encouraged. GAIN reserves the right to close this advert early should we receive suitable candidates ahead of the closing date.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition is committed to equality of opportunity and creating an inclusive environment where diversity is valued. We are keen to reflect the diversity of our society at every level within our organisation and therefore welcome applications from talented and committed people from all backgrounds, representing the diverse societies we operate in.