Position: Start-up Partnership Manager (Skills Development Expert)
Duty Station: Tansen, Palpa (with extensive travel in emerging markets in Nepal, including Kathmandu)
LOE: Three months with possible extension for two more months.
Start Date: As early as possible (May 1, 2020)

Background and Objectives:

The four-year UKaid Skills for Employment (सीप) programme is seeking a short-term Start-up Partnership Manager (Skills Development Expert) for a new partnership designed to revive the Palpali Dhaka Industry in Tansen, Province 5, Nepal. Launched in February 2020, UKaid सीप’s partnership with the Palpali Dhaka Association (PDA) and the Government of Province 5 is aimed at building skills of weavers and entrepreneurs in order to: reinvigorate employment/self-employment, inject quality and innovation in Dhaka designs, improve branding and marketing, build stronger backward and forward market linkages, and enable access to finance for entrepreneurs as well as for self-employed home-based weavers. 

Launched in April 2019, UKaid सीप is brokering transformational partnerships with the Nepali private and public sector to propel growth in selected priority sectors – commercial agriculture, light manufacturing, tourism, ICT, and construction – at Provinces 2 and 5 through expanded access to quality skills training linked to gainful employment and migration optimization. सीप uses a Challenge Fund co-investment and technical assistance mechanism to forge partnerships aimed at addressing key market constraints in boosting job creation and sectoral growth by introducing innovative, scalable training models, building multi-sectoral collaborations, and unlocking public and private capital. 

Role:

The Start-up Partnership Manager will support the Palpali Dhaka Association to support start-up of the partnership/project in collaboration with consortium partners and others supporters including UKaid सीप, Label STEP, Banks, Nepal Yarn Manufacturer’s Association, the Provincial and Local Government, and a potential pool of other short-term national/international branding/communications and design consultants. The key responsibilities are as follows:

• Support recruitment of all key staff at the Palpali Dhaka Association, as needed, including for long-term Project Manager, Research and Mobilization Officer, Marketing and Mobilization Officer, Administration and Finance Officer, and Master Trainers
• Co-ordinate and support establishment of PDA’s office and related regulations/standards and practices on finance management, human resource management, governance, and skills development
• Ensure one-year work plan for the partnership is established, shared with, and understood by all parties/partners
• Support initiation of the training plan, finalization of the refined skilling curricula, and roll-out of job placement plan for each partner industry under PDA
• Build a monitoring and evaluation plan/system to track and share progress, knowledge, and learning with all partners
• Institute communications and reporting tools and mechanisms for the Palpali Dhaka Association to build/strengthen their brand in potential national and international markets and to share their stories, including of the weavers and the Dhaka fabric
• Build and initiate a stakeholders engagement/partnership-building plan to foster much-needed 1) backward linkages with the Nepal Yarn Manufacturer’s Association so that required quality and quantity of yarn is available in a timely manner for all Dhaka weavers; as well as with the Banks for access to finance  for startups and 2) forward linkages with emerging designers, marketers, and communicators in Nepal as well as internationally
• Support the Palpali Dhaka Association to secure the pledged public and private funding and other resources and to roll-out training for weavers as well as the entrepreneurs, while also building and enabling coherence and synergy between all partners
• The selected incumbent will support and report to the President/Chairperson of PDA and UKaid सीप Regional Manager

Minimum Qualifications and Preferred Skills:

• At least Bachelor’s degree in management, social sciences, or another related field
• Minimum 7-10 years of work experience, preferably on starting up projects or social enterprises, with strong demonstrated coordination, communication, and marketing skills and engagement history with multiple stakeholders, including the Government 
• Knowledge of the Dhaka industry and experience on SME development, training, and communications and marketing is preferred 
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic thinking, team-building, and partnership building skills
• Ability to coach, mentor, and develop technical capacity on setting workplans, monitoring systems, working with multiple stakeholders, and marketing and communications
• Ability to travel to Palpa Nepal, especially in potential markets to promote Dhaka and build linkages
• Strong English and Nepali presentation and written skills