Provincial Lead - Balochistan

About ITC:

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, focusing in particular on developing the export capabilities of small and medium-sized businesses in developing and transition economies. ITC is 100% "Aid for Trade", supporting trade that delivers inclusive and sustainable development results. ITC’s mandate covers all developing countries and transition economies with special emphasis on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDs) Fragile States and Sub-Saharan Africa. ITC Headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. ITC projects and programmes contribute to the global efforts to achieve UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development and the Aid for Trade agenda. ITC works at three levels:

• Strengthening the  integration of the business sector of developing countries and economies in transition into the global economy,
• Improving the performance of trade and investment support institutions for the benefit of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), and enhancing the abilities of trade support institutions to better support them,
• Improving the international competitiveness of SMEs.

About the GRASP Project:

The Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) is a 66-month project that will contribute to the reduction of poverty through development of rural SMEs in selected districts within two provinces of Pakistan: Balochistan and Sindh. GRASP will focus on selected product lines within livestock and horticulture.

GRASP will take a holistic approach to building SME competitiveness in agribusiness value chains starting from a deep understanding of markets and working back through the value chain to enable SMEs and ultimately producers to create and capture additional value. To do this, GRASP will intervene in three main ways:

• Improving the eco-system for rural SME development through building institutional capacity and improving the business environment
• Building production and quality of primary products through support to SME agribusiness service providers and business intermediary organizations in rural areas
• Increasing added-value and marketed volumes through developing value chains and supporting SMEs to improve management, increase access to finance, apply sustainable technology to add value and improve quality and reduce waste throughout the system

At the impact level, GRASP will create employment and income opportunities in rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Outcome and outputs of GRASP include measurable improvement in the business environment for SMEs, improved agricultural productivity in selected areas, better access for farmers to market information and agricultural services, increase in revenue and financing for selected SMEs and increased value added and adoption of environmental sustainable technology. GRASP has a very strong focus on women's economic empowerment.

GRASP has a budget of €48.5m funded by the European Union and ITC. ITC will implement GRASP through three Pakistan based teams and a wide network of Pakistani and international partner organizations. This challenging project will involve managing many concurrent inter-linked activities from the market to the production level and innovative tools such as matching grants.

• Maintaining strategic relationships with Provincial authorities, local governments and key private sector partners at the provincial level.
• Oversee and contribute to the development and execution of the workplan in Balochistan in collaboration with the Project Coordinator, Islamabad-based technical team and partners.
• Putting in place systems for smooth operation of the GRASP Balochistan Office
• Develop provincial technical implementation and financial reports
• Develop and operationalize provincial Project Steering Committees

Function / Expected Results: Coordination of project activities

• Lead project teams to deliver project outcomes and impact, ensuring coherence and synergies during Inception phase and project implementation;
• Manage relationships with counterparts and ensure ownership of project initiatives at the provincial level;
• Maintain regular communication with other initiatives and agencies on the ground in the province, ensure good information sharing; liaise with the relevant government departments, ministries and private sector institutions to obtain support for project implementation;
• Manage systems established for GRASP at provincial level including staff management, budget management, activity and results monitoring, project progress reporting, and compliance with UN and EU regulations;
• Lead Provincial project steering committee meetings, prepare meeting agendas and other documents required for the review of the committee;
• In line with national communications plan, ensure project visibility, efficient communication and outreach at the provincial level, including representation of the project at provincial and district events; ensure communication with the press where required;
• Apply the GRASP risk identification and mitigation process at the Provincial level;
• Keep abreast with developments in the province and identify synergies and  opportunities with other projects and initiatives;
• Guide other provincial project staff in performing relevant duties.

Function/Expected Results: Technical guidance

• Coordinate technical delivery at provincial level with project technical leads,  project staff and project partners;
• Identify new opportunities and work areas at provincial level for the project across priority value chains at provincial level and work with project teams to incorporate them;
• Develop new concepts with project partners to activate new opportunities;
• Coordinate development and implementation of provincial work plans and identify and ensure linkages and synergies across project activities and implementing partners;
• Undertake any other tasks agreed with the Project Coordinator in support of efficient implementation of the project.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• Maintaining strategic relationships with Provincial authorities, local governments and key private sector partners at the provincial level.
• Oversee and contribute to the execution of the workplan in Balochistan in collaboration with the Project Coordinator, Islamabad-based technical team and partners.
• Putting in place systems for smooth operation of the GRASP Balochistan Office

• Proven leadership and strong project management and coordination skills
• Excellent interpersonal and advocacy skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships
• Proven ability to lead and work collaboratively in teams, with colleagues and encourage  sharing of knowledge to achieve organizational goals
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to identify priority activities and assignments; adjust priorities as required
• Ability to work with accuracy under time constraints and pressure in a stressful environment; with patience, tactfulness, maintain confidentiality, take initiative and exercise good judgment
• Ability to plan own work and use time efficiently, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines

• Demonstrated knowledge of challenges agricultural value chain development in Balochistan
• Very good understanding of public and private institutions in Balochistan and their mandates
• Good understanding of the private sector needs and expectations in Balochistan
• Experience in working with government and private sector counterparts
• Knowledge of result-based management aspects
• Strong drafting and communication skills

• Master Degree or equivalent in international trade, Business Administration, Agriculture, Economics, Development Studies or related field.
• With a minimum of 7 years of experience in trade development, SME development, agricultural value chain development, Institutional reform and capacity building
• Including some experience in project formulation and management in senior position

• A Bachelor’s degree in international trade, Business Administration, Agriculture, Economics, Development Studies or related field
• With 9 years of experience in trade development SME development, agricultural value chains development, Institutional reform and capacity building
• Including some experience in project formulation, management , administration or related field

• Advanced English with strong written and oral communication skills is essential
• Knowledge of local languages

• Demonstrated knowledge of challenges to agricultural development in Balochistan
• Very good understanding of public institutions in Pakistan and especially in Balochistan and their mandates as well as of private sector needs and expectations
• Demonstrated capacity to evolve in large, complex and multi-dimensional projects
• Good understanding of project result-based management and coordination
• Proven leadership, advocacy and management skills and ability to operate in multi-stakeholder contexts
• A track-record of successfully implementing projects
• Excellent drafting and communication skills

• Knowledge of the UN system and procedures or experience of EU-related projects would be an asset

Please Note:
HEC attested degrees are a prerequisite for employment at UNDP. During the recruitment process candidates may be required to present HEC attested degrees.
Foreign Qualified Candidates: Foreign degree holders shall be required to(i) Present a verification/certification letter from the university verifying the degree & student enrollment, orii) Foreign degree Equivalence Letter from HEC.
UNDP provides the Equal Opportunity for all equally qualified male & female including the physically challenged candidates, female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply (local and internal VA)
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