Background

Signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in 1997 was a major political achievement marking the end of a protracted low intensity conflict in the region. Progress on establishing local institutions outlined in the Peace Accord, the creation of an improved environment for dialogue between communities and an increase in social services have built important foundations for longer term stability and social inclusion in the region. Despite these efforts, the Chittagong Hill Tracts still experiences relatively low levels of development with economic and social progress being held back resulting in increased pressures on scarce resources including land, continued extreme poverty below the national average and a lack of economic development and opportunity in the region. In the Seventh Five Year Plan (FY 2016-20), it has been stated that “CHT is one of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable regions in the country in terms of almost all major development indicators, such as income, employment, poverty, health, water, sanitation, education, women employment, access to infrastructure and national building institutions, inter-community confidence, etc.” (The Seventh five year plan FY2016-FY2020. Accelerating growth, empowering citizens, pg. 637-638. Government of Bangladesh. 2015). In virtually all social and economic indicators the region is disadvantaged with limited access to education, an absence of clear linkages between the capabilities and needs of communities and state institutions as well as a lack of understanding of key challenges (7th FYP page 680).
One of the key government strategies outlined in the 7th Five-Year Plan for tackling these challenges is to fully implement the provisions of the Peace Accord.  The government also aims at implementing accelerated development activities in the region. 
The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MOCHTA), in collaboration with UNDP and other Development Partners has implemented several projects in three Hill Districts during the last decade. The interventions of these projects mainly strengthened community stability and supported communities build resilience and collective actions. Conducive environment is achieved for long-term stability in the region by empowering communities to be more involved in decisions that affect their lives in a framework for economic and social development. In line with the provisions of the Peace Accord these actions worked towards protecting the diversity of the region and its distinct characteristics by supporting the increased implementation of Peace Accord objectives, building capacity of devolved Regional and Hill District Councils to deliver the subjects transferred from national level and supporting confidence building and social capital strengthening in communities.
Following successful implementation of Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in CHT project (2003 – 2016), MoCHTA and  UNDP , with assistance from a number of Development Partners, have undertaken a new 5-year project titled Strengthening Inclusive Development in CHT (SID-CHT 2017-21).  
The main objectives of SID-CHT project is ‘’To strengthen the capacity of the population in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to shape and make decisions that impact on their lives”.
Based on the above main objectives following are the specific objectives which will be achieved by implementing the project;
  • To strengthen community land, resource and livelihood management.
  • To increase participation and influence to shape decision-making.
  • To strengthen democratic governance with responsive institutions and effective services.
Aiming to achieve above objectives, SID-CHT has different sub-projects/components i.e. agriculture and food security project (AFSP-III), CHT climate resilience project (CCRP), CHT watershed co-management activity (CHTWCA), empowering women and girls, activating village courts and supporting traditional justice systems, capacity building of the institutions, market linkages etc. Both AFSP and CCRP are funded by Danida with the aim to support farmers with improved knowledge on agricultural practices for ensuring food security and building resiliency among the communities related to climate change. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of AFSP III is to “increase pro-poor inclusive agricultural growth and sustainable employment creation for marginal and small farm households with enhanced food security in CHT” and to “enhance Hill District Councils capacity to manage transferred agricultural services in line with CHT Peace Accord”.
With the above-mentioned objective, the AFSP III focuses on Integrated Farm Management (IFM) through Farmer Field School (FFS) approach commonly known as IFM-FFS (Integrated Farm Management – Farmer Field School). The activities are being implemented in all 26 upazilas of 3 CHT districts with a target of establishing about 1,200 Farmer Field Schools over the project period. AFSP is managed under the Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management section of SID-CHT and the activities are implemented through partnership with the Hill District Councils (HDCs) of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagracahri where, SID-CHT provides technical supports to the field teams.
The CCRP is a pilot project for the Chittagong Hill Tracts under the Danida-funded Climate Resilience and Sustainable Energy Programme under Bangladesh Country Programme 2016-2021. It aims “to improve climate resiliency of the community livelihoods and watersheds in the Chittagong Hill Tracts”. The project covers 10,000 population from 20 sites in 10 Upazilas out of 26 upazilas of the three hill districts who are vulnerable due to climate change. Like the AFSP, all CCRP activities are also implemented through partnership with 3 Hill District Councils (HDCs) and SID-CHT provides all technical supports to HDCs.
SID-CHT has a team in the district with the leadership of District Manager to implement different components and providing all necessary supports to implementing partners including HDCs. Under the supervision of District Manager and technical guidance from the Technical Coordinator-FFS Training and Quality and Programme Officer for Climate Change with overall guidance from Chief-Livelihoods and NRM, the District FFS Officer will be responsible for overall coordination, planning, monitoring, supporting HDC and implementation of IFM-FFS and CCRP related activities in the assigned district. S/he will be maintaining regular coordination with AFSP and CCRP teams under HDC and SID-CHT (including PNGO) in implementing field activities. S/he will work closely with Master Trainers to plan and organize trainings for the Farmer Facilitators and government extension officers.  S/he will be responsible for ensuring the quality of the trainings and achieving the results. S/he will be involved in regular monitoring of IFM-FFS, providing feedback to the concerned for ensuring implementation of appropriate IFM-FFS approach and community climate resilience building activities. The incumbent will be the key responsible person for ensuring continued follow-up support to IFM-FFS and Climate Resilience Committee (CRC) and maintain liaison with the relevant GoB line departments, Union and Upazila Parishads, traditional leaders and local stakeholders. S/he will be responsible for development of local (community based) service providers and maintaining relationship with input suppliers. S/he will be closely engaged in the implementation of marketing intervention of the project. 
Functions / Key Results Expected
  • Planning;
  • Coordination;
  • Technical support;
  • Monitoring and Quality Assurance;
  • Reporting; and
  • Any other function as assigned by SID-CHT,UNDP management.
Planning
  • Preparing Annual/Quarterly Work Plan for the district;
  • Guide AFSP and CCRP Team in HDC in preparing and finalizing training plans (Training of Facilitators-ToF, Training of Trainers-ToT for Master Trainers, Refresher Courses, CRC trainings etc.);
  • Prepare training plan for SID-CHT (e.g. training for GoB Officers, Local Service Providers, Project staffs etc.) including budgeting;
  • Prepare implementation plan for AFSP and CCRP (SID-CHT part) based on Annual Work Plan;
  • Participate and contribute in planning/review workshop at regional level;
  • Review plans of AFSP and CCRP activities under HDC and provide necessary feedback;
Coordination
  • Coordinate all trainings under the project (ToF for Farmer Facilitators, ToT for Master Trainers, training for GoB Officers, Project Staffs, Local Service Providers etc.);
  • Coordinate with district AFSP and CCRP team members, GoB, partner NGOs and other stakeholders in regards to the project implementation;
  • Coordinate with relevant GoB line departments to ensure follow-up/technical support to the IFM-FFS;
  • Coordinate the Local Service Providers for ensuring delivery of quality services to the communities;
  • Participate in different coordination meetings (Upazila, District and Regional level);
  • Coordinate with input suppliers and other market actors for market linkages;
  • Coordinate exchange/exposure visits;
Technical support
  • Contribute in the development of IFM-FFS curriculum and modules;
  • Assist Master Trainers in planning and implementing “Training of Facilitators”;
  • Act as a Trainer/Facilitator related to AFSP trainings (Orientation for project staffs, training to GoB staffs, ToT to Upazila FFS Coordinator on “FFS Approach for PDCs”, training for Local Service Providers etc.);
  • Assess training needs in different areas and recommend for further steps;  
  • Contribute to the production of necessary training modules/materials/other IEC materials;
  • Assist in designing FFS baseline survey, different monitoring and reporting tools;
  • Contribute in designing and implementing the institutionalization of FFS activities through Farmers’ Group/Associations/CBOs;
  • Provide technical supports to the CCRP team in regards to capacity development of communities, staffs related to Climate Change adaptation, community climate resilience etc.;
  • Contribute in HDC’s planning and implementation of the District Agricultural Development Strategy as appropriate.
Monitoring and Quality Assurance
  • Regularly monitor Training of Facilitators conducted by the Master Trainers and evaluate the quality of the training;
  • Carry out FFS visits, CRC visits on a regular basis for quality monitoring; provide necessary feedback to the concerned and undertake appropriate corrective measures in order to ensure quality of the project activities; 
  • Supervise and monitor Farmers’ Group/Associations/CBOs and provide necessary feedback;
  • Reviewing the project implementation mechanism and suggesting for necessary changes in the project;
  • Assist in establishing and maintaining effective monitoring and evaluation system in the project;
  • Take part in periodic performance monitoring of Farmer Facilitators;
  • Undertake necessary actions for accomplishment of planned monitoring/follow-up activities by the GoB line departments to the Farmer Field Schools;
  • Undertake appropriate actions to ensure quality delivery of services by the local service providers;
  • Lead annual/periodic M&E data collection, entry and analysis; 
Reporting
  • Capture lessons learned, success stories/good practices, document and disseminate;
  • Provide necessary assistance to HDC based AFSP and CCRP project team on collecting case studies and preparing monthly, quarterly, annual reports;
  • Check and make necessary suggestions and recommendations on the Fund request made by the HDC and ensure UNDP financial compliance. 
  • Prepare field visit report, training-workshop report and other ad-hoc reports; 
  • Assist Livelihoods and NRM cluster in collecting necessary periodic (quarterly and annually) data collection, compilation etc.;
  • Assist District Manager in compiling monthly, Quarterly and Annual reports, etc.
Measurable Outputs and Performance Indicators
  • # of plans developed;
  • % of working time utilized for the field visits/field monitoring;
  • # of training plans developed and implemented;
  • # of trainings/workshops organized;
  • # of planning/review/coordination meeting attended and supported;
  • Coordination maintained with different GoB line departments, local service providers, input suppliers and other market actors;
  • # of modules/tools/formats developed/assisted;
  • Monitoring and quality assurance initiatives;
  • # of reports prepared/assisted;
  • # of CRCs supported through their project formulation and implementation;
  • Supports from the GoB line departments to the communities ensured Producers are linked with potential market actors (e.g. input suppliers/companies/processing companies etc).

Competencies

Corporate Competencies: 
  • Team work;
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Functional Competencies:
  • Very good knowledge on the community development and livelihoods improvement through utilization of the sustainability principle concept;
  • Excellent knowledge of project monitoring and evaluation;
  • Very good knowledge on community managed multi-sectoral livelihood improvement projects specifically on agriculture or horticulture based, climate change adaptation project activities;
  • Good coordination skills with ability to handle multiple activities;
  • Good interpersonal skill to deal with GoB line departments
  • Experience in working with partnership approach
  • Excellent communication skills, with fluency in written and spoken English 
  • Good report writing skill;
  • Very good knowledge on diversity and sensitivity of CHT;
  • Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside UNDP;
  • Ability to travel to the remote places and multi-cultural areas;
  • High level of computer literacy;
Management and Leadership
  • Focuses on impact and result of the programme activities;
  • Lead the team effectively towards achieving the objectives;
  • Build strong relationship with the stakeholders;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Graduation in Agriculture/Fishery/Livestock field from a recognized University.
Experience:
  • At least 5 years’ experience in agriculture related project with at least 3 years working experience on IFM-FFS development, facilitation and implementation, climate change adaptation. Similar experience in CHT will be an added advantage;
  • Skills in developing training modules and facilitation of training;
  • Experience in working with UN Agencies or International NGOs is desirable.

​Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English and Bangla is required;
  • Working knowledge in any of the CHT languages or Chittagonian Dialect would be an added advantage.

Disclaimer

Important applicant information

All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and people living with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.