Terms of Reference for Global Fairness Initiative, Nepal (GFI) Research and Development Officer

Global Fairness Initiative

The Global Fairness Initiative promotes a more equitable, sustainable approach to economic development for the world’s working poor by advancing fair wages, equal access to markets, and balanced public policy to generate opportunity and end the cycle of poverty.Since 2002, GFI has partnered with hundreds of marginalized working communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to enhance economic opportunities and build sustainable livelihoods. In Nepal, Over 200,000 workers, of whom as many as 32,000 are children, labor in unhealthy and unsafe conditions in Nepal’s brick kilns. The informal nature of the industry, which operates on the periphery of communities and with little government oversight, has served to entrench exploitive labor practices such as forced, bonded, and child labor. While work conditions are often harsh, the brick industry provides needed income to thousands of unskilled laborers, and in the wake of the Gorkha Earthquake of April 2015 the sector has become a particularly vital source of the jobs and building materials necessary for Nepal’s rebuilding and recovery. The Better Brick Nepal (BBN) Program’s core long-term goal is to eliminate child, bonded, and forced labor on brick kilns in Nepal and improve working conditions for kiln workers by incentivizing kiln owners to reform through a combination of increasing market opportunity and improving enterprise viability. To achieve this, long entrenched systems of recruiting workers, paying wages and operating kilns themselves must be reformed and new, locally appropriate, approaches introduced that maintain financial benefit for owners and workers alike. Brick kilns in Nepal play an important role in an economic infrastructure that supports the livelihoods of thousands of workers and provides the raw materials that drive Nepal’s reconstruction and future growth. A future goal of BBN would be to create a more nuanced vision of brick production with wider recognition of good and bad practices where, currently, the sector is largely disparaged on the whole. The impact of creating this “choice” leverages a prevalent interest from kiln owners to find solutions to social and environmental problems entrenched in the sector, and taps into an insurgent demand for responsibility and accountability in the commercial sector in Nepal, led in part by international donor agencies, and amplified in the wake of the Gorkha earthquake.

Details / requirements:

Terms of Reference

for

Global Fairness Initiative, Nepal (GFI)

Research and Development Officer

Organization:                Global Fairness Initiative, Nepal

Job Description:         Full-Time Research and Development Officer  

Responsible to:          GFI’s Program Manager

Duration:                      One-year contract with possibility of extension

Compensation:     Commensurate with Experience

1. Opportunity Background

Over 200,000 workers, of who as many as 32,000 are children, labor in unhealthy and unsafe conditions in Nepal’s brick kilns. The informal nature of the industry, which operates on the periphery of communities and with little government oversight, has served to entrench exploitive labor practices such as forced, bonded, and child labor. While work conditions are often harsh, the brick industry provides needed income to thousands of unskilled laborers, and in the wake of the Gorkha Earthquake of April 2015 the sector has become a particularly vital source of the jobs and building materials necessary for Nepal’s rebuilding and recovery.  

The Better Brick - Nepal Program’s objective is to transform the brick industry by eliminating child, forced, and bonded labor. We incentivize kilns to improve conditions for workers through access to better production techniques, stronger operations, and the creation of a market for ethically produced bricks.  To achieve this, long entrenched systems of recruiting workers, paying wages and operating kilns themselves must be reformed and new, locally appropriate, approaches introduced that maintain financial benefit for owners and workers alike. Brick kilns in Nepal play an important role in an economic infrastructure that supports the livelihoods of thousands of workers and provides the raw materials that drive Nepal’s reconstruction and future growth. A future goal of Better Brick - Nepal is to create a more nuanced vision of brick production with wider recognition of good and bad practices where, currently, the sector is largely disparaged on the whole. The impact of creating this “choice” leverages a prevalent interest from kiln owners to find solutions to social and environmental problems entrenched in the sector, and taps into an insurgent demand for responsibility and accountability in the commercial sector in Nepal, led in part by international donor agencies, and amplified in the wake of the Gorkha earthquake.            

2. Better Brick Nepal (BBN)

Better Brick — Nepal transforms the brick industry by eliminating child, forced, and bonded labor. We incentivize kilns to improve conditions for workers through access to better production techniques, stronger operations and the creation of a market for ethically produced bricks.  Better Brick Nepal is a Nepali NGO that works in collaboration with other NGOs partners in Nepal, progressive brick kilns, the Government of Nepal, Global Fairness Initiative and Good Weave, and Humanity United. BBN aims to achieve its objective by utilizing a “tiered” system of engagement to differentiate levels of progress towards improving working conditions, as defined by the BBN Standards, BBN’s levels of engagement and investment on each kiln, and intensities of market facilitation and promotion for the kilns. BBN partner kilns will fall into three tiers - Participant Kilns, Member Kilns, and Certified Kilns. BBN currently operates the Better Brick Nepal program. 

The BBN program’s specific objectives are:

  • Develop clear and transparent criteria that define the conditions each kiln is working towards (BBN Standards) and create a process to manage and assess progress against them
  • Implement a multi-faceted intervention program to prepare and support kilns in sustainably improving working conditions on their kilns and ultimately help them become a viable enterprise that is certified as a Better Brick Kiln
  • Create a market segmentation for “better bricks” and secure buyers interested in purchasing socially-responsibly produced bricks 
  • Generate awareness around the challenges brick workers face among public consumers, policy makers, and decision makers to galvanize support for improving working conditions on brick kilns and creating a market preference for Better Bricks,  
  • Implement a multi-stakeholder engagement strategy to segment the brick market and drive a set of policies and practices that incentivize the production of Better Bricks.
  • Empower kilns and their workers through worker committees, compliance officers, trainings and technical assistance for better productions and the establishment of decent working conditions at brick kilns.

3. Position Roles and Responsibilities

Development of Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Tools

  • Assist in the planning and management of M&E plans, including defining data collection tools, log frames, results frameworks, and performance monitoring plans (PMP), among others
  • Contribute to the development of a M&E plan that specifies baselines, output, outcome and impact indicators, annual targets, and data sources
  • Develop and bolster M&E data collection and analysis systems to ensure that program interventions are effective
  • Suggest strategies to Program Manager and Chief Operating Officer for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the project by identifying bottlenecks in completing project activities and developing plans to minimize or eliminate such bottlenecks
  • Provide technical support on M&E and evidence-based recommendations
  • Any other duties, as assigned 

Management of M&E Data and Reporting

  • Manage data collection, data entry, and reporting responsibilities for M&E data
  • Ensure that all reporting requirements, including monthly reports and PMP reporting, as outlined in program documents and proposals, are submitted on time from the field and provided to all relevant stakeholders, including GFI, in a timely manner
  • Provide regular reporting on activities to the BBN leadership and submit written reports upon request
  • Working closely with GFI/DC, strengthen availability and use of high quality data for decision making at all levels of the project
  • Support program staff and senior management to in creation of relevant reports so that is data is used in decision making process
  • Conduct field visits, where necessary to ensure high quality data 
  • Any other duties, as assigned 

Support and Capacity Building 

  • Provide support to staff members, including field staff, on M&E requirements to ensure high quality data collection and reporting 
  • Train partner NGOs in data collection, collation, storage, analysis, and reporting mechanisms
  • Coordinate regularly with field staff to ensure M&E requirements are understood, completed, and submitted in a timely manner 
  • Any other duties, as assigned

Research Support 

  • Support GFI-BBN Leadership in conducting and/or consolidating relevant research to support GFI-BBN’s objective to position BBN as expert in the brick sector 
  • Support GFI-BBN Leadership in the dissemination of existing research
  • Any other duties, as assigned

Knowledge and Experience 

  • 3 to 5 years of relevant experience in monitoring and evaluator, research design, and data collection 
  • Bachelors or equivalent, in related field including M&E, research design, or development 
  • Proficient in MS Office
  • Proficient in MS Access or other database programs preferred
  • A high level of personal integrity, efficiency, and ability to balance multiple tasks and deadlines
  • Ability to work on Result Based Monitoring and Evaluation system 
  • Fluency in English and Nepali 

How to apply: Interested applicants are required to submit a detailed cover letter, along with their updated CV, and three (3) references to info@globalfairness.org. Deadline to Apply: 25, August, 2018 

Canvassing at any stage of recruitment process or phone calls prior to the interview will automatically eliminate candidates from consideration. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.  The organization reserves the right to cancel or postpone the whole recruitment process without providing any reasons whatsoever.

Job Overview

Category Development and Project
Openings 1
Experience 3+ years
Education Graduate (Bachelors)
Posted Date 10 Aug, 2018
Apply Before 25 Aug, 2018
City Kathmandu