LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST – FULL-TIME

POSITION DESCRIPTION

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

USAID Trade and Competitiveness is a five-year Activity that charts a new path for the Nepali economy as it recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Activity helps Nepal capitalize on global integration to diversify toward higher quality and higher value exports, foster sustainable job growth and income-generating opportunities for those that have previously been left behind by economic growth, and create greater sustainability and resilience. To achieve this, the Activity deliberately promotes the integration of women, youth, and marginalized groups into markets to participate in economic opportunities created as Nepal’s economy grows. It will increase jobs and exports while supporting the private sector in managing risks from climate change, COVID-19, and other economic stresses. Through this Activity, USAID aims to unlock new sources of financing and investment, including green growth financing, climate financing, and foreign and domestic investment. The goal is to accelerate firm and sector level competitiveness, generate employment opportunities, and increase sales of firms through interventions that incentivize public and private sector actors across the ecosystem to adopt new behaviors driving outcomes across four objectives:

• Improve access to market-based financial and non-financial services.
• Increase productivity in sectors with high growth and employment potential.
• Improve the investment climate and business enabling environment, especially for targeted sectors.
• Support private sector-led economic recovery.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Local Economic Development Specialist will lead implementation of program activities of T&C primarily in Koshi Province, managing partnerships with private sector and sub-national governments to accelerate recovery in the tourism sector and build resilience of businesses/firms in other targeted sectors by increasing their access to finance and business development services. The Specialist will engage with sub-national governments, public, private, and business membership organizations to build resilience, encourage innovations, support product and service marketing and increase access to financial and non-financial services.

The position is full-time and reports directly to the Director of Economic Resilience and Competitiveness (Objective 4 Lead).

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Engage with sub-national governments and manage grants, partnerships, STTAs and other T&C activities in targeted sectors and geographic areas under –Objective 4.
• Support businesses/firms to become more resilient and competitive, expanding access to markets and increasing their sales.
• Assist in designing technical activities and deliverables for businesses/firms (encourage innovations, increase investment, and business models).
• Work with both provincial and local governments to leverage public resources for private sector-led economic development and recovery.
• Coordinate and collaborate with other T&C teams and various stakeholders in Koshi Province to facilitate growth of the targeted sectors including improving access to financial and non-financial services, access to markets and leveraging public sector resources for business and sector recovery, growth, and resilience.
• Contribute to workplan and report preparation of T&C.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in economics, local economic development, business, or other related field and five years of project implementation experience
• Or, bachelor’s degree with 8 years of private sector and/or project implementation experience with donor-funded project.
• Proven successful experience in expanding access to markets and supporting increase in sales of private sector firms.
• Experience working in local economic development, as well as value chain approach, and private sector development.
• Experience working in Koshi Province (whether in private sector or with donor project) highly preferred.
• Strong interpersonal, written, oral communication, and presentation skills in the Nepali and English language.
• Willing to work beyond work hours and or on the weekends if required (allowed flexibility on the other days)
• Nepalese nationality, willing to be based in Koshi Province

Location: Koshi Province, with travel to other locations within the country as required.

Application Instructions

Please ensure resume/application DOES NOT INCLUDE personal information such as gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, religion. This position is open to Nepali nationals only.

All interested candidates are requested to apply for the position through email with mentioning the job title “Local Economic Development Specialist” on the subject along with updated resume and Cover Letter to info@tc-udhyamnepal.com by COB February 12, 2024.

Note: This position would be contracted through Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India (DTTI).