Project Officer

Position: Project Officer

Duty Station: Kathmandu and Palpa (position would require regular travel to Palpa, Tansen)

LOE: Three months with possible extension of the contract period.

Background and Objectives:

Label STEP has been working in the handmade carpet industry since 1995 (and in Nepal since 1997) verifying compliance of working conditions with international fair trade standards and implementing projects for the well-being of carpet weavers and workers as well as mobilizing and sensitizing consumers in the main buyers markets on fair trade practices. Recently, Label STEP has endeavored into artisanal textile weaving sector- through its partnership project implemented with Palpali Dhaka Association (PDA), the Government of Province 5, UKaid Skills for Employment Program aimed at reviving the Palpali Dhaka Industry in Tansen, Palpa. For this purpose, Label STEP is seeking a Project Officer for implementation of the activities pertaining to social standards development and compliance monitoring for Dhaka Textiles, including to support with quality and design innovation, branding and marketing to build stronger backward and forward market linkages for employed and self-employed home-based Dhaka weavers associated with PDA. The project officer will report directly to the Country Manager of Label STEP in Nepal.

Key responsibilities include:

• Under overall guidance and supervision of STEP Country Manager/ Managing Director, support with coordination and implementation of the project activities including on boarding of relevant resource persons and/staffs needed for the project.
• Develop and/ regularly update and report on activity work plans and project milestones - to streamline planning and implementation efforts in line with project timeframe and expected results.
• Support with desk research, questionnaire development, field visits, data collection and analysis associated with market research and social standard development for the Dhaka textiles.
• Organize workshops and meetings (both in Kathmandu and in Palpa) to share the research findings and/project progress with the stakeholders and ensure timely incorporation of feedbacks and inputs.
• Organize compliance training of the STEP standards for PDA affiliated weaving workshops in Tansen, Palpa, coordinate the logistics of the training events/meetings and including its reporting.
• Coordinate and organize the visits of international textile designers, to support PDA with quality and design enhancement of Dhaka textiles(e.g. through arranging factory/ workshops visits in Palpa, organizing interactions/ workshops with industry stakeholders, drafting action plans and undertaking follow-ups)
• Support with development of media and communication materials (such as drafting stories, articles, newsletters, organizing photo and video shoots) in coordination with project team to promote visibility of Palpali Dhaka in national and international markets.
• Liaise with national and international designers, and network with product developers, enterprises, communicators, media, and emerging markets especially in Kathmandu to support building of critical forward and backward linkages for promotion of Palpali Dhaka.
• Draft monthly, quarterly and annual reports (narrative and financial) in line with the project reporting requirements including engagement in monitoring, evaluation and documenting of good practices& lessons learnt.
• Ensure financial report and narrative report are aligned and coherent in budget and activity reporting.
• Support with any other responsibilities as per emerging needs including with upcoming project development initiatives.

Qualifications and competencies:

• Completed university degree from accredited academic institutions, preferably in Social Science, Business Management, or similar higher degree.
• Excellent communication skills in English and Nepali (verbal and written).
• A minimum of 5 or more years of experience in project management, implementation, monitoring and reporting.
• Practical knowledge of Microsoft Access, Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with others in the workplace.
• Past experience of implementing skilling and employment programs in coordination with local and provincial authorities including exposure to fair trade principles, media and marketing would be added value.

Additional information and requirements:

Assignment is temporary, with three months’ probation period followed by temporary appointment for next 8-10 months during the project piloting phase. However, there is possibility of project extension/ scale up based on the outcomes of the piloting phase.

Given the nature of the project requiring inputs/ involvement of international experts/ STEP international team, interested applicants should demonstrate flexibility and readiness to work irregular hours and on occasional weekends.

The place of work is both Kathmandu and Palpa and interested applicant must be willing and able to travel regularly.

Interested applicants are advised to submit their CV along with the cover letter and email  to labelstepn@gmail.com by 10th June 2020.