Job Opportunity at CESO, Country Representative

Country Representative

ABOUT CESO

CESO is an international economic development organization dedicated to reducing poverty and fostering economic growth around the world and in Canada. CESO empowers people, businesses, communities and institutions to drive economic development and improve lives by sharing the right expertise and experience.

CESO’s international development program aims to advance women’s economic empowerment and gender equality by applying a gender sensitive value chain approach. In this program, CESO will engage highly experienced advisors in short term field assignments to improve opportunities, rights, participation and the role of women in selected sectors including agribusiness, tourism and nutrition. CESO will work closely with developing country partners to design capacity building activities to be implemented by CESO Advisors with support of local staff members and experts.

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE – TANZANIA

SUMMARY
Reporting to the Program Manager (PM), the Country Representative (CR) will professionally steward the CESO brand and mission, and lead implementation of assigned CESO projects in alignment with local needs and donor priorities; effectively manage field staff and work proactively with other CESO resources to foster an environment of success for the country’s operations; enable effective and efficient advancement in gender equality (GE), women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and gender sensitive value chain (GSVC) objectives; proactively nurture relationships with key stakeholders, including funders, partners, stakeholders, CESO Advisors (CAs) and other CESO staff; and contribute to the development of new programs in accordance with approved CESO policies and guidelines.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Management

Lead field based stakeholder consultations to support the development of GE/WEE, GSVC and sector strategies and the integration of local knowledge, in alignment with donor priorities;
Build and maintain strategic partnerships and/or business relationships with local stakeholders (including, but not limited to Canadian missions, local governments, trade associations and chambers, NGOs, private sector players, donors and international organizations);
Lead assignment design, as guided by the PM and in line with program strategies, with the aim to maximize value for money and meet/surpass country targets and objectives;
Contribute to timely recruitment and deployment of appropriately skilled CAs by collaborating with the Volunteer Services (VS) department and delivering all logistical support as requested;
Provide strategic guidance to CAs in developing work plans and implementing assignments, ensuring they are in line with GE/WEE objectives, local context and CESO guidelines/policies;
Oversee logistics and provide care for CAs while they are in-country to ensure a productive and pleasant experience, and escalating issues to the PM and VS department as needed;
Guide and supervise field staff and any local contractors to deliver high quality assignments and activities;
Apply a results-based management approach through constructive collaboration with local partners, stakeholders, CAs and CESO departments;
Collect content and support the development of communications and marketing materials, as requested by the Communications and Engagement (CE) team, with the aim to showcase the impact of CESO’s work to key stakeholders;
Ensure continuity and coherence of assignments and activities by closely liaising with CAs, PMs, field staff, local partners and stakeholders with the aim to accomplish deeper impact and high level outcomes;
Initiate communication with PM on local developments that are relevant to CESO’s work;
Contribute to annual work plans and other donor reports;
Respond to ad hoc requests from PM and other CESO departments in a timely manner.

Leadership

Lead the field staff by exemplifying CESO’s brand and values of transparency, integrity, honesty, reliability and accountability, as well as respect for GE, WEE, diversity and inclusiveness;
Provide ongoing supervision, leadership, support, guidance and mentorship to field staff to improve their ability to contribute to the project;
Identify and support capacity building opportunities for professional development of field staff;
Manage with professionalism any staff related concerns, issues or conflicts as they arise, including workplace harassment matters involving staff, CAs, clients etc. and proactively communicate with PM to keep them apprised of these situations;
Work collaboratively with staff in all CESO offices and contribute to creating a positive and compliant work environment across the organization;
Ensure compliance of CAs and field staff with CESO’s policies and procedures related to security, emergency preparedness, code of conduct, conflict of interest, misconduct, harassment and other administrative matters including timely reporting to Head office;
Liaise with Canadian mission officials and local representatives of other Canadian organizations to coordinate on programming, security and other matters pertinent to CESO.

Program Development

Identify and pursue new business opportunities with local stakeholders (including, but not limited to Canadian missions, local governments, trade associations and chambers, NGOs, private sector players, donors and international organizations);
Collaborate with Lead CAs, field staff, local partners, stakeholders and the program development team to explore new and impactful development initiatives;
Define priorities and program development strategies in consultation with the PM;
Ensure significant participation of local GE/WEE and VC experts and women during consultation for strategy development and review of processes throughout the life cycle of the project;
Apply findings from gender-based analysis in project design, implementation and learning;
Engage existing and prospective partners, beneficiaries, key opinion leaders, influence groups and other stakeholders in CESO initiatives;
Organize local knowledge exchange events/sessions to promote GE/WEE; Participate in other program development initiatives, as required.

Operations Management

Collaborate across CESO departments to deliver target number of assignments and CA days;
Administer assignments and other activities in collaboration with CESO departments, ensuring proper use of CESO’s management information system throughout the various stages of progress (e.g. design, application, delivery and reporting);
Manage budgets and ensure appropriate accounting and financial management as per CESO guidelines, including accurate and timely monthly expense reporting;
Contribute to CESO’s efforts to standardize organizational processes and customer experiences, in line with the One CESO approach;
Work with local authorities and regulatory bodies, as requested by CESO, to support business registration and other administrative matters to enable CESO’s work in their region;
Coordinate with other agencies to identify synergies, avoid duplication of efforts and maximize CESO’s impact.

Organizational Learning

Support development of feasible plans for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) in line with donor priorities and local context with aim to capture results and meaningful insights;
Ensure quality data is collected from partners, clients and other stakeholders and shared in a timely manner as requested by the MEL team; Contribute to compilation of donor reports.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS

University degree, preferably in international development, business or a related discipline, and/or 5 years of equivalent work experience in a similar role and field (e.g. trade, business promotion, international development and/or with foreign donors).
Deep understanding of international development issues, notably GE/WEE, the environment and climate change, private sector development, value chains and governance; hands-on experience with these issues preferred.
Demonstrates values of transparency, integrity and accountability in their work.
Self-starter with excellent leadership and decision-making skills; able to work independently and take initiative.
Strong business development, marketing, networking and project management skills.
Experience in results-based management.
Effective communication, interpersonal and presentation skills.
Cultural sensitivity and ability to deal with sensitive issues in a diplomatic fashion.
Experience in assessing project proposals, project deliverables and client contributions.
Well connected to target partners/stakeholders, including organizations in both the public and private sector, and able to liaise effectively with key decision makers.
In-depth knowledge of, and ability to think strategically about, the local economy, infrastructure needs and private sector development.
Proficiency using MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
Fluency in national language(s) Swahili, as well as English required; French desired but not required.

Please forward your resume and cover letter with Country Representative – Tanzania in the subject line to:

Ms./Mme. Adam Diouf, Sr. Program Manager adiouf@saco-ceso.com

Application deadline: September 22nd, 2020

CESO is an equal opportunity employer.

We appreciate the interest of all applicants, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.