Job Description

Title: Deputy Chief of Party

Company Name: Solimar International, Inc.

Vacancy: 1

Job Location: Khulna

Employment Status: Full-time

Educational Requirements:
∎ Masters degree in any discipline
∎ Master’s degree, or higher, in tourism, conservation, business administration, marketing, or a related field
∎ Skills Required: Community Development, Excellent communication skill, Marketing, Monitoring and Reporting, new enterprise development, Project Management, Rural development

Experience Requirements:
∎ At least 7 year(s)
∎ The applicants should have experience in the following area(s): Project Management
∎ The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): Development Agency

Job Context:
∎ The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will work closely with and report to the Chief of Party (COP) to provide technical oversight for the USAID Ecotourism Activity. The DCOP will directly oversee the four technical components of the Activity:
∎ 1. Enhance the tourism competitiveness of the Greater Sundarbans Region
∎ 2. Improve tourism governance and natural resource management for the Greater Sundarbans Region
∎ 3. Increase community environmental, economic, and basic human service (such as livelihoods, water, sanitation, and health) benefits as a result of a better managed and more inclusive tourism sector
∎ 4. Increase tourism-related investments and market linkages in the Greater Sundarbans Region
∎ The DCOP will also help to manage a local team of two other employees, assist with the development of the Activity’s annual work plans, annual and quarterly reports, and other requests that may come from either USAID or Solimar International. The DCOP, as requested by the COP, will also represent the Activity before a range of audiences and in a variety of platforms at the local level. The DCOP will ensure all actions and interventions adhere to USAID and Solimar technical guidance and align with global best practices for sustainable tourism development. Finally, the DCOP will also keep the COP regularly informed on all Activity matters, and assist the COP in meeting various technical, governmental, company, and USAID deliverables as requested.
∎ Program Description
∎ USAID/Bangladesh, in partnership with the Bangladesh Ecotourism and Conservation Alliance (BECA) and the Government of Bangladesh, will focus interventions in and around one of Bangladesh’s most iconic tourism destinations and arguably most important protected area—the Sundarbans, the world’s largest remaining mangrove forest and a critical area for economically important fisheries, coastal communities, and the iconic Bengal tigers. The Sundarbans account for about 40 percent of forested land in Bangladesh. The region surrounding the protected area is home to millions of Bangladeshis who depend on the mangroves for food, livelihoods, and protection against cyclones. Continued poaching and trafficking, human-wildlife conflict, deforestation, oil spills, and unsustainable resource extraction threaten biodiversity in the Sundarbans and elsewhere. Increasing poverty due to severe impacts of climate change and unregulated tourism can further affect the biodiversity of Sundarbans. The Sundarban forest spans the border with India and is within 100 kilometers of both the Indian megalopolis of Kolkata and the Bangladeshi city of Khulna, where demand for natural resources produced within the Sundarbans is high.
∎ The overall vision behind this program is to capitalize on the country’s natural, cultural, and historical endowments to develop a more inclusive tourism value chain that integrates local communities and maximizes conservation benefits. The goal of this activity is to “develop an inclusive tourism value chain capitalizing on the country’s natural, cultural, and historical endowments in and around Key Biodiversity Areas of Bangladesh.”

Job Responsibilities:
∎ Working closely with the Chief of Party to provide technical and managerial oversight for the Activity, including the development and implementation of the Activity’s annual work plans, quarterly and annual reports, and other requests that may come in from USAID and Solimar International.
∎ Working closely with other Solimar Directors to ensure that the Activity consistently employs the values of Solimar, ensures the highest ethical standards, emphasizes the importance of communication and team work, promotes collaboration with other donor-funded projects and activities, adheres to USAID and Solimar technical guidance, and directly contributes to the attainment of the Activity’s contractual deliverables;
∎ Drafting, editing, and making material contributions to Activity documents, including but not limited to weekly updates, quarterly and PowerPoint presentations, annual reports, studies, papers, survey instruments, and other operational and MEL-related documentation;
∎ Maintaining rigorous focus on the achievement of the Activity’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs);
∎ Managing the implementation and coordination of all events, technical forums, conferences, and roundtables;
∎ Effectively backstopping and supporting field staff and short-term technical consultants;
∎ Representing the Activity and Solimar in meetings with USAID along with private and public sector stakeholders as requested by the COP;
∎ Other duties as assigned on an ad hoc basis by the COP or Program Manager.

Additional Requirements:
∎ Demonstrated experience and a proven track record of implementing and/or managing activities focused on sustainable tourism development;
∎ A combination of technical familiarity and management skills that span the subject areas covered by the Activity;
∎ A current professional network in the most relevant ministries and offices of Government and local levels is an advantage;
∎ Demonstrated experience working on USAID programs; including:
∎ Preparing technical documents for USAID programs (such as strategies, quarterly reports, etc.);
∎ Effectively backstopping and supporting local staff and consultants;
∎ Ensuring efficiency across a wide variety of project activities involving economic growth, private sector development, women and youth empowerment, conservation, business linkages, and job creation; and
∎ Maintaining rigorous focus on project indicators, results, and more generally supporting the M&E and communications functions.
∎ Excellent oral and written communication skills in English is required, knowledge of local languages is an advantage.

Salary: Negotiable

Compensation & Other Benefits:
∎ Medical allowance
∎ Salary Review: Yearly
∎ Festival Bonus: 2
∎ Benefits include gross salary inclusive of Basic Salary, Housing Allowance, Medical Allowance and Conveyance Allowance.
∎ 21 days annual paid leave in addition to general office and/or public holidays

Job Source: Bdjobs.com Online Job Posting.

Application Deadline: 19 Aug 2022

Company Information:
∎ 20 Jul 2022
∎ Solimar International, Inc.
∎ Address : 3400 11th Street NW Washington, DC 20010
∎ Web : www.solimarinternational.com
∎ Business : Solimar International is a specialist consulting and marketing firm with a team of creative and experienced professionals who share a common vision of how sustainable tourism can stimulate economic growth while conserving natural resources and cultural heritage.

Our tourism consulting services focus on delivering innovative tourism assessment, destination development, and tourism marketing for our clients, which include international development organizations, tourism authorities, national and local governments, conservation organizations, tourism businesses and local communities.

We are tourism specialists that understand the importance of market-driven development strategies and have the tools and experience to connect businesses and destinations to international markets. We work in no other industry sector, providing clients with a laser-like focus on the needs of their industry, and the expertise required to address them.

Category: NGO/Development

: If you are interested in applying, please send a resume along with a cover letter that details your experience with (1) Project Management for Donor-Funded Development Projects (specifically the United States Agency for International Development), and (2) the local tourism, enterprise development, or conservation sectors.