Manager - Agri-Business and Market System

Job Description

Title: Manager - Agri-Business and Market System

Company Name: Solidaridad Network Asia

Vacancy: --

Age: At least 30 years

Job Location: Jashore, Khulna

Salary: --

Experience:

• 8 to 10 years

• Master’s degree in Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Agriculture, Rural Development, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.

• 8 to 10 years

• Age At least 30 years

• Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive professional experience in Market Systems Development (MSD), including the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach, agribusiness, or integrated rural value chains, including at least 3 years in a management or team leadership role.

• Proven track record in facilitating private-sector partnerships, enterprise formalization, and commercial market-linkage development.

• Demonstrated understanding of climate-smart/regenerative agriculture, protected cultivation, post-harvest logistics, and smallholder inclusion strategies.

• Practical experience managing donor-funded project components, including budgeting, activity scheduling, team supervision, and donor reporting.

• Strong strategic thinking, negotiation, and high-level stakeholder management skills.

• Advanced analytical and report-writing skills in both English and Bangla.

• Ability to operate independently under tight deadlines with minimal supervision.

• Proven team leadership ability, promoting cross-functional collaboration between program execution and operational support teams.

• Demonstrated commitment to gender mainstreaming, youth empowerment, and social inclusion.

• Flexibility and willingness to travel extensively across project field locations.

Solidaridad (www.solidaridadnetwork.org) is a global network organization working to build sustainable, resource-efficient, and inclusive supply chains. Solidaridad fosters smallholder and worker empowerment by co-creating scalable, economically viable solutions in agricultural and industrial landscapes alongside governments, businesses, and local communities.
In coastal southwest Bangladesh, Solidaridad is implementing the extension phase of the ‘Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Livelihoods for Integrated Water Resources Management (SAFAL for IWRM)’ project. Having successfully revitalized 92 micro watersheds, improving agricultural productivity and livelihoods for over 91,000 farming households, the project now focuses on institutionalizing watershed-based governance to ensure equitable water distribution, resource efficiency, and climate resilience. To bridge community-led water management with private sector-led supply chains and advanced agricultural innovations, the project aims to establish a bankable, commercial water-climate-agriculture nexus approach that transitions micro-watersheds into self-sustaining, commercially viable Agri-Business Hubs.
Solidaridad Network Asia is seeking a Manager - Agri-Business and Market Systems to provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for the project's agribusiness and value chain interventions. The Manager will drive private sector engagement, promote modern technology adoption, build Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) capacity, and forge commercial linkages across horticulture, aquaculture, and dairy supply chains.
Overall Purpose of the Role: The Manager - Agri-Business and Market Systems will lead the design and execution of market-systems development strategies, commercial partnerships, and private sector integration across 92 micro-watershed clusters. Reporting to the Senior Programme Manager, the incumbent will oversee team operations, align backward and forward linkages, scale appropriate technology adoption, and de-risk supply chain investments to foster long-term market sustainability beyond the project period.
Employment Type: Project-based fixed-term contract.
Reports to: Senior Programme Manager.
Supervises: Programme Officer - Agri-Business and Market Systems; District Project Officer.
Duty Station: Khulna or Jashore, Bangladesh (with frequent field travel across watershed clusters).
Key Responsibilities

• Private Sector Engagement & Commercial Linkages:

  • Facilitate structured Business-to-Business (B2B) linkages connecting farming clusters and local Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with input suppliers, technology vendors, aggregators, processors, and national off-takers.

  • Formalize partnership agreements (Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and commercial contracts) with relevant private sector actors, such as Dutch technology providers, seed companies, and logistics firms.

• Technology Adoption & Value Chain Optimization:

  • Drive market adoption and commercial distribution of climate-smart seed technologies, protected agriculture systems (net-houses/poly-tunnels), micro-irrigation, and biological crop protection solutions.

  • Direct the pilot deployment and scaling of digital advisory tools for real-time monitoring of crop water stress, soil nutrients, and salinity.

• Post-Harvest Management & MSME Enterprise Development:

  • Lead the development and strengthening of local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with a strong emphasis on women and youth entrepreneurs to establish localized aggregation, sorting, grading, and cold-chain logistics services to minimize post-harvest losses.

  • Strengthen backward and forward supply chain infrastructure across 92 watershed clusters to optimize year-round production of nutrient-dense vegetables, dairy, and fish.

• Operational Leadership & Financial Compliance:

  • Lead, supervise, and mentor field technical teams to ensure timely delivery of work packages, targets, and milestones.

  • Manage assigned project budgets efficiently, maintaining strict compliance with donor regulations and Solidaridad financial procedures.

• Stakeholder Coordination & Strategic Alignment:

  • Represent the project in regional agribusiness dialogues, public-private multi-stakeholder forums, and commercial trade platforms.

  • Collaborate with technical specialists (Water Governance, M&E, Gender) to ensure agribusiness interventions integrate equitable water management and inclusive enterprise development.

• Competitive compensation package aligned with Solidaridad Asia’s pay structures and Service Rules. Benefits include Provident Fund, Gratuity, Festival Bonus, and Medical Insurance coverage per organizational policy.