Manager, Product Development

Job Description

Title: Manager, Product Development

Company Name: Palladium International, LLC

Vacancy: --

Age: Na

Job Location: Dhaka

Salary: --

Experience:

Published: 2024-10-09

Application Deadline: 2024-10-22

Education:

• Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or relevant field

Position Requirements:

• Strong knowledge of the financial sector in Bangladesh, key stakeholders, and existing products and services
• Proven track record working with finance providers to enhance their products and services
• Established networks and working relationships within the agriculture sector and financial institutions
• Experienced in collaborating with consortium partners, institutions, governmental and intergovernmental representatives, subcontractors, consultants, and grantees
• High business acumen, understanding of business drivers and financing needs
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to manage high-level relationships
• Experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment preferred
• Ability to work collaboratively within a technical team and larger project team
• Experience with other USAID projects, especially in access to finance, preferred
• Written and verbal communication skills in English

About Palladium: Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

Project Overview: The Feed the Future Bangladesh Inclusive Access to Finance Activity (IAF) is a $34 million, USAID-supported project that will unlock finance for small businesses and farmers, make agricultural supply chains more inclusive and sustainable, and improve inclusivity in the financial sector in Bangladesh. To accomplish this, IAF will engage strategic partners to deploy innovative solutions to address constraints in agriculture value chains and agriculture financing; deploy incentives and capacity building to financial institutions to expand appropriate and inclusive lending to or investment in agriculture; and engage the private sector to advocate for systemic improvements and scale social impact. From 2024 to 2029, the Bangladesh Inclusive Access to Finance Activity will unlock $448 million in finance, driving sustainable agricultural lending and promoting inclusive growth. By improving access to finance for farmers and micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and the policy environment in the financial sector, IAF with increase farmer revenue, create jobs, and contribute to Bangladesh’s economic growth in an inclusive and environmentally friendly manner.

The Product Development Manager will design inclusive and innovative financial products and services to enhance access to finance for farmers and agribusinesses in the Feed the Future Zone of Influence and for marginalized groups such as women, youth and first-time borrowers. Deep understanding of the ecosystem of the agriculture and financial sectors will be required. This position will require a blend of financial acumen, strategic thinking and product development skills.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Identify financial products and services required by value chain actors through continuous assessment of the agriculture sector
• Coordinate with value chain players to assess the market demand of the financial products and services
• Coordinate with finance providers to create new products for farmers and MSMEs in the zone of interest (ZOI) which foster inclusive development
• Collaborate with the Financial Institutions team to design and implement of interventions
• Implement technical assistance (TA) designed to build the capacity of agribusinesses and finance providers
• Structure and implement smart incentives with value chain actors to increase financing for targeted regions and groups
• Contribute to work planning and the budget for Product development activities in collaboration with the Head of Product Development
• Attend and contribute to meetings with public and private sector actors including the Government of Bangladesh, non-governmental organizations, business associations, and others
• Coordinate with subcontractors and grantees to expand and support financial institutions
• Prepare Activity-related reports, presentations, and white papers
• Any other tasks required by project leadership

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at [email protected] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.