Market Linkage and Business Development Specialist

Job Description

Title: Market Linkage and Business Development Specialist

Company Name: Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO)

Vacancy: 01

Age: Na

Job Location: Cox`s Bazar (Teknaf, Ukhia)

Salary: Tk. 70000 (Monthly)

Experience: --

Published: 2026-07-16

Application Deadline: 2026-07-23

Education:

Requirements: --

Skills Required:

Additional Requirements:

Responsibilities & Context:

Job Context

Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO) started its journey in 1988 with a noble vision to stand in solidarity with the poor and marginalized. Being a people` centered organization, ESDO envisioned for a society which will be free from inequality and injustice, a society where no child will cry from hunger and no life will be ruined by poverty. Near about three decades of relentless efforts to make this happen, ESDO has embraced new grounds and opened up new horizons to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable people to bring meaningful and lasting changes in their lives. During this long span, ESDO has adapted with the changing situation and provided the most time-bound services especially for the poor and disadvantaged. A community focused and people centered approach has been adapted by ESDO while consideration was given to the national policy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its guiding principle. ESDO is one of the most dynamic organizations expanding its development interventions across 422 upazilas under 56 districts of Bangladesh covering over 10 million poor and vulnerable people.

ESDO is going to implement a UNICEF-supported project titled “Provide quality, inclusive skills development and Myanmar Curriculum STEM education for adolescent learners aged 15-18, and portable skills training for education volunteers in Cox's Bazar” in Rohingya camps of Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar. The project aims to improve access to quality foundational literacy numeracy (FLN), trade skills, employability skills, leadership skills, entrepreneurship training, STEM Education and portable skills opportunities for Rohingya adolescents and youth through multi-Purpose Centers (MPCs), Science & IT Labs, and SKILFO-based portable skills interventions.

The Market Linkage and Business Development Specialist is one of the two senior technical Officers who together carry out the delivery of quality skills development and market linkage for income generating activities. Within this pairing, the Market Linkage and Business Development Specialist leads the trade skills, and employability skills of the learner journey, and leads applied learning pathways that connects learners from the classroom to on-the-job learning. The position ensures graduates achieve meaningful economic outcomes through volunteering opportunities self-employment, entrepreneurial initiatives, and referrals into higher skills pathways, in line with UNICEF's Programme Guidance for the Second Decade, the Education Strategy 2019 to 2030, the Global Framework on Transferable Skills, Skills for a Green Transition, the ILO Skills for Green Jobs framework, and the Joint Recommendations on Green Skills with and for Girls and Young Women.

The Market Linkage and Business Development Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Skills Development Technical Lead and in close, day-to-day partnership with the Adolescent Development Specialist, so that the foundational and leadership skills of the learner journey deliver as one integrated Skills Development experience for learners. The position directly supervises the Skills Development Trade Experts, provides technical oversight to the Rohingya and host-community Trade and Entrepreneurship Skills Instructors across the multi-purpose centres through the Trade Experts, Skills Development Field Officer, and Field Assistants, jointly supervises the Skills Development Field Officer alongside the Adolescent Development Specialist, and coordinates closely with the Inclusion Associate, PSEA, CSG and AAP Officer, Information Management Manager, Knowledge Management Officer, the Livelihood and Skills Development Sector (LSDS), Youth Working Group, UNHCR, camp-based entrepreneurs, Rohingya led networks, master craftspersons, civil society organizations, and Adolescent Development Lead based in the Education Section at UNICEF.

Reporting to: Direct reporting to Skills Development Technical Lead

Job Responsibilities

A. Trade and Employability Skills Delivery, Assessment, and Practical Learning Standards

• Lead the quality delivery of the trade skills and employability skills components under this position's portfolio, including project management, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and Financial & Digital Literacy, ensuring instruction runs on schedule, materials and consumables reach workshops on time, and delivery quality is upheld across every multi-purpose centre.

• Establish and maintain workshop and practical-learning quality, ensuring the appropriate balance of theory and practice, safe workshop layout, functional tools and equipment, disciplined workflow, occupational health and safety practice, and environmentally responsible production.

• Plan and implement competency-based formative and summative assessments across trade and employability components, using practical demonstrations, product-based tasks, portfolio evidence, and rubrics that credibly measure what learners can actually do.

• Track learner progress and learning outcomes in coordination with the information management team, and initiate supportive measures such as targeted practice sessions, hands-on remediation, and mentoring for learners at risk of falling behind.

• Integrate green skills, digital literacy, and transferable skills principles across trade delivery in line with Skills for Green Transition, ILO Green Jobs, and the Global Framework on Transferable Skills, so that graduates leave with skills that remain relevant beyond the project cycle.

• Support learners beyond contact hours where feasible through peer production groups, market visits, business plan development sessions, and community-based reinforcement of trade practice

• Regularly assess local market trends, business opportunities, and emerging employment sectors.

• Generate evidence and recommendations to improve market relevance of skills development interventions.

• Support periodic review and adaptation of training packages based on market needs.

B. Internship, Apprenticeship, and Applied Project Pathway Management

• Match learners to the pathway that best suits their trade specialization, interest, and aptitude, in coordination with the Adolescent Development Specialist, Skills Development Field Officer, and Trade Experts, and ensure documented consent and briefing at the point of placement.

• Ensure applied project design meets the same standards of learner ownership, mentoring intensity, and assessment credibility as apprenticeship, and provide structured field-based mentoring across the project period.

• Monitor placement quality, host performance, learner attendance, learning experience, and safeguarding conditions across every apprenticeship, internship, and applied project site, and act promptly on any issue that arises.

C. Trade & Entrepreneurship Instructor and Trade Expert Capacity Building and VET Pedagogy Support

• Directly supervise the Skills Development Trade Experts and provide technical oversight to the Rohingya and host-community Trade and Entrepreneurship Skills Instructors across the multi-purpose centres through the Trade Experts, Field Officer, and Field Assistants.

• Lead In-Learning Circles (ILCs), Training of Trainers, refresher training, and continuous professional development for the T&E instructor cadre to sustain practical delivery quality and grow instructor capability over the project cycle.

• Support workshop observation, structured feedback, coaching, and Performance Improvement Plans where quality concerns are identified, in coordination with the Information Management Manager and HR and Admin Associate.

• Support integration of employability, entrepreneurship, green skills, and future-of-work concepts into instructor practice and everyday teaching

• Support integration of lifelong learning in the pedagogical practices, learner’s mindset and community mindset and provide resources to ensure that and embed that in the VET pedagogical practice.

D. Market Linkage, Livelihood Transition, and Post-Graduation Outcomes

• Organize market exposure visits, business fairs, networking events, business plan competitions, buyer-producer meets, and other market-facing engagements that expose learners to real economic ecosystems.

• Facilitate business mentoring, coaching, and advisory support for adolescent entrepreneurs including the development of simple business plans, product costing, market analysis, and start-up planning.

• Support development of employability and career readiness initiatives.

E. Cross-Functional Coordination and Team Collaboration

• Work in close, day-to-day partnership with the Adolescent Development Specialist, ensuring the formative and market-linked contents of the learner journey deliver as one integrated experience for every learner, not separate.

• Provide joint supervision to the Skills Development Field Officer alongside the Adolescent Development Specialist and ensure clear operational alignment across the field team.

• Coordinate closely with the Inclusion Associate on gender-responsive and disability-inclusive access to trade, employability, and market-linked opportunities; with the PSEA, CSG and AAP Officer on safeguarding at internship, apprenticeship, and market-facing sites; with the Information Management Manager on labour market data, IGA tracking, and Result Framework tracking; and with the Knowledge Management Officer on documentation of enterprise case studies, graduate stories, and best practices.

• Engage with camp-based entrepreneurs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Community Education Support Groups (CESGs), parents, majhis, sub-majhis, and community leaders to sustain community support for adolescent economic participation, particularly for adolescent girls and Children with Disabilities.

• Support awareness campaigns, events, consultations, and community mobilization initiatives.

• Represent adolescent skills development program in the Livelihood and Skills Development Sector (LSDS), and livelihood ecosystem in the camps, with regular knowledge sharing with the Adolescent Development Specialist and UNICEF.

• Ensure volunteer and course performance, learner performance, AAG performance, learner applied pathway engagement data, CSO with MoU signed, MasterCraft and entrepreneur’s data are recorded and reported to information management team.

F. Safeguarding, Accountability, and Other Responsibilities

• Uphold PSEA, Child Safeguarding, AAP, ESRM, and anti-fraud standards across every trade delivery activity, internship and apprenticeship placement, market linkage engagement, and enterprise partnership.

• Ensure master craftspersons, internship host organizations, employers, and business partners sign the Code of Conduct and safeguarding undertakings before engagement, and that safeguarding conditions at every placement site are verified and monitored throughout.

• Ensure Trade and Entrepreneurship Skills Instructors, Trade Experts, and facility-based volunteers reinforce learner awareness of the referral pathway maintained by the PSEA, CSG and AAP Officer, so that any concern arising in workshops, placements, or market-facing activities is routed through the agreed protocol.

• Support internal audits, UNICEF spot checks, HACT assurance activities, monitoring visits, and evaluations with programme evidence.

• Perform any other duties assigned by the Skills Development Technical Lead in the interest of the project and its participants.

As per project allocation and organizational policy.