Partnerships and Private Sector Engagement Specialist, USAID Udhyam Nepal ACTIVITY

Job Description

Position Mandate

Resonance is seeking candidates to be available to work on the anticipated USAID’s Udhyam Nepal Activity. The Activity will focus on improving the competitiveness of key agriculture and non-agriculture sectors with high potential for growth and employment creation. It will do so by enhancing the capacities and competitiveness of Nepali enterprises, promoting integration of women, youth, and marginalized groups into markets, and assessing and addressing climate-related threats to sustainable growth. It aims to improve access to market-based financial and non-financial services; increase productivity in targeted sectors; improve the investment climate and business enabling environment; and support private-sector led economic recovery.

The Partnerships and Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Specialist for the USAID Udhyam Nepal Activity is responsible for the continued development and management of partnership initiatives and activities. The Partnerships and PSE Specialist explores, implements, and advocates for opportunities to engage the private sector, public sector, and civil society groups in order to enhance the capacities and competitiveness of Nepali enterprises in targeted value chains. They will provide technical expertise on partnership issues, such as governance, action planning, and strategies for reaching out to key private sector companies. They will represent Resonance on private sector engagement sector issues at technical, policy and strategic planning meetings, including meetings with collaborators and donors.

This is a full-time position contingent upon contract award based in Kathmandu, Nepal reporting to Deputy Chief of Party.

OUTCOMES / ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Identify, assess, and recommend potential private sector partners and high-impact partnership opportunities that cut across outcome/sector areas;
• Provide technical leadership in the design, formalization, and management of innovative partnerships;
• Support the development of innovative financing tools to promote investment in targeted value chain enterprises;
• Develop and implement outreach strategies to the private sector and identify linkages between enterprises and business development support providers and/or buyers;
• Provide technical assistance to project stakeholders relative to the structuring of partnerships;
• Facilitate continued development of identified partnership opportunities through partnership advisory services, including conducting partnership design forums/co-creation workshops, drafting detailed partnership concept notes, performing due diligence reviews, developing annual partnership work plans, and relationship management;
• Provide support to private sector engagement efforts related to public-private dialogue;
• Maintain a database of public-private partnership and outreach activities;
• Coordinate with other donors, local organizations and Nepali government structures to ensure harmonization of public-private partnership activities;

REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• College or University degree in business administration, economics, finance, or another relevant discipline from an accredited university;
• At least 7 years of experience in Nepal;
• Knowledge of the Nepali enterprise sector and key barriers faced by agricultural and non-agricultural enterprises in Nepal;
• Experience providing partnership advisory services and developing and revising implementation plans to ensure partnership success;
• Past experience working for or alongside projects funded by international donors, such as USAID;
• Experience identifying high-value partnerships with the private and public sector stakeholders and leveraging private investment;
• Experience designing capacity building events and facilitating training sessions for a variety of audiences;
• Native or professional proficiency in written and spoken English and native or professional proficiency in Nepali.

PREFERRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Experience in enterprise or private sector development on a donor-funded project preferred

COMPETENCIES

• Ability to work closely and productively with technical experts in the targeted sectors to build and advance partnerships that leverage their expertise and further the goals of the project;
• Ability to work independently and effectively within tight deadlines;
• A passion for enterprise and private sector development in Nepal;
• A proven ability to work collaboratively, lead negotiations, and reach a consensus among several private and public sector stakeholders;

TRAVEL EXPECTATIONS

• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time within Nepal, with the potential to travel internationally

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. No phone calls please. Resonance is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About the Organization

Resonance is an award-winning frontier market solutions firm based in Burlington, Vermont that helps a variety of donor, commercial, and investor clients around the world to catalyze lasting impact. We envision a prosperous and just world of thriving markets, healthy ecosystems, and vibrant communities where business, governments and citizens work together creating a better world for all.

Resonance seeks to catalyze large-scale social, environmental, and economic change by fostering new and dynamic forms of collaboration. We do this by fostering public-private partnerships, facilitating sustainable investment, and providing deep analytical insights in frontier markets. We strive to merge strategic insight with practical on-the-ground knowledge into an integrated approach that emphasizes results.

Resonance was recently named one of Inc. 5000’s fastest growing privately-held companies. We seek candidates who are ready to apply their analytical and problem-solving skills to some of our planet’s greatest challenges in an entrepreneurial, fun, and fast-paced environment. We are looking for passionate and committed people who can work in a highly collaborative environment to deliver results for our clients and stakeholders around the world.