The project “Economic participation of women in Lao PDR (EMPOWER)” is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with the Department for Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (DOSMEP) of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC).
The aim of EMPOWER is to improve the economic participation of women in selected provinces of Laos. The sectoral focus is on local and traditional crafts (such as textiles, ceramics, and weaving) as well as in small-scale agricultural and food processing. The target group consists of economically active women in the selected sectors and provinces.
As part of the implementation of the project, GIZ seeks support for “Strengthening BDS Providers and Value Chains for Women’s Economic Empowerment”, to strengthen gender-responsive and gender-transformative business development and support services and to promote inclusive value chains in selected sector and provinces. The assignment will provide women entrepreneurs with access to customised, high-quality services and strengthen product value chains in sectors with high female participation. The contractor is expected to work in close collaboration with local service providers, NGOs, producer groups, and relevant public and private stakeholders to deliver capacity development measures, develop and expand market-oriented services, and support collective business structures. In addition, the assignment will contribute to increasing the visibility of women’s economic contributions, generating positive spillover effects through enhanced awareness, recognition, and exchange.
MAIN TASKS
· Take overall responsibility for the Helvetas’ advisory packages
· Ensure the coherence and complementarity of Helvetas’s services with other services delivered by the
project at local and national level
· Responsibility for taking cross-cutting themes into consideration (for example, gender equality)
· Lead the design and implementation of support services for women entrepreneurs jointly with service providers / intermediary organisations and project experts (expert pool)
· Lead the gender specific adaptation of support services including development of methodology and resource materials jointly with service providers / intermediary organisations and project experts (expert pool)
· Co-facilitate ToT and training personnel of service providers / intermediary organisations
· Responsibility for the development and implementation of sustainability plans jointly with service providers /
intermediary organisations and project experts (expert pool)
· Support the project key expert in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of capacity development measures for women producer groups
· Staff management, in particular together with key expert, identifying the need for short-term assignments (pool 1 and pool 2) within the available budget, planning and managing the assignments and supporting experts
· Coordination and implementation of WP 8, seeking to mobilise experienced businesswomen as mentors and connectors (“women champions”)
· Ensure that monitoring procedures are carried out
· Regular reporting in accordance with deadlines
· Responsibility for checking the use of funds and financial planning in consultation with the commission manager at GIZ
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS
· Education/ Training: University degree (e.g. ‘master’s or German Diplom’) in economics, business
administration, business management, political science, international management, gender studies or environmental studies
· Languages: Knowledge of excellent written and spoken knowledge of English, C2 in the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
· General professional experience: 7 years of professional experience in private sector development and MSME support
· Specific professional experience: 7 years of professional experience relating to entrepreneurship development, 5 years of experience working on business development services and 5 years of experience working on market
systems and value chains
· Leadership/management experience: 6 years of management experience in projects, companies or other organisations with disciplinary leadership responsibility for 3 people
· International professional experience: 6 years of professional experience in Europe
· Professional experience in the country/ region of assignment: 4 years of professional experience in Asia and 2 years of professional experience in Southeast Asia
· Development cooperation (DC) experience: 5 years of experience working in DC projects
· Other: 4 years of experience working in women economic empowerment
Helvetas Intercooperation gGmbH (Helvetas Germany) is a German Non-Governmental
Organisation. It has been founded in 2014 and is rooted in the tradition and experience of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation established in 1955. Helvetas’ work in private sector development focuses on inclusive job creation, economic transition and digitalization. We partner with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and with large organizations to create sustainable income and job opportunities across farm and non-farm sectors. Helvetas supports businesses’ efforts to increase production, productivity, and the quality of products and services, while promoting inclusiveness and gender equity that ensures no one is left behind.