Field Implementation Associates - 04 Positions

Activity Background:

Associates in Development Pvt. Ltd. (AiD) is a Pakistan-based development and management consulting company which provides high-quality consulting services in the core areas of 1) Social Sectors, 2) Engineering and Infrastructure, and 3) Environment and Climate Change.

USAIDs Economic Recovery and Development Activity (ERDA) is a five-year (2022-2027) activity designed to expand environmentally sustainable, socially equitable and climate resilient economic opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its Merged Districts (MDs) by strengthening and modernizing the agriculture sector and promoting on and off farm Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Activity Objectives:

USAID-ERDA’s objective is to expand economic opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its MD’s by strengthening and modernizing the agriculture sector and promoting micro and small enterprises.

Sub-Objective 1: Agriculture sector capacity enhanced and modernized through strengthening of agriculture production resources.

Sub-Objective 2: Micro, small and medium businesses promoted by strengthening MSME’s in both farm and non-farm sectors.

Sub-Objective3: Improved business enabling environment through policy reforms and technical assistance to the GoKP.

Grants Component: ERDA will extend on-farm, off-farm and non-farm grants to farmers and MSMEs to support the achievement of the three activity sub-objectives.

Job Summary: The Field Implementation Associate will work under direct supervision of the MSMEs & Private Sector Specialist and will be required to assist with effective implementation of technical assistance and grant support interventions under the MSMEs development component. The incumbent will assist the team in secondary research, validation of grantee/ beneficiary information for designing and implementing technical and grant assistance interventions. The incumbent will be required to orient grantees on required documentation, record keeping and reporting as well as maintaining close coordination and communication with relevant stakeholders in the field.

The position requires good understanding of economic development context in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, business sectors, clusters, and support platforms. The position also requires good computer skills as well as verbal and written English communication skills.

Specific Tasks:

As directed by the supervisor for this position, or by the Chief of Party or the Chief of Party ‘s designee, the individual holding this position shall perform and support the performance of the following specific tasks:

• Assist MSMEs component team in market and sectoral assessments through primary and secondary data collection, compilation, and organization.
• Assist in validation of information from field where needed as part of developing technical assistance and grant support packages.
• Disseminate technical assistance and grant support interventions in respective geographic regions among all relevant stakeholders.
• Assist in organizing awareness and orientation sessions for MSMEs to help them understand and comply with requirements of the technical assistance and grant support interventions.
• Perform initial desk screening of the grant applications received against the published eligibility criteria.
• Develop and manage the database of all grant applications received as and when required.
• Field validation of grant applications as per standard validation checklist.
• Serve as the grants technical officer (GTO) for assigned grants and perform field verification of milestones and achievements.
• Orient the successful grantees on required documentation, record keeping and reporting.
• Liaise with other ERDA components teams to ensure effective implementation of project activities.
• Collect, compile and report all the requisite information/data pertaining to progress of the project activities implementation as per approved templates for monthly, quarterly, and annual progress reports.
• Establish strong relationship and maintain regular communication with district level public sector stakeholders, community leaders, chamber of commerce & industry, cluster associations, market associations, and key MSMEs for the efficient implementation of the project activities.
• Any other task assigned by the project management & technical team.

Position Reports To: For all routine responsibilities and duties, either directly or indirectly related to this position description, the individual holding this position shall report directly to, and be supervised by MSMEs & Private Sector Specialist, or his designee.

Qualification Requirements:

• University degree in business management, business administration, economics, social sciences, or related field.
• Minimum 4-5 years of work experience in the areas of MSMEs development, economic growth initiatives and business grants management.
• Good understanding of the economic and operational context of KP and MDs and past experience of working in the area will be preferred.
• Strong computer literacy skills required in word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.
• Good communication and writing ability is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to track and prioritize field implementation of multiple activities in parallel.
• High proficiency in spoken Pashto is required.