Private Sector Engagement Manager

Private Sector Engagement Manager

Deloitte India is seeking qualified Mid-level candidate for the multi-year USAID Trade and Competitiveness (Udhyam Nepal) Activity to fill the role of ‘Private Sector Engagement Manager’. Deloitte Consulting is the implementing partner for the USAID-funded Nepal Trade and Competitiveness Activity (Udhyam Nepal) based in Kathmandu. This position is under Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. The purpose of Nepal Trade and Competitiveness Activity is to increase Nepali private sector participation in targeted global value chains. The Activity will help chart a new growth path as the economy recovers—one that capitalizes on global integration to diversify toward higher quality and higher value exports. It will foster sustainable job growth and income-generating opportunities for those that have previously been left behind by economic growth in Nepal, creating greater sustainability and resiliency. The Activity will achieve this through interventions that incentivize public and private sector actors across the entrepreneurial and business ecosystem to adopt new behaviors driving outcomes across four Objectives: 

1. To increase access to market-based financial and non-financial services; 
2. To increase productivity in sectors with high growth and employment potential; and 
3. To improve the investment climate and business enabling environment, especially for targeted sectors.
4. To support private sector-led economic recovery.

The Activity will support Development Objective 1 of USAID Nepal's CDCS, to promote inclusive growth, and meet align with USAID's Economic Growth Policy, Digital Strategy, Private Sector Engagement Policy, and Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy.

This is a five-year program and this is a full-time position to be based in Kathmandu.

Private Sector Engagement Manager: Overview 

The Manager will be responsible to lead the engagement of the private sector with the government in the policy reform initiatives of the targeted sectors (Agriculture, Tourism and Digital Services) to improve the investment and business enabling environment. The Manger in consultation with the objective lead and other team members will contribute to improve the investment and business enabling environment by supporting the champions/ private sector stakeholders (organisations/others to lead reform advocacy) to advance policy, legal, regulatory and administrative reforms. He/She will also contribute to strengthen trade facilitation by assisting the government agencies to remove trade barriers and implement the trade facilitation measures to promote export.

He/She will support to identify and address key reform requirements of the existing investment related legal framework benchmarking against leading practices and contribute for improvement. The Manager will also work with development partners, private sector among others to bring in technical knowledge and know-how and simultaneously work with the respective government agency to streamline regulatory and administrative processes and procedures.

Similarly, He/She will be responsible for the implementation of the technical works that will reduce barriers to trade and increase transparency of trade rules by designing and executing strategies to support Activity’s interventions. The Manger will help to strengthen SPS/TBT standards specially to contribute for export promotion of the identified sub-sectors/products. In this regard, he/she will coordinate with partners to leverage on the private sector network in terms of linking the Nepali exporters with the potential buyers.

She/he reports directly to the Lead of Objective 3 lead to contribute for the overall improvement of the investment climate and business enabling environment of the targeted sectors. He/She is responsible for establishing and maintaining constructive working relationships with stakeholders spanning the public sector, private sector, and civil society in Nepal and with other development partners and USAID implementers.

The Manager will work with the rest of the technical teams of USAID Trade and Competitiveness to leverage public and private sector engagement in improving investment, productivity and competitiveness of SMEs and value chains as well as promote export of the Activity’s priority sectors.

Specific Responsibilities:

Private Sector Engagement Manager

1. Work with the private sector stakeholders to identify and prioritize reform requirements related to the targeted sectors (agriculture, tourism and digital services) benchmarking against the leading practices.
2. Facilitate and strengthen consultation, advocacy and dialogues between the government and private sector to reduce trade and investment barriers. 
3. Support private sector to adopt transparent practices and ensure the inclusion of other target groups such as women, youth, minorities and others in the policy reform consultation and advocacy processes. 
4. Support private sector stakeholders and work with the government agencies to increase the use of formal channels regarding investment and business practices.
5. Work with the stakeholder agencies to implement and advocate for the reduction of trade barriers. 
6. Identify and introduce innovative and rational practices to reduce the number of documents and processes contributing to the reduction of average time taken for export and import. 
7. Work with the respective agencies to strengthen, harmonize SPS and TBT standards.
8. Keep track of the progress of reform agenda and strengthen monitoring and evaluation of prioritized reforms.
9. Support to facilitate and provide hands-on capacity building for sales deals in coordination with respective value chain Managers of Objective 2
10. Support to promote digital readiness and adoption of e-commerce of the firms 
11. Coordinate with DTTI among others and facilitate sector focused market facilitation including B2B linkages with Indian industries among others for export promotion.
12. Coordinate with various stakeholders and agencies facilitate business linkages (with global buyers of the targeted sectors) through various platforms and promote export.
13. Work with partners and other sub-contractors to execute plans as per the requirement.

Other General Responsibilities:

1. Manage and supervise the project activities, resources and personnel as per the strategic direction provided by the lead of Objective 3. 
2. Assist Objective 3 Lead in overall leadership, management oversight and technical direction in relation to improving investment climate and business enabling environment.
3. Act as a key point of contact and liaison for all the stakeholders (GoN counterparts, Private Sector Organisations, Local Partners, Beneficiaries, Collaborators etc.) in relation to the activities related to ‘improvement of investment climate and business enabling environment.’.
4. Collect and report on relevant data for reporting to USAID and the relevant project partners in close co-ordination with MEL, GESI and other relevant Managers.
5. Contribute regular inputs for Trade and Competitiveness (Udhyam Nepal)’s weekly, quarterly, and annual reporting, in addition to creating success stories as required.
6. Carry out additional tasks in relation to ‘improvement of investment climate and business enabling environment’, as per the request of the Objective 3 Lead.

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced degree such as Master’s in economics, finance, public policy, business administration or related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience related to private sector engagement, economic development, regulations, and/or investment climate and business climate reforms.
• Demonstrated knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide technical assistance to government agencies, Nepali private sector/markets change programs.
• Experience working with government agencies and private sector umbrella organisations.
• Strong interpersonal, written, oral communication and presentation skills in Nepali and English 
• Professional integrity and discretion in the handling of confidential information and data
• Nepalese nationality

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in private sector engagement for business promotion
• Experience in implementing donor-funded projects involving multiple partners and host country counterparts is preferred.
• Knowledge about investment processes and procedures, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and export procedures, SPS/TBT standards

Reporting Requirements

This position will report to the Objective 3 (Improved Investment Climate and Business Enabling Environment for Targeted Sectors) Lead

Level of effort: Full time

Location: Kathmandu, with travel to other locations of the country as required

Application Instructions

Please ensure resume/application DOES NOT INCLUDE personal information such as gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, religion. DCOP LLC is an equal opportunity employer. This position is open to Nepali nationals only.

All interested candidates are requested to apply for the position through email with mentioning the job title “Private Sector Engagement Manager” on the subject along with updated resume and Cover Letter to HR@tc-udhyamnepal.com by COB 17:00 pm (Nepal Time) of August 7, 2024.

Note: This position would be contracted through Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India (DTTI).