Project:                                    Supporting Economic Prosperity for Women and Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine (SEW Ukraine)                      

Position Title:                           Co-operative and Economic Development Specialist

Location:                                 Specialist will need to travel to Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions of Ukraine

Reporting:                               Ukraine Country Manager

Term:                                      4 -year Fixed Term – Entrepreneur Contract

Travel:                                      Travel is required

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF Canada) has received a multi-year grant. The project is entitled “Supporting Economic Prosperity for Women and Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine (SEW Ukraine)”. CDF Canada will implement the project in partnership with All-Ukrainian Charity Foundation “Gorenie” (Dnipro, Ukraine), whose mission is to overcome the consequences of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as well as to support individuals and enterprises adversely affected by the socio-economic consequences of such conflict. The goal of the project is to enhance employment and entrepreneurship of women, who have been internally displaced by conflict and other traumatic events in Ukraine. The project will facilitate the development of trade and business skills, and market opportunities in the apparel manufacturing and garment industry. Overall, the project will support over 2,200 beneficiaries.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF Canada) is looking for an experienced Co-operative and Economic Development Specialist to further organization’s work on co-operative development in the garment industry, including training, consulting, analysis, capacity building and development support to project’s 6 co-operative sites in 3 regions of Ukraine. Critical to this position is a strong understanding of the co-operative business model and background in working with co-operatives to strengthen their operations, management, financial and governance systems.

The Co-operative and Economic Development Specialist will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies and tools to engage target audiences to enter and develop project’s co-operatives in the garment industry, thus increasing membership and quality of service delivery.  The Co-operative and Economic Development Specialist provides technical support on co-op development and guides the mainstreaming of co-op development into program design, and supports with capacity development as well as co-op development strategies, plans, research, monitoring and reporting.  Along with the Country Manager, the Specialist works closely with a Program manager, M&E Specialist and Co-op development advisors at CDF Canada headquarters in Ottawa, to ensure that co-operative development is strengthened across the major areas of project implementation. The ideal candidate should have experience in designing and implementing co-op development strategies, undertaking co-operative analysis, experience in developing industry-focused co-ops and knowledge of Ukraine’s and Canada’s co-operative tradition and practices.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Co-op Training and Capacity Building (60%)

• Identify training needs to ensure quality curriculum on co-op development and develop concrete capacity building plans for partner co-ops and its members,
• Engage and coordinate field staff, co-op experts and/or other co-op development providers to ensure effective and consistent delivery of project services,
• Develop or adopt CDF Canada co-op assessment tools for Ukraine context to capture co-op needs, feasibility, capacity, governance, development and sustainability.
• Facilitate the process of co-operatives formation (election of the board, supervisory committee, etc.). Further, provide support to co-op Board and General Meetings within the project.
• Support the co-operatives in the co-op business capacity building process. Ensure that each project co-op is guided and supported in its institutional, operational, and economic development, including sustainability results. Specifically, organize, facilitate and conduct training and consulting events for co-op capacity building, including on business idea feasibility assessment, good governance, strategic and business planning, marketing and members recruitment, etc.
• Prepare or support the development of toolkits, training materials or manuals and checklists for each focus area/sector in co-op development programming,
• Develop methodologies and plans to promote co-op membership and to engage co-ops into innovative, development-focused activities in the garment industry,
• Support activities on best practice exchange and cooperation between co-operatives.
• Support project management and project partner(s) in organizing workshops on relevant topics that focus on improving and popularizing knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards co-op development as necessary,

Project Implementation and Reporting (30%)

• Supports the SEW Ukraine project with the mainstreaming of co-op development in implementation,
• Contribute to annual and semi-annual reports to the donor in regard to co-ops development progress. Ensure that reporting captures challenges and successes around co-op development and provides sound analysis of these lessons learned.
• Support the project in field monitoring of implementation against the key indicators relevant to co-ops development set in the project document. Contribute to analysis of the project’s key progress indicators and to the M&E part of reporting.
• Advises on risks to the implementation of the co-operative development activities/strategies outlined in the project annual work plan.
• Guide and advise the Country Manager with the development and deployment of tools, including but not limited to developing specific co-op development strategies for SEW Ukraine project with a focus on: the participation of women and girls to project co-ops; removing existing barriers to membership and improving economic efficiency and service delivery of project co-ops,

Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships (10%)

• Promote the co-operative model among project beneficiaries and garment industry stakeholders. Participate in discussion groups and collective advocacy initiatives, advance key co-op development positions and contribute to policy papers, standards and tools in collaboration with local and global networks, as necessary.
• Develops and strengthens core partnerships and networks with key stakeholders in the co-op development sector in Ukraine, including regional networks and multi-lateral institutions to contribute to the co-op development dialogue. Liaises with professional networks and communicates opportunities for future collaboration to enhance the CDF Canada outreach.
• Contribute, from the co-op development viewpoint, to the development and implementation of the organization’s communication strategy in Ukraine. Contribute to preparation of written materials, presentations, and possibly videos for local and international audiences,
• Advise and support the Country Manager on the efforts to strengthen partnerships with donors who have a keen interest in supporting programs on co-op development,

EXPERIENCE

• 5 to 7 years of experience in co-op development within public institutions, NGO, consultancies, UN agencies and/or international systems,
• At least 5 years of working and in the field experience with international technical assistance projects or programs, knowledge of Ukrainian context.
• Experience in effective training programs design, implementation and monitoring with a co-op development in focus,
• An understanding of development and co-operative issues in garment industry, farmers’ associations, business clusters, fashion is an asset,
• Knowledge and experience with monitoring and evaluation tools is as asset.

QUALIFICATIONS/COMPETENCIES

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in co-operative business model, business administration, finance, economics, social sciences, or a related discipline, or a combination of an undergraduate degree with field experience,
• Experience working with capacity building of co-operative businesses and apex organizations,
• Experience and knowledge of co-operatives principles, preferably in a developing context,
• Experience in writing project report components, developing curriculum or similar,
• Public speaking skills, ability to lead workshops and engage with individuals with a variety of backgrounds in the co-operative sector,
• Strategic thinking and planning in the co-op development context,
• Ability to work independently, and to work effectively as part of a team,
• Cultural sensitivity and use of culturally appropriate approaches to communicate and interact with teams at head office and in the field, and other diverse audiences,
• Demonstrate an ability to adapt, learn and change through self-awareness and management of emotions and an ability to develop supportive and productive working relationships,
• Experience with women-focused business value chains and enterprise development is an asset,
• Co-operative research experience is an asset.  
• Advanced organizational, administrative and time management skills,
• Strong verbal and written communication skills. Fluent written and spoken Ukrainian, and advanced level of oral and written English.

COVID-19 - In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and to protect our candidates’ and interviewers’ health and wellbeing, we will be conducting all interviews virtually for the foreseeable future.  This circumstance may also cause application delays, as such we will reassess the situation over the coming months to determine if an extension to the deadline for submission is required. 

Application Process and Deadline

1. Applications must be received no later than February 26, 2021.
2. Late submissions will not be accepted.
3. Applicants must include cover letter and resume. Cover letter must include salary expectation.

Please reference the job title “SEW Gender and Outreach Officer’ in the email subject line and submit your resume and cover letter in confidence to: [email protected].

Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted!