Madagascar: Women's Livelihoods Specialist

An exciting opportunity to support the coordination and implementation of a sustainable livelihoods project within a leading sustainable development NGO in Madagascar

Position Overview

Based in the coastal town of Fort Dauphin in the southeast of Madagascar, this post will support the management and implementation of Project Stitch Sainte Luce, a women’s livelihoods project in embroidery. Working alongside local Malagasy project staff, this specialist position will guide the project going into its fourth phase, designed to expand, strengthen and increase the independence of a women’s embroidery cooperative. The Project Specialist will be responsible for researching, planning and helping to coordinate a range of project activities, including business training, expanding product markets within Madagascar and building the capacity of the Cooperative. Although predominantly office-based, this role would involve regular travel and work in the rural commune of Sainte Luce, working in the studio alongside the embroiderers. This exciting and varied post would suit an early-career international development specialist seeking in-country experience overseeing a sustainable livelihoods project on-the-ground.

Title: Women’s Livelihoods Specialist for Project Stitch Sainte Luce

Location: Fort Dauphin, Anosy Region, Madagascar

Timeframe: 12 months minimum (24 month preferred as per project duration)

Probationary period: 3 months

Start date: October 1st 2017 or ASAP after this date

Reporting to: Head of Project Development (Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods)

Project background:

Established in 2012, Project Stitch Sainte Luce (hereafter Stitch) supports a women’s embroidery Cooperative in the rural fishing village of Sainte Luce, around 40km to the north of Fort Dauphin. Project Stitch provides women with a sustainable livelihood opportunity, increasing their income, social standing and economic resilience. The 21-women strong Cooperative produces high quality, embroidered products for the tourist and international market. Over the past five years, selling Stitch products has increased the embroiderers’ incomes by over 370%, with the embroiderers now earning above both the Malagasy minimum wage and the global poverty line. Whilst Stitch has made significant progress, the Cooperative remains reliant on project support from SEED Madagascar. Phase IV will therefore focus on achieving independence for the Cooperative, as well as expanding the membership to extend the positive socio-economic benefits of Stitch to more women in the community. Within two years, the project will establish a larger, self-governing Cooperative which generates reliable incomes for its members from expanded and sustainable domestic markets and operates without external assistance. More information about the Cooperative and project to date can be found on Stitch Sainte Luce website; www.stitchsainteluce.org

Primary responsibilities:

The primary role of the Project Specialist is to support, mentor and compliment local project staff in the implementation of project activities. This role will work closely alongside SEED national staff and the embroiderers to plan and coordinate training in business, IT, communication, English language and photography skills. Moreover, the Project Specialist will assist the Cooperative to facilitate expansion, identify training needs and address emerging issues and challenges on its path to autonomy and self-government. The Project Specialist will also take a leading role in conducting market research and establishing new retail opportunities and routes to market for Stitch products within Madagascar.

Duties and responsibilities:

1. Work closely with the embroiderers of the Stitch Cooperative to assess their training requirements and address emerging needs or issues identified during project implementation

2. Work with national staff to facilitate the expansion of the Stitch Cooperative, including beneficiary selection, developing new governance structures within the Cooperative and monitoring the training of new embroiderers

3. Conduct market research on new domestic retail opportunities for Stitch products and lead engagement and negotiations with retailers to develop permanent route-to-market opportunities.

4. Support with the planning, organisation and running of market research trips to support expansion of domestic markets

5. Partner the Cooperative in designing, producing and distributing branding and promotional materials for Stitch.

6. Support national project staff to design and coordinate delivery of business, financial, communication, IT and photography training to members of the Stitch Cooperative

7. Develop systems for internal monitoring and tracking of progress within the Cooperative

8. Review and update current systems for monitoring project impact and conduct bi-annual monitoring of project beneficiaries to assess the impact of project activities

9. Develop and implement effective strategies to track the progress of project activities and assess performance against expected outputs in coordination with the Project Development team

10. Ensuring sound financial management, accountability and financial reporting of the project in coordination with the Project Development team

11. Support the Project Development team to produce high-quality and timely reports for donors by providing monitoring data and analysis, information on activities and photographs of the project

12. Provide capacity building and support to SEED staff

13. Complete any other tasks that the Head of Project Development (Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods) deems necessary within the broad outline of the role

Person specification:

• Undergraduate degree in International or Sustainable Development, Business Studies or related field. Master’s degree preferred.

• Experience of working/volunteering internationally in a project management or implementation role essential

• Experience in project monitoring and evaluation using MEL systems and data analysis essential

• Experience in marketing, market research, retail and/or business development desirable

• Experience in designing and delivering training or workshop activities desirable

• Ability to develop effective business structures, systems, processes and build capacity across cultures

• Excellent problem-solving skills and the drive to push the project forward

• Excellent organisational, planning and logistic skills with the ability to work to deadlines and complete activities on time

• Good verbal and written communication skills

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a multicultural and multilingual team

• Have passion and motivation for the work and be able to enthusiastically represent the Stitch Cooperative

• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for SEED at all times

• Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations

• Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in both a professional and personal capacity

• Have a flexible and patient attitude

• Knowledge of or willingness to learn French and/or Malagasy is desired

Allowance and practicalities:

The post attracts contributions to the living expenses of the post holder. This consists of:

• Local stipend that covers all basic costs of living in country

• £1,000 towards the cost of flights

• Visa & insurance (up to a maximum £500) covered by the project

• The successful candidate will need to have their own laptop computer (non-tablet)

Country and organisation background:

Madagascar is one of the most impoverished and least developed countries in the world, ranking 158/188 on the UNDP 2016 Human Development Index. Across the country, women are often barred from accessing income-generative activities as a result of domestic responsibilities, cultural expectations and a lack of earning and educational opportunities. Gender-based disparities have a major impact on households’ coping strategies in coastal communities of Anosy, with women and their families typically dependent on the marginal fishing income of a husband or father. In Sainte Luce, the traditional income-generating activities for women include reed weaving and mangrove fishing with mosquito nets, both of which yield little income and are harmful to the environment.

SEED Madagascar is a British registered charity which has been operating in the impoverished Anosy region of south east Madagascar for over 15 years. SEED works with and in support of urban and rural communities in southeast Madagascar, aiming to tackle the immediate effects of extreme poverty, support long-term development and protect the environment. Its central mission is to build the capacity of individuals and organisations to lead and support sustainable conservation and development initiatives in south east Madagascar, with the objective of securing local community access to quality health, education and livelihoods assets, and increasing local capacity to conserve and manage natural resources including unique but greatly endangered forest environments.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter outlining how their skills and experience match the requirements in the role description criteria to Lisa Bass by email at Lisa@seedmadagascar.org. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Long-listed applicants will have an initial informal chat with Madagascar based staff and short-listed applicants will then be offered a face-to-face interview with the London team. More information on the work of SEED Madagascar can be found at www.madagascar.co.uk .