The Why: NEPAL aspires to graduate from least developing country to a lower middle-income country by 2030. However, the development community’s excessive focus today on socio-political empowerment has not yielded the desired economic transformation.  In reaching the 2030 national target, shall we wait for institutions of power to become accountably productive or shall we bolster innovations of people to bring inclusive prosperity?  And, shall we strengthen grassroots-government collaboration in shaping an equal and enterprising future?

The How: DAAYITWA, with a focus on economic empowerment, envisions an enterprising Nepal where every youth has opportunities for a prosperous future and aims to:

1. Promote inclusive and enterprise-led economic growth

2. Strengthen governance of inclusive enterprise ecosystem

3. Bolster community engagement for enhanced livelihood

Towards these goals, Daayitwa executes three programs to promote youth employment.  The Rural Enterprise Acceleration Program (REAP) supports rural high-growth entrepreneurs to accelerate their businesses, create jobs and incubate other local entrepreneurs.  Leveraging the grassroots enterprise learning, the Public Service Fellowship Program (PSFP) supports policy entrepreneurs to collaborate with the government, conduct economic policy research and promote evidence-based policy decisions.  In linking the grassroots and government level engagements, the Civic Engagement Program (CEP) supports civic innovators to promote domestic youth employment through evidence-based policy advocacy.  In the last 8 years, REAP has supported 65 business entrepreneurs (30 women) in 3 provinces (Province 3, 4 and 5) to embrace innovation, access investment, grow income and create employment. PSFP has supported 135 youth from 30 countries to support 40 government organizations and 24 parliamentarians by conducting economic policy research. CEP has supported 50 civic entrepreneurs to organize 6 policy campaigns at federal, provincial and local levels on promoting domestic youth employment. 

Daayitwa is a part of the Daayitwa Abhiyaan, which also strives for an enterprising Nepal by focusing on promoting economic empowerment, thus nurturing an enterprising mindset - which is about working hard, taking risks, and being creative - in development change-agents.  Driven by principles of economic justice, community engagement and financial sustainability, the Abhiyaan comprises three other organizations.

1. Nepal Leadership Academy - a non-profit company that develops an enterprising mindset in change-agents by growing their leadership and management capabilities.

2. Governance Lab - a for-profit research firm that enables the government and the private sector to make decisions by conducting evidence-based research and connecting researchers and decision-makers

3. Daayitwa-US - a US-based non-profit that engages and empowers Nepali diaspora in the US as change agents and strengthens local and global collaboration to promote socio-economic development in Nepal

The Program Manager (PM), with supervision from the Program Director and as part of the management team, will play a leadership role in ensuring results through programs as well as strengthening relationships within and outside the organisation. The PM will be responsible for the specific tasks as listed in the following two categories:

Accelerate Results

• Oversee the implementation of various projects carried out by the Nepal Leadership Academy, including but not limited to training programs for participants of Daayitwa’s Rural Enterprise Acceleration Program (REAP) and Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF) .
• Lead the implementation of DNPSF, which comprises Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship (DNPPF) and Daayitwa Nepal Public Administration Fellowship (DNPAF) projects, and is housed in Daayitwa’s Governance and Civic Engagement cluster.  
• Envision, manage and promote the strategic direction of Daayitwa and Nepal Leadership Academy in keeping with Daayitwa Abhiyaan’s guidelines and policies.
• Create strategy and operation plan for Daayitwa and Nepal Leadership Academy along with Senior Management. 
• Define resource needs, develop budget plans and secure funds, including writing proposals as necessary.
• Assume roles in new tasks and projects as necessary. 

Strengthen Relationships

• Build and strengthen partnerships with local, national and international stakeholders (e.g. government, private companies, CSOs, universities and international development partners).
• Foster a productive environment for members to learn, grow and create meaningful impact through program interventions.
• Ensure all staff issues are addressed properly, efficiently and judiciously and keep track of progress until resolved.
• Plan and organize activities to strengthen trustful collaboration among team members

• Masters’ in International Affairs, Development Studies, Public Policy, Social Work, Economics, and Humanities, or other related fields preferred. Bachelor’s degree in the aforementioned fields with relevant work experience is also desirable. 

• At least 2 years of experience working in a project or program setting is preferred. Proven track record in coordinating projects, advocacy, events, campaigns and multi-stakeholder consultations and engagement at the local and/or the federal level.

• Ability to work effectively under pressure in a diverse, team-oriented environment.

• Strong motivation, self-starter, and organizational/time management skills.

• Proven ability to handle multiple tasks at a time within deadlines.

• Willingness to learn and work hard. Growth mindset is key.

• Excellent oral and written communications skills in English and Nepali.

Compensation: Daayitwa will provide compensation on a monthly rate basis.  The rate will be mutually agreed upon, commensurate with the level of deliverables, qualifications and experience of the candidate.

Procedure: Interested candidates must submit a CV and a cover letter by November 12th, 2021. To learn more about Daayitwa and our work, do visit our Facebook page or our website.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daayitwa/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGYX-0_rlCuvASwYuqzpCOw

Website: www.daayitwa.org