Location

Istanbul, Turkey

Duration

Full-time Position, 12-month Contract

Context

Founded in 2004, Building Markets is an award-winning nonprofit that creates jobs and encourages economic growth in crisis-affected countries by connecting competitive local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to supply chains and investment. Through this approach, the organization has built a network of more than 25,000 verified SMEs, assisted them in winning over $1.3 billion in contracts, and helped create over 70,000 jobs in countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, Timor-Leste, and Liberia. Building Markets is headquartered in New York City and currently operates programs in Jordan, Myanmar and Turkey. For more information, please visit www.buildingmarkets.org and https://entrepreneurs.buildingmarkets.org.

Job Summary

The Training Manager will oversee the delivery of an effective training program targeting Building Markets’ network of Syrian and refugee-led SMEs in Turkey. This includes in-person and virtual training services. The Training Manager will ensure strong self-performance in training delivery while integrating, where necessary, effective and efficient contributions from external experts. The ideal candidate is a results-driven professional with excellent interpersonal, communication, and teaching skills who has a proven track record of designing and delivering high impact training curriculum. Training curriculum covers topics such as procurement 101 – preparing bids and delivering tenders, business/financial management, and sales and marketing. The candidate will also be responsible for building a strong network of mentors, including Turkish entrepreneurs who can partner with Syrian-led and refugee-led SMEs.

The Training Manager should have a broad and deep understanding of local market dynamics to ensure training materials are in line with, and responding to, business needs. The ideal candidate will be a creative professional who can adapt to the challenging and changing context of COVID-19 and realize new opportunities for SME clients. 

Responsibilities and Duties

Planning

• Review and tailor training materials and content developed by Building Markets;
• Design a strategy to enhance in-person and virtual training services offered to Building Markets’ network of SMEs;
• Develop work plan that will meet or exceed all training related targets;
• Manage outreach and oversight of any external training service providers;
• Other tasks as required.

Training Services Development

• Ensure Building Markets is offering high quality, up-to-date training content. This includes an alignment with any new/existing regulatory developments and business needs;
• Cultivate strong relationships with SMEs to motivate participation and engagement with program services, including regular outreach and follow-up by telephone, email, and on-site visits when possible;
• Design training sessions that create an environment that is conducive to SME learning across stages of business maturity;
• Identify opportunities to create learning and networking experiences between Building Markets SME network and other stakeholders (e.g. financial providers, Turkish-led suppliers);
• For Building Markets online learning platform, oversee user experience and coordinate strategies to advance user engagement;
• Develop and implement mentor development and engagement plans for each target sector;
• Ongoing - identify opportunities for innovation and experiential learning;
• Develop and oversee mentorship program for SME network of predominantly Syrian-owned companies.

Workflows and Best Practices

• Adopt training and mentorship best practices in line with broader standards;
• Develop and maintain documentation and planning guidelines for Building Markets network of mentors/advisors/trainers;
• Document and archive all program materials on Building Markets file sharing system.
   

Staff Management

• Supervise and mentor Training Coordinators. 
• Lead by example and demonstrate a culture of action and diligence by rolling up sleeves. 
• Carry out regular performance appraisals of direct reports.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Ensure impact tracking/data management of all training program activities, including service providers’ work (if any), are in line with Building Markets monitoring and evaluation guidelines;
• Ensure efficient systems are in place that are in line with Building Markets’ guidelines and accurately track results and impact of all training related activities (in-person classroom training, mentorship/advisory, virtual);
• Ensure results and success stories are catalogued and provided to the communications team in a timely manner;
• Prepare and present a monthly report on training results to the Country Director to be shared with Building Markets HQ.

Reporting Lines

Reports to: Country Director

Supervisory: Training Coordinator, Mentorship Coordinator, and any related service providers.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Education or substantial equivalent in professional experience;
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in developing, designing, and delivering effective training curriculum, preferably in a business setting;
• Proven familiarity with the Turkish market, including business regulations;
• Proven familiarity of the Syrian business community in Turkey and their training and business requirements;
• Knowledge of national and international procurement policy (e.g. the policies of INGOs operating in Turkey);
• Fluency in English and Arabic with excellent speaking, writing, and presentation skills; Turkish is a plus.
• Ability to perform multiple tasks and meet critical deadlines, while maintaining accuracy and quality;
• Results-oriented manager with great interpersonal skills;
• Excellent power point skills;
• Work authorization in Turkey (not required at the time of application).

Desired

Qualifications

• Existing relationships with potential mentors or other business service providers in various sectors and functions, and able to leverage networks to cultivate contacts;
• Experience with virtual training platforms or online education;
• Solid translation skills (From English to Arabic and Arabic to English).

Travel

• Possible travel in-country.

Compensation

• Salary commensurate with experience.

Applications

Interested candidates are invited to send a CV/Resume, cover letter, and three professional references by email not later than August 30, 2020.  The subject line must read “Training Manager - Turkey”.