Recruiting a Country Representative in India
Introduction:
The Swallows India Bangladesh is a non-profit development organisation based in Lund, Sweden. The vision of The Swallows is ”a just world, free from poverty, where people with power to influence their own lives live in solidarity with each other and in a long-term sustainable relationship with nature”. The Swallows works in partnership with local organisations in India and Bangladesh to support their struggle for a more sustainable and equitable development.
The Swallows is planning to implement a Sida-funded development project in India and Bangladesh from October 2025 to December 2028. The goal of the project is to empower marginalised communities in India and Bangladesh to claim their rights to gender equality, food sovereignty and ecologically sensitive, climate-resilient and sustainable livelihoods through a strengthened civil society at community and partner level. The two countries have their own objectives which partner’s projects contributes towards through their own separate goal matrixes. The overall thematic focus of the project in India is the intersection between management and ownership of natural resources in terms of land and forest and that of human rights. Within this theme, social injustices such as violence against women, Dalits and Adivasis are central. The target groups are multiple marginalised people living in or on the edge of poverty and from an intersectional perspective oppressed by several layers of power relations such as gender, caste, and class.
Capacity building of the target groups on relevant issues; Establishing platforms/federations at village, state and national level, campaigns, exploring alternate markets, developing curriculum on millets, working with governments at local and state levels and broad basing issues with other civil society organisations and likeminded organisations are some of the strategies used by the partners in India. The project works with four partners in India namely, Deccan Development Society that anchors MINI (Millet network of India), Keystone Foundation, MIND Trust and Tamilnadu Resource Team. All the partners have been supported since 2010/2011.
The Swallows are now looking to procure a consultant to work as the Country Representative in India for the full project period (2025-2028).
General Role Description as Country Representative:
The representative’s overall responsibility is to support the operations of The Swallows in India when it comes to running our development project together with our partner organisations. The main focus of this support is to contribute to the planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the project, especially in regard to our thematic areas; women’s rights, food sovereignty, environment and climate change, but also other areas such as governance and finance. The representative oversees that the expected results of the country project is in relation with proper utilization of budget in a cost-effective way. The representative should also be updated about the present situation in the country and stay in touch with relevant stakeholders in order to give The Swallows advice and information. Working in close collaboration with our partners is a characteristic of The Swallows and the representative make frequent field visits and stays in contact with operation at grassroots level. Further, the representative organises or supports in organising partner meetings and capacity building initiatives with partners. The Swallows consist of a small and closely working team, and the Country Representative will collaborate and keep good communication with the staff, especially the Programme Officer in Lund.
Scope of work:
Project-related support
- Support the cooperation with partner organisations in order to reach expected results and secure efficient and effective use of project resources
- Support the Programme Officer and Finance Manager in Lund as well as the partners with project planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation
- Responsible for planning and coordinating capacity building activities targeting The Swallows current partner organisations in India, especially following up on identified needs from recent financial reviews, system audits and final evaluations
- Facilitate project reviews and external evaluations
- Conduct and participate in field visits to partner organisations
Administration management
- Assist the head office in developing and reviewing policies, guidelines, the country strategy, and other working papers of the organisation
- Support in ensuring the compliance of partner’s agreement in relation to back donors and Indian legislation
- Responsibility of logistic management of different meetings between visitors/staff from Sweden, partners, evaluators, consultants, and auditors
- Responsibility to follow the country situation and to report to the head office on regular basis through digital meetings, emails, and written reports
- Responsibility to file and manage knowledge, resources, and documentation of the project operations as needed
Financial governance and economy
- Support in overseeing the expected results of the country project in relation to proper utilization of budget in a cost-effective way
- Responsibility for coordinating capacity building for partners on financial management and to assist the head office in reviewing internal control systems
- Responsibility for financial monitoring of partners through regular field visits and to assess the project budget and financial reports of partners (or to coordinate support from Finance Manager in such matters)
- Responsibility for routinely performing and following up on recommendations from Financial Administrative Capacity Tool (FACT) checks on partners
- Responsibility for assisting partners in organising their annual external audits as per the audit instruction from the back donors and the Indian legislation
Other responsibilities
- If time allows, network with stakeholders within the development sector
- Support in other project-related work related to The Swallows
Qualifications:
Education
- At least three years of academic education in a relevant field such as development work, gender, human rights, project management, etc.
Experience
- At least seven years’ experience of development work in India, preferably with both grassroot organisations and international partners and donors
- At least seven years’ experience of work related to human rights, gender, environment, climate justice and sustainable development
- Experience in result-based management and PMERL and mainstreaming of thematic areas such as HRBA, do-no-harm and conflict sensitivity
- Experience in coordinating and facilitating capacity building
- Experience in initiating and leading change in development work
- Basic knowledge of financial monitoring. More extensive experience of financial monitoring is a strong advantage
Knowledge & abilities
- Good knowledge of the country context, project management, international cooperation in civil society, social mobilization, grassroot movements, rights-based approach, gender, and sustainable development
- In-depth knowledge of issues relating to gender, gender-based violence, sustainable and organic agriculture, forest rights, food sovereignty, climate resilience, and Dalit and Adivasi’s rights in India, including governmental policies and regulations relating to them
- Knowledge of Sida, The Swallows and/or our current partner organisations in India is a strong advantage
- Good administrative skills and sound knowledge of Indian laws and regulations as well as compliance with project agreements
- Ability to work with complex issues under periods of stress
- Be result-oriented and have ability to drive partners to reach their goals
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- Strong communication skills and familiarity with digital tools
Languages
- Fluent in English with good abilities to communicate in writing and verbally
- Knowledge of Hindi and/or South Indian languages such as Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu is a strong advantage
Other
- The right to work in India is required, preferably Indian citizenship
- Based in India, ideally in or with easy access to Southern India
- Willing to travel to rural areas for field trips at least 4 times annually
- Willing to travel internationally, particularly to Bangladesh and Sweden
Key Deliverables:
- Active participation in planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of The Swallows’ Sida-funded project in India
- Monitoring the country situation in India as well as project risks, communicating any updates to the head office in Lund
- Undertaking field visits to each partner organisation at least once a year to monitor project implementation, internal control and compliance
- Drafting a capacity building plan for each partner organisation in India, based on previous audits, financial reviews and evaluations
- Active participation in organising meetings with partners and other stakeholders including national/international partners meetings
- Coordination of annual audits and submission of reports to the head office
- Documenting work as needed for compliance in the project
- Writing monthly reports to the Board of The Swallows
How we work:
- Consultants of The Swallows are expected to follow our Code of Conduct to ensure non-discrimination, respect, transparency, and accountability on all levels
- The country representative in India work in close cooperation with and reports to the Programme Officer and Finance Manager in Sweden
- The country representative keeps their own time sheet and reports continuously through email, weekly meetings and monthly in written reports
