Business Development Officer

Job Title: Business Development Officer

Job Location: Hatay, Türkiye

Reporting to: Project Senior Officer

Line Manager for: N/A

 

Background:

Sened, is an independent non-profit organization established and registered in Türkiye (under No: 27-15-175) in 2013.

• The name “Sened” in Arabic means “support” you could count on.

•Sened, was founded in response to The Syrian catastrophe, which led to critical situations and displacement of internally displaced people (IDPs) within Syria. The individuals who faced hardships due to factors such as repression, human rights abuses, and violence against civilians (including bombings, shelling, and sieges) and the urgent needs of millions of Syrian refugees in Türkiye. Later, our projects expanded to include support for the Turkish hosting community of the Syrian refugees. Our work spans across humanitarian sectors, with a special focus on advocating for the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities (PwDs) and their families.

 

Safeguarding:

At Sened, we deliver humanitarian aid with the utmost commitment to safety and dignity. We understand that safeguarding is a critical component of our operations, and we integrate this principle into every layer of our work, from initial planning to final implementation. Our goal is to create a safe and secure environment that enables resilient communities to thrive. To achieve this, we adhere to our principles of Safe Programming, Safe Operation, Safe People, and Safe Response, which help us to identify and proactively mitigate risks, prioritize community trust, and uphold ethical standards. Sened’s unwavering dedication to safeguarding ensures that all those we serve receive the highest standards of safety and protection in all our humanitarian endeavors.

 

Job Purpose:

The Business Development Officer is responsible for planning, implementing, and monitoring business recovery and market linkage activities for livestock-related micro and small enterprises under the project. The role supports targeted beneficiaries to restore and strengthen their economic activities through business assessment, mentoring, grant follow-up, market access support, and basic business continuity and preparedness measures, ensuring that assistance is practical, accountable, and aligned with project objectives.

 

Duties, Objectives, Competencies:

– Conduct business needs assessments and profiling of livestock-related MSMEs and smallholder-linked enterprises.

– Support selection, verification, and documentation of eligible beneficiaries in line with project criteria.

– Provide one-to-one mentoring and technical guidance to supported businesses on recovery, growth, and operational planning.

– Support the design and follow-up of business recovery grants and ensure proper use in line with approved business plans.

– Assist beneficiaries in improving record keeping, cost tracking, stock planning, customer outreach, and basic financial management.

– Facilitate market linkage activities, including networking with suppliers, buyers, cooperatives, local markets, and relevant service providers.

– Support organization of business development sessions, exposure activities, fairs, and other market engagement events under the project.

– Monitor beneficiary progress through regular field visits, follow-up tools, and performance tracking.

– Identify risks affecting business recovery, including market fluctuation, access barriers, and operational constraints, and report them in a timely manner.

– Coordinate closely with project, MEAL, logistics, finance, and technical teams to ensure coherent implementation of MSME support activities.

– Prepare activity reports, beneficiary files, success stories, and supporting documentation for internal and donor reporting.

– Ensure that disability inclusion, gender sensitivity, and accessibility considerations are integrated throughout business support activities.

 

Additional Responsibilities:

The above-mentioned key tasks and duties are illustrative ones. Other future responsibilities may be assigned to the job at the request of the head of department according to the need.

 

Essential Requirements:

– Bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics, agricultural economics, livestock production, veterinary-related studies, rural development, development studies, or another relevant field.

– Minimum 3 years of professional experience in project implementation, project coordination, or programme support.

– Minimum 5 years of experience in NGO, INGO, UN, or donor-funded project environments.

– Documented experience in at least 2 donor-funded projects in a coordination role.

– English proficiency at minimum B2 level (written and spoken) or equivalent demonstrable professional working proficiency.

-Turkish proficiency at minimum B2 level (written and spoken) or equivalent demonstrable professional working proficiency.

– Availability for field travel up to 30% of working time.

 

Desired Requirements:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (Development Studies, International Relations, Public Administration, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Engineering, Education, or related disciplines).
• Experience in at least 1 project covering field-based implementation in multiple locations/provinces.
• Experience supporting at least 1 full project cycle stage beyond implementation (proposal development, start-up, close-out, audit preparation, or donor revision process).
• Arabic proficiency at minimum B1/B2 level (written and spoken).
• Valid driving license (B or higher) and active driving experience of at least 2 years
• Experience working in south and south east Turkiye

Experience with business development, agriculture, and husbandry

 

Technical Competencies:

• Ability to track progress against planned milestones and identify delays, verified through interview case exercise.
• Ability to plan, coordinate, and track project activities against approved work plans, timelines, and deliverables, ensuring timely implementation and follow-up of pending actions.
• Working knowledge of project cycle management processes, including implementation planning, progress monitoring, documentation, reporting, and close-out support.
• Ability to monitor activity-related expenditures against approved budgets, track variances, and support timely budget utilization through regular follow-up with relevant teams.
• Ability to prepare clear, accurate, and well-structured project documentation, including activity reports, progress updates, meeting minutes, implementation summaries, and donor reporting inputs.
• Ability to prepare and follow up operational requests (e.g., procurement requests, technical specifications/ToRs, service requests) in line with internal procedures and project needs.
• Ability to support activity-level data tracking, maintain indicator follow-up records, and coordinate with MEAL teams to ensure completeness, consistency, and timely reporting of project data.
• Ability to maintain organized and audit-ready project documentation systems, including means of verification, correspondence, approvals, and implementation records.

Ability to communicate professionally with internal teams, partners, service providers, and local stakeholders to support implementation, follow-up actions, and coordination processes.

 

General Terms and Conditions:

• Safeguarding: Disabled beneficiaries, children, and vulnerable adults must be fully protected possible from any actions or failings that could place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury, or other harm. Sened demonstrates its commitment to safeguarding by conducting rigorous background and reference checks during the selection process for all candidates.
• Diversity: Sened is dedicated to fostering an inclusive, effective, and representative organizational culture. We promote employee equity and diversity and strive to eliminate discrimination. A diverse workforce, encompassing various age groups, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, enhances our ability to understand, represent, and serve our community. Therefore, all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, or age.
• Procedures: If necessary, Sened will apply for a work permit for the selected candidate after the job offer is accepted. Failure to provide the required documents or a rejection of the work permit application by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in the Republic of Türkiye will result in the employment offer being canceled.
• Sened reserves the right to re-advertise the vacancy, cancel the recruitment, offer a contract with a modified job description or for a different duration, or offer a contract at a lower grade.

This job description serves only as a guide for the position available. Sened reserves the right to amend this document. Any published closing dates are estimates. Due to the nature of Sened’s work, we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. Therefore, we may close adverts before the published closing date if we find the right candidate. We advise interested applicants to apply as early as possible.

Sened does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.