1. SWISS CHURCH AID (HEKS/EPER)
International Division Phone +41 44 360 89 00
Seminarstrasse 28 info@heks.ch SWISS CHURCH AID is member of
P.O. Box www.heks.ch
CH-8042 Zurich PC 80-1115-1
Reference letter Zurich, Switzerland, 18th of October 2016
For Syed Taposh
Date of birth: 02 June 1967
On 22nd of January 2012, Syed Taposh has taken up his work at HEKS/EPER as a Program Manager
at the HEKS/EPER Office in Dhaka and ever since been an important and respected member of the
HEKS/EPER team.
HEKS/EPER supports projects to fight hunger, poverty and injustice in 32 countries on four
continents. We support people and communities in gaining prosperity or claiming their rights
regardless of their religious affiliation, ethnic origin, social background, gender or sexual orientation.
All people should be able to live a life in dignity and of safety in social, economic and political terms.
HEKS/EPER is active in development cooperation, whereby it focuses on access to land and
resources, securing basic services, fostering sustainable agro-production and inclusive market
systems. Promoting peace and inclusive governance structures with a strong civil society are other
key objectives.
In Bangladesh, the Country Program of HEKS/EPER aims at promoting the social inclusion of Dalit
and Adibashi in the Northwest of the country. Applying a human rights-based approach and inclusive
market development approach we strive for the inclusion of these marginalized communities through
community mobilization and organization, awareness raising, lobbying and advocacy on local,
national and international level, diapraxis, transferring knowledge, establishing linkages with market
players, and building up the resilience and DRR capacities of the communities. Currently, the partner
portfolio consists of 5 local NGOs and 2 INGOs.
Syed Taposh has fulfilled the position of Program Manager with great commitment and with his
expertise and experience he made an important and highly appreciated contribution to the further
development of the Country Program. More specifically he was responsible for:
Standard function description:
- Contribute to the implementation and running of specific projects / programs, working mainly
independently.
- Maintain contacts with partner organizations at various levels.
- Supervise staff and contribute to appraisals.
- Contribute to written reporting.
Job description:
- Provide assistance in facilitating and coordinating activities of implementing partners.
- Conducting monitoring visits of development projects funded by HEKS/EPER and prepares
monitoring reports.
- Analysis & synthesis of data & prepare documents when needed.
- Conducting appraisals of the development projects.
- Maintaining coordination and liaison with different national and international organizations.
- Representing the Country Office when and where needed.
- Assist in prepared detailed work plans/budgets for the projects.
- Review progress made towards the proposed work plan as well as the stated objective and
results on a quarterly basis.

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- Review progress made towards the proposed work plan as well as the stated objective and
results on a quarterly basis.
- Render timely technical assistance to implementing partners especially in the areas of
gender, mainstreaming, local capacity for peace / Do No Harm / and participatory project
planning methods.
- Assist the organization in arranging & conducting training, workshops and meetings.
- Oversee project progress, reporting, monitoring, evaluation and financial information,
especially in respect of cross-cutting issues.
- Take a major role in project planning, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation.
- Promote knowledge management and networking among HEKS/EPER partners and other
like-minded NGOs.
- Prepare annual action plan and compile quarterly reports.
- Prepare project visit, half-yearly and annual reports.
- Discharge other responsibilities and assignments given by Country Director.
As a Desk Officer for Bangladesh I bear the responsibility for the Country Program in Bangladesh at
the Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Since my joining in 2013, I have worked closely with Syed
Taposh in numerous fruitful processes either in the office and field while visiting Bangladesh, or
remotely via video call and email in the remaining time.
I have experienced Syed Taposh as a committed, hard-working and responsible staff member of the
HEKS/EPER Office in Dhaka. He takes his responsibilities and duties serious and is a reliable and
trustworthy person. He was always loyal to HEKS/EPER, our values and principles and always acted
for the good of the organization and the program. His structured and organized way provided stability
and strength in times of many changes.
Syed Taposh has shown own initiative at several occasions and has enriched our work with
numerous inputs. In particular, I would like to mention that the Monitoring & Evaluation system of the
Country Program was built up by him from scratch and managed by him over almost 5 years. He
developed monitoring checklists, templates, databases, reports and analyses on program level. He
built up the capacities of the partner organizations in project cycle management, monitoring and
evaluation through numerous trainings, workshop, coaching and advises.
Moreover, Syed Taposh has made an important contribution to the elaboration of the Theory of
Change and the strategy of the Country Programs 2013-16 and 2017-2020. He was a central figure
in conducting baseline studies and an impact assessment. He has given inputs and critical feedback
in the elaboration process of HEKS Key Indicators and the Program Cycle Management Manual on
the global institutional level. Last but not least, he made a significant contribution to the promotion of
HAP standards (Humanitarian Accountability Partnership) at HEKS/EPER and its partners.
Besides the expertise and rich experience of Syed Taposh, I would like to emphasize his great
facilitation skills and respectful behavior towards all women and men, girls and boys, vulnerable
groups and powerful stakeholders. I have spent considerable time with him in the field and office and
found him a very pleasant, correct and honest person with a good sense of humor. In particular, I
appreciated his constructive critical approach and eagerness to constantly improve the results of our
work.
HEKS/EPER and I personally thank Syed Taposh for his important and valuable contribution to our
organization, our Country Program and the improvement of the life of Dalit and Adibashi. We wish
him all the best for his career development and recommend him for any position corresponding to
his profile.
Sincerely yours,
Vincent Hug
Desk Officer Bangladesh
HEKS/EPER