Experts at Abt Associates

Abt Associates - The International Health Division is committed to the improvement of health and healthcare delivery around the world. Serving both the public and private sectors, our efforts include health policy research and evaluation, health promotion and disease prevention, health finance, and health systems management. Our impact is felt in policies that ensure healthcare access for women, children, and individuals with special needs, in strengthening health infrastructures, and HIV/AIDS solutions.

We invite applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Expert - Agricultural Competitiveness and Trade Development Program in West Africa

Location: Nigeria

Job Summary

• Abt Associates Inc. seeks highly qualified technical specialists in the fields below for an anticipated five-year USAID-funded Agricultural Competitiveness and Trade Development Program in West Africa.
• The project will improve regional and international trade flows by building the capacity of West African governments, SMEs, and financial institutions.
• The project will contribute to USAID/Nigeria’s goals and the Global Food Security Strategy objective of inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth.

Minimum Qualifications

• University Degree in related fields; Economics, Agriculture, Science, Business.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; French proficiency preferred.
• USAID or other donor experience; mainly in West Africa.
• Minimum of eight years of professional leadership experience in one or more of the technical areas outlined below:

Technical Areas of Interest
Agricultural Production:

• Technical experience in improving the overall performance and productivity of select agricultural value chains, utilizing a demand-driven, private sector-led approach.

Agricultural Trade:

• Technical experience in identifying and working with counterparts and stakeholders to reduce and remove policy and regulatory constraints to regional and international trade.
• Familiarity with streamlining import and export regulations, trade facilitation, conformity assessments procedures, developing standards (particularly those related to food safety), risk management, customs law, or other tariff and non-tariff barriers, and implementation of trade agreements.

Agricultural Processing:

• Experience in post-harvest handling, processing, financing, storage, transport, packaging relative to key agriculture products of West Africa.

Market Development:

• Experience in commercial operations and marketing, product R&D, market R&D, agribusiness and business planning, in West African agricultural and textile markets, including exports.

Agricultural Economist:

• Demonstrated experience in assessing national enabling environments and designing and delivering tailored capacity-building programs for governmental, non-governmental and private sector agencies, organizations, businesses and associations.
• Familiarity with West African economic policies and the role in trade and infrastructure of ECOWAS.

Grades and Standards/Certification:

• Technical experience in building the capacity of industries to meet international grades and standards, such as FSMA, GlobalGAP, NOP, or HACCP.
• Familiarity with the certification requirements for regional and international trade of key West African products, as well as the current constraints affecting the market.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following documents below to: [email protected]

• Resume, illustrating relevant technical experience
• USAID 1420 Biodata form [EBD], in Word.doc format
• Cover Letter, explaining how the candidate meets the technical requirements

Note: Candidates should specify the technical area of interest in the subject line of their email. French speakers are encouraged to apply.