Cooperative and Market System Coordinator at Nuru Nigeria

Nuru Nigeria is a local NGO with affiliates in the US, Kenya and Ethiopia, and is starting up operations in Nigeria. The mission is to end extreme poverty in remote rural communities. Nuru’s first involvement in Nigeria was established in 2017 and began work in 2018 in Adamawa State, Nigeria with the creation of Nuru Nigeria. The long-term goal of Nuru Nigeria is the establishment of a locally led, self-sustainable, Nigerian NGO which will continue to work with local rural communities indefinitely.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Cooperative and Market System Coordinator

Location: Yola, Adamawa (NN Field Office)
Career Level: Mid-Level
Terms and conditions: The appointment will be for a 12 months period, renewable
based on funding and performance
Start Date: As soon as possible
Reporting and Supervision: This position will temporarily report to the Executive Director

Position Summary

• The Cooperative and Market System Coordinator will be responsible for leading the development and execution of Nuru Nigeria’s long term cooperative strategy with a view to establishing sustainable, profitable farmer organizations and creating value for cooperative members.
• The coordinator will work closely with the management committees and employees of Nuru-supported farmer organization cooperatives to guide all day-to-day management decisions and co-create the development of the cooperatives’ long and short-term plans.
• The Cooperative and Market System Coordinator will support NN field staff on training and coaching of Nuru-supported FOs.
• The coordinator acts as a direct liaison between the leadership of the cooperatives and management of Nuru Nigeria.
• This position will also lead Nuru Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategy, including the provision of digital financial services for Nuru- supported FOs and members.

Job Responsibilities

• Oversee cooperative business and operation planning to ensure efficiency, quality, service, and cost-effective management of resources.
• Plan, develop, and implement strategies for generating resources and revenues.
• Work closely with the Executive Director to implement Nuru Nigeria’s cooperative development strategy.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, develop a sustainable and formal strategy of coordinating farmer organization/cooperatives activities.
• Grow and coach the (management) team to equip them to run the business in the future.
• Together with the Training and Extension Coordinator, will work to support the mainstreaming of NN programs through the Farmer Organization
• In collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, establish yearly cooperative assessment protocols that expand on an existing relationship with SCOPE insight and identify cooperative profitability measurement plans.
• Develop and deliver a concise, realistic, and efficiently sequenced digital financial inclusion standard operating procedure that can support Nuru Nigeria’s scaling ambitions.
• Support and oversee the day-to-day cooperative activities
• Assess the principal risks of the cooperatives and to ensure that these risks are being monitored and managed.
• Oversee the detailed operations of the cooperative, within the policies established by the leadership, and recommends changes and additions to the management when necessary.
• Maintain, and revise, as necessary, an adequate bookkeeping and accounting system for the farmer organisations that can be managed by the cooperatives for sustainability.
• Furnishes the organisation with information needed for long range planning of the farmer organisations.
• Responsible for implementing all cooperative strategies in consultation with the management committee and Nuru Nigeria.
• Facilitate the management committees members in collecting information concerning business alternatives, synthesising the information, and evaluating it for decision making.
• Assist in management of crop aggregation, commercialization and market linkages.

Job Requirements

• MS/MS preferred, BA / B.Sc required in Economics, Agric-Economics and Extension, Accounting, Business Administration or other relevant Agriculture or Social Science fields.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in cooperative business development at a management level, or similar work in business or organizational development.
• Previous experience in the development sector, especially in NGOs, preferred.
• Experience with financial inclusion programs in rural environments
• Strong record keeping/cooperative accounting experience
• Candidates with leadership and project management experience preferred
• Experience implementing gender mainstreaming into programming will be an advantage.
• Strong strategy-building and critical thinking skills.
• Desire to succeed and continually improve performance
• Team player with positive attitude and sense of humour
• Flexibility in a fast-paced, constantly changing work environment
• Good communication and public speaking skills
• Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision
• Demonstrated ability to operate in both office and field settings.
• Excellent computer applications skills.
• Speaks, reads, and writes fluently in English and Hausa required.
• Knowledge of the operational area and local language.

Nuru Nigeria Offers

• Salary is competitive depending on qualifications, skills and experience.
• Positive atmosphere of dynamism and motivated team setting.
• Atmosphere of a forefront professional and flexible NGO with a unique new development approach.
• Annual, Maternity and Paternity leave benefits.
• Transport costs and communication allowance.
• 13th Month Salary
• Training and capacity building program and intensive mentorship by expat team.
• Life Insurance covering accident, disability and related benefits
• Health Insurance covering employee and family.
• Pension benefits.
• Atmosphere of diversity committed to providing equal employment opportunity, forbidding discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, national or ethnic
• origin, age and differently able, with respect to policies and visions.
• Other Labor best practices apply.

Application Closing Date
25th April, 2022.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to:  [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Non-discriminatory Employment Clause

• Applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of ethnicity, colour, gender, religion, socio-economic status, age, disability or health status.
• The management of Nuru Nigeria reserves the right to verify all of the applicant's information and conduct background checks on shortlisted candidates including reaching out to his/her previous employer.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
• Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.