Project Team Lead at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Team Lead

Ref No: IITA-HR-NRS2022-015
Location: Kano
Recruitment Type: National (1-year renewable contract)
Contract: 1-year renewable contract

Duties

• Develop understanding of ecosystem of market actors in the target value chains.
• Deepen project strategy where needed to deliver on climate resilience, nutrition and inclusion related objectives.
• Support strategic partnership identification and development.
• Detail activities to scale up interventions and enable the team and external stakeholders to deliver a robust work plan to achieve key project targets and results.
• Track activities with lead firms, aggregators, strategic partners and public sector collaborators.
• Provide technical inputs to state teams and business development managers to deliver on robust seed and grain systems related deliverables for the program.
• Drive the sustainable intensification approach to enable resilience and optimal natural resource use by farmers.
• Ensure delivery and embedding of high quality technical assistance to delivery partners.
• Guide the development of sustainable business models for private sector led scaling of key project activities.
• Build strong collaboration framework with state and federal ministries of agriculture and environment.
• Ensure integration of vulnerable segments such as women and IDPs in relevant aspects of programming.
• Manage and build the capacity of the BDM agronomy and financing.
• Support the business development manager financing to ensure adequate working capital and risk management needs of farmers and MSMEs are well met.

Qualifications

• Masters in Agribusiness Management, Economics, Business Administration or any other related field with a minimum of fifteen (15) years’ experience using market led approaches with at least four of those in a leadership position performing a similar or related role in a well-structured organization.

Competencies:
The ideal candidate must:

• Have sound mind, high integrity, good interpersonal and communication skills (oral and written).
• Have ability to adhere to instruction, calm and ready to work, non-egocentric attitude and effective time management skill.
• Have ability to manage pressure, prior knowledge of material handling tool and knowledge of material handling tools and basic supply chain duties.
• Have experience in working in diplomatic environment.
• Have ability to communicate fluently in Hausa language will be a strong advantage
• Have experience in implementing market system activities in northern Nigeria.
• Be fluent in written and spoken English. Working knowledge of Hausa will be strong advantage.
• Have excellent writing and communication skills with the ability to communicate the project approach and progress to stakeholders at the senior-most levels in
• Government, development institutions and private sector.

Remuneration
We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

Application Closing Date
16th August, 2022.