Outgrower Manager at Vantage Organic Foods

Vantage Organic Foods is a leading supplier of organic certified ingredients to importers, manufacturers, and distributors all over the globe. Initially established in 2008 aggregating and trading organic soybeans out of India, Vantage has expanded into sourcing other organic crops, such as sunflowers, sesame, rapeseed, mustard, maize, ginger, etc. and has strategically ventured into the African market in 2014 where it started developing a sourcing base for organic soybean to keep up with a growing demand.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Outgrower Manager

Location: Ibadan, Oyo

Job Details

• In Nigeria, Vantage works with farmers spread across 19 states from which it sources soybean and engages into providing training to smallholders based on a “zero-cost” farming system wherein smallholders do not source external input, but rather maximize yields through optimal use of natural resources available.
• In order to better supervise the local field staff handling the outgrower program for organic farming, manage farmers/cooperatives, implement additional trainings and enhance farmers’ bonding with the company, Vantage wishes to increase its own on the ground presence and is currently looking for Outgrower Manager to be based in Ibadan Nigeria.
• The person will be reporting to the Country Manager for Nigeria and the management in India. Vantage Agro Trading Limited in Nigeria and Vantage Netherlands BV in The Netherlands are the group companies of Vantage Organic Foods Private Limited from India.

Job Role
The job role will be as following:

• Undertake a diagnostic assessment of the current outgrower model and identify areas of improvement for capacity development and training, collection and payment processes, mitigating social and environmental (S&E) risks, and if possible, collect input from farmers and assess the feasibility of implementing technological solutions;
• Develop and implement an efficient, cost-effective and adapted training plan, and coordinate the development of training materials to capacitate field staff and smallholders on zero-cost Organic farming;
• Identify Field Staff to become trainers and undertake Training of Trainers (ToT)
• Monitor and manage training of farmer cooperatives, recording key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Manage the delivery of agricultural extension services and technical support to smallholder farmers
• Undertake frequent travel across Nigeria to visit farmers in Vantage’s outgrower scheme network and increase Vantage’s visibility and in-person presence with smallholders
• Conduct farmer outreach to extend Vantage’s sourcing network
• Suggest and implement recommendations to increase the efficiency of the outgrower scheme, focusing on improving procurement practices with smallholders in different regions in Nigeria, including contractual agreements (if applicable), number of farmers supplying, volumes, existing challenges in the procurement process (e.g. side selling, late cancellation of agreed purchasing conditions, etc.), S&E risks (e.g. deforestation, child labour), and by drawing comparison with other similar procurement schemes and practices in the region;
• Improving and formalizing the structure of the partnership structures with relevant service providers, including existing contractual arrangements between the organizations, informal agreements with field coordinators, any associated costs (e.g. salaries, transport costs), format of trainings provided and all other relevant aspects of the relationship with field coordinators and agents
• Support the formation of farmer clusters and certification groups
• Assess feasibility for integration of additional crops for crop rotation to help farmers diversify their revenue streams
• Elaborate a brief baseline report describing the status of the outgrower scheme at the start of the assignment and identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Maintain relations and manage work through service providers viz. crop procurement agents, transportation providers, government bodies, staff, etc.
• Any other work or activity as assigned by the management.

Qualifications and Skills

• At least Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc.) or similar formal education in Agronomy, Agriculture, Economics, International Development, Management or related field deemed equivalent by recruitment team;
• Minimum of five years’ relevant experience in project management related to agricultural farming operations, preferably organic farming;
• Strong background in agriculture production and integration of smallholder farmers into commercial agriculture in Africa, and in Nigeria would be a plus;
• “Hands-on” experience in the design and implementation of sustainable smallholder outgrower schemes in Africa (gender-responsive), preferably in organic products in Nigeria;
• Ability to assess current agricultural practices especially in a smallholder context and identify areas for improvement;
• Proven track record and expertise in developing and implementing capacity development measures – gender sensitive, specifically relating to soybean as a crop and smallholder organic/zero-cost farming practices, preferably in West Africa;
• Excellent understanding of the socio-economic situation of smallholder farmers in Nigeria and potential impacts of capacity development measures;
• Ability to interface effectively with all levels of an organisation;
• Strong analytical, writing and presentation skills;
• Full proficiency in English, with ability to write concise reports. Additionally, knowledge of Nigerian local languages (Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo) preferred;
• Person should have entrepreneurial approach and “street smart” skills.

Application Closing Date
10th October, 2022.

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