Business Development Manager (Innovative Finance) at HarvestPlus - 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 on behalf of HarvestPlus to fill the position below:

Job Title: Business Development Manager (Innovative Finance)

Ref: IITA-HR-NRS2022-014
Location: Kano
Recruitment Type: National (1-year renewable contract)
Contract: 1-year renewable contract

Duties

• Be responsible for developing and managing commercial and public sector partnerships for scaling the distribution of climate-tolerant biofortified seed and other inputs and enabling forward linkages with leading firms in the food and agribusiness sector.
• Develop a sustainable market system approach to HarvestPlus development activities under the Propcom+ initiative. Facilitate value chain arrangements like contract farming, bundling, and retail farmer and SME financing (including credit, savings, and insurance products).
• Support HarvestPlus in developing high-quality technical assistance packages, embedding these with relevant local TA suppliers and working in close collaboration with relevant sectoral stakeholders and ensuring change efforts are sustainable past the end of the project.
• Understand the ecosystem of market system participants and their inter-relationships in the target value chains namely Vit A Maize, cowpea, Vit A Cassava, and iron pearl millet.
• Review and provide input on scale strategy of the project.
• Support work planning for systemic interventions that will generate results and target numbers as laid in the program results framework. Review activities to date with Lead Firms and plan for new activities to scale up interventions or work with new partners (for e.g. large distributors, agro-dealers, processors, financiers, food businesses) to catalyze systemic change.
• Help design appropriate partnership models and delivery approaches for new partners.
• Review the program’s systemic activities and results framework and contribute to the work plan for market systems activities with lead firms, commercial financiers and social organizations.
• Support the alignment of Propcom+ systemic approach to market systems development with partner contract results and indicator targets and facilitate regular reporting.
• Constantly review and iterate on the project design with the aim of improving how the project facilitates innovation, change, and sustainability.
• Work with partners to identify TA needs and facilitate local TA delivery.
• Work with other team members and external stakeholders on stakeholder engagement events for business planning, and state and federal policy.
• Help the Program lead manage and build the capacity of two-three state coordinators.
• Support the identification and development of new projects leveraging the activity under Propcom+.
• Perform any other job-related task as may be assigned by the Supervisor.

Qualifications

• Master's in Agriculture, Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, or any other related field with a minimum of six (6) years of experience performing a similar or related role in a well-structured organization.

Competencies:
The ideal candidate must:

• Have good writing skills and high competency on Microsoft excel.
• Have the ability to communicate fluently in Hausa language.
• Have experience working both with leading agribusinesses and commercial financiers.
• Have strong networks among agriculture stakeholders including producers, processors, input providers, traders, financiers and government.
• Have excellent organizational skills and systematic thinking that demonstrates good judgment, expert problem-solving, and creativity.
• Have the willingness and ability to travel extensively.
• Have Familiarity with donor-funded agriculture activities.
• Have excellent communication skills in Hausa Language.

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

Application Closing Date
15th November, 2022