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

Reference ID: IITA-HR-NRS2022-015
Location: Kano
Duration: 1 year Renewable Contract
Recruitment Type: National

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.
• Support the development of a collaborative and efficient team strongly led by HarvestPlus core values of honesty, reliability, sincerity, fairness and ethical behavior.
• Increase private sector investment into the vitamin A maize, iron pearl millet and cowpea subsectors through building competitive commodity value chains that increase Return on Investment (ROI);
• Support the Scaling Climate Adapted Nutritious Crops Through Market Systems (Nigeria) program in the establishment of strong agro input supply chains by provision of business development support to all actors, namely: seed companies and agro-dealers.
• Facilitate the creation of robust supply chains for aggregators and processors through the provision of technical assistance and capacity building to producers, aggregators, retailers, service providers, and other actors.
• Work with the state coordinators to put in place sustainable contract farming and out grower business models that will guarantee continuous raw material sourcing for processors.
• Suggest and implement demand creation strategies that will increase demand for vitamin A maize, millet and cowpea seed and grains
• Work with the state coordinators to reduce post-harvest losses via the identification and deployment of proven, culturally appropriate post-harvest loss, processing and food safety solutions;
• Create business opportunities along value chains for young people and women through capacity building, and the creation of support systems via mentoring, access to finance and markets
• Provide specialist, pragmatic, and effective advice to agribusiness clients based on successful value chain development strategies and models that are contextually appropriate to the region.
• Establish effective partnerships with stakeholders, including other development partners, using a range of communication and facilitation skills, to deliver improved efficiency along commodity value chains to clients.
• Engage in knowledge generation (case studies), value chain analysis, policy reviews, and other analytical support service relevant to building competitive commodity value chains and an enabling environment.
• Develop strategic business plans with investment metrics and measures.
• Establish business development needs for businesses, with identified priority areas of involvement that informs development of plans.
• Establish strong working relationships with business owners, policy makers and other stakeholders.
• Establish and implement framework for BDS market diagnostic together with other team members.
• Conduct periodic market intelligence and share gathered information with key stakeholders in the vitamin A maize, iron pearl millet and cowpea value chains.
• Support value chain actors to increase income due to participating in the value chains of climate and nutrition smart crop varieties, disaggregated by sex, category (farmers, seed suppliers, aggregators, processors and retailers) and geography.
• Design and implement strategies that will include farmers, seed suppliers, aggregators, processors and retailers, to access markets for climate and nutrition smart crops and products, disaggregated by VCA category/type, product type and geography.
• Perform any other job-related task as may be assigned by the by the Country
• Manager and headquarters based technical lead.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree 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 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
22nd December, 2022.