Cashew Production Advisor at the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Agency for International Cooperation) is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries.

In Nigeria, GIZ's portfolio includes among others, a programme to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in its regional integration goals. The programme aims to strengthen sector-specific capacities in the areas of Peace and Security, Customs and Trade as weir as Strategic Management and Organizational Development in the ECOWAS Commission.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Cashew Production Advisor

Vacancy No: 018
Location: Lagos
Organization: GIZ Nigeria, Market Oriented Value Chains for Job and Growth in ECOWAS - MOVE programme (MOVE)

GIZ. Solutions that Work

• As a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, we are dedicated to shaping a future worth living around the world.
• GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security. The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe - from the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector, and governments of other countries.
• We work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity.
• Our main commissioning party is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The registered offices of GIZ are in Bonn and Eschborn. Our approximately 23,500 employees, almost 70 percent of whom are national personnel, work in a round 120 countries (July 2020)
• GIZ has worked in Nigeria since 1974. From 2004, GIZ has maintained a country office in the capital city Abuja. Currently 361 national and 66 international employees, 19 regional staff, 4 integrated specialists and 3 development workers are working in the country (June 2020).

Market Oriented Value Chains for Job and Growth in ECOWAS - MOVE Programme

• With global and regional demand constantly rising, the cashew and rice production and processing offer important potential for training, employment, and wealth creation in the ECOWAS region. This can be achieved through private sector development, economic empowerment of women and youth and supporting the efforts at minimizing the impact of climate change.
• On behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the Market Oriented.
• Value Chains for Job and Growth in ECOWAS - MOVE programme. The aim of the project is to promote market-oriented and future-proof value chains that contribute to income and employment generation in the ECOWAS region. With the merger of the Competitive Cashew Initiative (ComCashew), and Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI), the focus will be put on the cashew and rice value chains. We aim to ensure long-term, sustainable results and competitiveness in West African region.
• MOVE project has kicked off in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. The overarching strategy of implementation is built on making value chains more resilient, collaborating with large companies and SMEs, integrating Gender Transformative Approaches (GTA), developing a more conducive local/regional business climate, and then scaling for achieving broad impact in ECOWAS. We want to support inclusive development through the following activities:
• Increasing the level of value creation within West Africa through strengthened private sector engagement.
• Improving the economic and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems using good agricultural production (GAP) for sustainable production in a climate-resilient, resource-conserving agriculture and carbon sequestration.
• Increasing local consumption of rice and cashew products through marketing initiatives and by-products.
• Youth and gender inclusion: Developing and sharing good examples of inclusive business models and human capacity building by integrating gender responsive and gender transformative approaches (GTA) and information technology (IT) knowledge.
• Policy advice: Consolidating public-private cooperation in policymaking to reduce regional trade barriers and to support social transformation in the ECOWAS region, like ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO), the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC), African Cashew Alliance (ACA)
• Promoting value creation within West Africa through strengthened private sector engagement
• The business linkages in general have insufficient supply chain management, inefficient logistics systems and high post-harvest losses. Moreover, the poor performance of the markets and the agribusiness climate are hindering private sector investments, specifically the weak (political) legislation and regional harmonization, poor condition of rural service infrastructures, utilities/storage and infrastructure as well as regional and national implementation capacities.
• Financing is a vital factor but largely not accessible for all actors along the value chain - especially for women. There are also inadequate or unavailable operational and business development services (BDS), which would take into account and promote women in decision- making processes and levels.
• We combine two value chains, rice and cashew, in order to increase local and regional market competitiveness, add value to the production and processing create jobs and foster local consumption. Hereby the private sector is the central focus of our project because with the Matching Fund Approach, we build the entry point for MOVE's interventions.

Responsibilities and Tasks
Responsibilities:

• The Cashew Production Advisor will be responsible for the implementation of production related activities in the cashew value chain for the MOVE programme in Nigeria.
• A particular focus will be on-the-ground implementation of production related activities in collaboration with private and public partners.
• Substantial field travel across project areas is expected.

The Cashew Production Advisor is a professional responsible for:

• Supporting programme initiatives to provide professional
• advisory services to and cooperate with a broad range of target groups (i.e., farmers, processors, input distributors, aggregators, etc.)
• Technical and financial planning, coordinating, implementing, and monitoring of project activities
• Managing partners and stakeholders in the implementation of projects funded under the private sector development mechanism
• Managing innovation and implementation knowledge by disseminating and documenting know-how, experience, and information
• Coordinating and networking with relevant stakeholder in the sectors.
• Regular project reporting.

Tasks:
Tasks related to Operations:

In collaboration with other members of the technical team, translates the responsibilities above autonomously and efficiently into action in line with planned targets. These comprise the following tasks:

• Supports the needs-oriented identification in the cashew production systems, offering innovative technologies, products, and services contributing to climate adaptation and resilience building
• Provide technical advice on climate smart practices in the cashew value chains and support to implementing partners Preparation and implementation of operational plans and budgets for effective engagements with private and public
• partners, beneficiaries, and stakeholders with the view to ensuring that all parties work together seamlessly to deliver the programme objectives
• Development and implementation of advisory services models that will deliver appropriate value chain-wide technical support (i.e., production system innovations, climate-smart technologies,
• mechanization services, etc.); and entrepreneurial capacities support (i.e., linkages with financial services and input & output markets, diversification, service provision etc.) for beneficiaries Ensure quality of all aspects of implementation with a focus on supervision of project activities and reporting
• Working closely with private partners (processors, input suppliers/aggregators) to further develop and implement the existing out grower model to integrate smallholder farmers Preparation and negotiation of memoranda of understanding, agreements of contracts on project implementation and collaborative ties with private companies, stakeholders, and resource person with a focus of building market-oriented and resilient cashew value chains
• Establish and maintain collaborative ties with private partners, stakeholders, and delegations from different backgrounds Design and support the implementation of specific studies Country specific contributions to monitoring, reporting and evaluation of project activities
• Synthesize achievements and conceptualize project approaches for institutions in the sectors.

Other Duties /Additional Tasks:
The position holder:

• Provides all documentation related to project activities for accounting in line with requirements from co-financing partners
• Present and support the concepts and experiences of the program during national and international events Preparation, moderation and documentation of meetings and workshops and the organization of field trips as requested Receive and accompany consultants and visitors Coordinate the work of consultants / resource persons
• Any other instructions given in furtherance of project operations and management.

Required Qualifications, Competences and Experience
Qualifications:

• University First Degree / Further Studies in Agriculture with specialization in Agronomy, Agricultural Science, Extension, or related field.
• Additional training in the areas of climate-smart agriculture, value chain development approach, cooperatives/social entrepreneurship, non-governmental organization (NGO) administration, business development services, agricultural mechanization, and knowledge of ICT will be an advantage.

Professional Experience:

• At least five (5) years in a comparable position, experience in conservation agriculture/ agricultural value chain development / sustainable agriculture agricultural consulting & advisory services / farmer training / private sector development / cooperation management / policy advocacy / partnership brokering substantiated by corresponding references
• Working experience with/ for agro-industries, or development partners
• Experience working in collaboration with private sector actors (companies, associations, traders) and research institution.

Desired Additional Qualifications, Competencies and Experiences:

• Knowledge about climate smart practices along the agricultural value chain (cashew specific knowledge is an asset).
• Demonstrated ability to design, manage and implement value chain, agricultural financial services, agribusiness development support activities, farmer organization & training, financial grant services, policy & advocacy support activities in agriculture/agribusiness, use of ICT in agriculture/ agribusiness etc.
• Knowledge of agri-food support polices for Nigeria and of corresponding markets; local knowledge of pilot project areas will be an advantage.
• Capacity for analysis and constructive evaluation combined with the ability to translate evaluation of findings to beneficiaries in optimization of curricula and implementation.
• Facilitates discussion and workshops (preparation, implementation, and documentation).
• Presentation techniques and concepts for the marketing of project achievements.
• Very good computer skills in contemporary MS office (Word Excel PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Previous experience in working with private sector and/or international development organizations is an advantage.
• Clear and diplomatic communication (oral and written).
• Ability to communicate adequately with interdisciplinary / multi-institutional teams (units / research organizations, NGOs and Governmental agencies, farmers, their organizations, and donors).
• Team worker and constructive attitude in case of difficulties or conflicts.
• Capacity of reflection of own work and willingness to learn.
• Developed attitude and awareness of service delivery.

Salary
According to GIZ salary scale for Band 4.

Application Closing Date
17th March, 2023.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV and Letter of Motivation as one document with complete contact details to: [email protected] using the Job Title and Vacancy No. as the subject of the email.

Note

• Please include Vacancy No. 018 in the mail subject.
• GIZ is an equal opportunities employer committed to diversity. All qualified candidates, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, race, and religion are encouraged to apply.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.