Chief of Party - Nigeria at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)

Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium with offices in 16 countries throughout Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

We work with businesses, foundations, governments and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based, agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity and improve access to inputs and credit across 45 countries worldwide.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Chief of Party - Nigeria

Location: Nigeria
Category: International
Job Type: Full-time
Career Level: Senior Director
Travel: Up to 25%
Duration of Assignment: June 2023 through December 2023

Program Description

• The Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity has been strengthening the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment focusing on rice, cowpea, soy, maize and aquaculture value chains.
• The Activity is linking thousands of MSMEs and producer organizations with high-performing commercial actors in the targeted value chain in seven Nigerian States namely: Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Niger.
• The overall objective of the Activity is to measurably improve the agribusiness investment climate, which plays a pivotal role in attracting foreign direct and domestic investment, leading to food security and improved nutrition for all Nigerians.
• To achieve this goal, the Activity focuses on four interrelated components:
  • Improving the enabling environment for agricultural sector growth through legal and regulatory reform;
  • Broadening access to finance by mitigating the credit risks of agribusinesses
  • Promoting and facilitating investment opportunities for agribusinesses to expand and scale up operations; and Sustainably enhancing the performance of agribusiness micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs).
• In line with the U.S. and Nigerian governments’ commitment to growing the non-oil-based economy, these efforts are increasing the depth, breadth, dynamism, and competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.
• Beginning in December 2018 and closing in 2023, this $15.6 million project aims to upgrade and facilitate linkages between small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including producer organizations, and high-performing commercial actors in the target value chains. 
• As a result of streamlined regulations, more effective policies, improved production and processing practices, and increased finance and investment flows, the Activity is enhancing the competitiveness and returns of both large and small scale agricultural enterprises.
• Employing a lead firm approach to promote value chain financing, the Activity has facilitated over $200 million of debt and non-debt financing for more than 16,000 agribusiness MSMEs in Nigeria.
• The target is to achieve $225 million before the end of the Activity in December 2023. 

General Responsibilities

• The Chief of Party will be responsible for the overall management of the Activity and should possess leadership, communication, and management skills necessary to develop, articulate, and implement a closeout vision for the Activity.
• This position is also responsible at this time for the oversight of project close-out including final reporting and financial management activities. The Chief of Party will be responsible for meeting the following objectives:
  • Promotion of smart and efficient policy and regulations within the agricultural finance sector,
  • Mitigation of credit risks of agribusinesses and improvement in the services provided by financial institutions to agribusinesses, and
  • Strengthen the readiness of agribusinesses to access and manage investments.

Duties and responsibilities

• Responsible for the overall management of the program in line with USAID guidelines and within set timelines to achieve objectives.
• Oversees program administration, operations, implementation, and fiscal management to ensure technical and financial activities align with scope and budget allocations, internal policies, and donor regulations.
• Leads the project team to provide effective coordination and guidance among academic institutions, policy actors, local Governments, agribusiness MSMEs, smallholder farmer groups, service providers and other key stakeholders.
• Work closely with private sector actors to help leverage funding to support project implementation.
• Facilitates financial capital raising for investment funds and/or banks (including but not limited to financial capital for the ag sector).
• Represents CNFA with partners and key stakeholders, at conferences, workshops, meetings, and other industry gatherings.
• Oversees marketing and communications activities including completion of written outputs and learning event materials.
• Oversees Activity closeout engagements and dissemination events across the seven focal States and Abuja.
• Secures strategic buy-in from key stakeholders in the agrifinance market system in Nigeria towards sustainability of key Activity models.
• Provides leadership for the implementation of all Activity closeout tasks including personnel demobilization, discharge of contracts of service providers, financial audit and associated obligations, property disposition, and other regulatory requirements of the Nigerian government.
• Manages and oversees all contract management and implementation tasks based on established USG regulations, procedures and CNFA guidelines.

Key Qualifications

• Master's Degree, or higher, in Agriculture, Agronomy, Economics, Business Administration, Political Economy, Public Administration, Public Policy, or related fields is required;
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years of significant international experience and expertise in agricultural development, food security, and/or  private sector engagement to successfully achieve meaningful and sustainable results is required;
• Experience supporting financial capital raising for investment funds and/or banks (including but not limited to financial capital for the agriculture sector)
• Extensive and substantive experience in working with counterparts at various levels of government, as well as with non-government organizations (including private-sector associations and organizations) in managing international development assistance activities is required;
• Meaningful experience in Africa is required, demonstrated knowledge of West Africa and Nigeria is strongly preferred;
• Strong technical expertise in the areas of agriculture, agricultural economics, agricultural finance, and/or agribusiness is required;
• Demonstrated management skills and effective interpersonal skills are required; and;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English is required, knowledge of local languages is an advantage.
• Experience managing closeout phases of donor-funded development programs is desirable.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Nigerian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.
• CNFA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer: It is the policy of CNFA to provide equal employment opportunity to all persons, regardless of age, race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, political affiliation, marital status, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, veteran status, or on the basis of personal favoritism or other non-merit factors, except where otherwise provided by law.
• Reasonable Accomodation & Contact Information: CNFA provides a reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please contact the CNFA Home Office Human Resources Department via email at: [email protected] or via phone at: 202-296-3920 if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job with us.