Associate program officer ,Agribusiness & extension (Rwandan nationals only)

About AGRA

Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.

AGRA is rolling out a new 5-year strategy to catalyze and sustain an Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farmers. Under this strategy, AGRA will deliver through an approach that simultaneously catalyzes change at farmer level, strengthens input and output market systems and puts government at the center to enable and champion private-sector-led agricultural growth at national level.

To support this transformation from a country perspective, AGRA is seeking to recruit an experienced and exceptional individual to the role of Associate Program Officer, Agribusiness & Extension.

The position is only open to Rwanda nationals and will be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Position

Reporting to the Country Manager, Rwanda, the Associate Program Officer (Agribusiness and Extension) will support the development of the businesses of SMEs operating along the entire value chain for agricultural inputs. He/She will also provide leadership in extension/advisory services with respect to good agricultural practices, good post-harvest handling and introduction of other appropriate technologies for the development of private led agricultural input subsector. He/She will also undertake the design and implementation of capacity building for implementing partners as well as value chain actors. He/she will support the Country Manager in the coordination and representation role, particularly as concerns relations with the private sector and government extension personnel.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide support and guidance to the development of the capacity of implementing partners to identify sustainable agro-based economic opportunities and understand and implement a demand-driven, commercialisation approach to rural development based on access to markets.
• Provide technical capacity to private sector companies involved in seed development to improve their understanding of business-related concepts such as: factors of production; costs of production; quality control/market standards; opportunity cost; gross margin and profit analysis; return on investment; credit/budgeting; and risk.
• Contribute to the development of an M&E system to measure profitability and relevant business indicators of targeted seeds companies.
• Assist the Implementing Partners to establish linkages with private sector service providers and buyers for accessing new farm and non-farm enterprise opportunities and in the negotiation of market contracts and MOUs with selected private sector partners.
• Assist in the facilitation of linkages with local agencies for accessing new non-farm enterprises opportunities.
• Maintain working relations with relevant government line ministries and private sector/research institutions to coordinate the adoption of new seed varieties and approaches in agriculture development and marketing.
• Support formulation of projects that strengthen agricultural/rural extension and provide technical assistance in capacity development of agriculture innovation systems.
• Contribute to the promotion of extension/advisory services relating to the seed sector and agribusiness opportunities.
• Maintain networks of collaboration with technical specialists to gather information and promote awareness of technical issues to improve extension systems and advisory.
• Capacity development with special attention to demand led and market-oriented, and participatory approaches that meet the diverse needs of smallholder farmers.
• Provide support in the organization and delivery of technical workshops, consultations, seminars and training sessions on conceptual and practical aspects of extension and rural knowledge institution improvements.
• Design a strategy to strengthen linkages between civil society organisations, government representatives and the private sector.
• Provide technical support in the establishment of a marketing database to keep farmers, consumers and buyers informed of the prevailing market prices of various agro-industrial products and commodities.

Key Qualifications and Experience required:

• Master’s degree in agricultural economics, marketing or business administration, or related field.
• 5-7 years’ experience in agro-business development, preferably in seed farm planning and economic analysis.
• Demonstrated capacity to work with private sector players (financial institutions, exporters, buyers, traders, transporters, input suppliers or processors).
• Familiarity with commonly used tools for market analysis and program design such as sub-sector analysis, gross margin analysis and business planning.
• Experience with community-based programming.
• Extent of knowledge of and experience in advisory capacity in the fields of agriculture extension/advisory services and agriculture innovation systems and services.
• Experience in small to medium scale agro-enterprise management and seeds sector management.
• Experience with externally funded development programmers would be desirable, preferably with experience in market-oriented projects.
• Experience in dealing with local NGOs, government ministries, and development partners preferably in Rwanda Context.

An attractive remuneration package commensurate with the responsibilities of the position will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV (including your e-mail and telephone contacts) to recruit@agra.org. Please quote the job reference number in the subject line of the application e-mail.

To be considered, applications must be received by 16^th November, 2018.

For more information on AGRA, applicants can visit www.agra.org

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer