Technical Advisor for Economic Development & Market Engagement
Position Location:Kenya, Tanzania, Mali Or Ghana
Description
CARE is seeking an experienced Technical Advisor - Economic Development and Market Engagement to work within CARE USA’s Food and Livelihoods Justice unit - in the Program, Partnership, Learning and Advocacy (PPLA) Division - towards the PPLA mandate, to generate, harvest, cross fertilize and promote the application of knowledge and learning throughout CARE for programming, advocacy, partnerships and fundraising.
The Economic Development Unit (EDU) has developed a 7-year strategy aiming at empowering women and girls in agriculture and other high value chain to walk their way out of poverty and achieve their food and nutrition security.
Launched in November 2011 and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PATHWAYS is a multi-country program which represents one of the flagship initiatives under the leadership of the EDU.
Pathways seek to empower poor women small-holder farmers
and to increase their productivity and income through more equitable
agricultural systems at scale. Countries involved in PATHWAYS are Bangladesh,
India, Malawi, Tanzania, Mali and Ghana.
It is CARE’s intent to grow PATHWAYS as a critical and strategic
programming platform for CARE’s work related to women’s empowerment,
agriculture and food and livelihoods justice globally.
The EDU provides support to other flagship initiatives such as the Dairy Value Chain initiative in Bangladesh, the Cargill funded cocoa value chain in Ghana and Brazil, and has a number of other priorities such as a resource hub development, learning and knowledge sharing, positioning and influencing, etc.
Approximately, 75% of the Technical Advisor time will be devoted to the PATHWAYS Program in Africa and the remaining will be devoted to other EDU and FU priorities and projects.
The Technical Advisor will work very closely with the Economic Development Unit Team, the PATWAYS Program Team Leader and other key internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the PATHWAYS multi-country program is able to effectively implement all aspects of economic development, market engagement and value chain development and to the highest quality possible.
In support of that vision the TA Economic Development and Market Engagement will regularly and intensively support to the PATHWAYS African country-level implementation teams in a number of key areas including but not limited to:
- Conducting
training, mentoring and capacity building of country-level implementation
team on value chain development and market engagement in a way that
contributes to achieving the overall goal of Pathways and its learning
agenda
- Coordinating
market research and analysis for identified value chains
- Supporting
input products and services development and output market linkages
- Supporting
development of appropriate value chain I supply chain finance products
& farm level P&Ls
- Supporting
development of partnerships, innovative tools and approaches for
replication /Scale-up
- Intensive
technical assistance, ensuring integration of activities, review of
progress reports, Learning
The remaining 25% of the time of the Technical Advisor will be
spent on key other priorities of the EDU and FU such as the technical resource
hub, documentation of learning and knowledge sharing, research and development,
as well as fundraising and direct technical support to a number of discrete
projects and initiatives.
Responsibilities:
- Conducting
Training, Mentoring and Capacity Building of Relevant Staff in the
PATHWAYS Country-Level Implementation Teams
- Supporting
PATHWAYS Country-Level Implementation Teams to Develop Input Products and
Services and Output Market Linkages.
- Supporting
PATHWAYS Country-Level Implementation Teams to Develop Appropriate Value
Chain/Supply Chain Finance Products & Farm-Level P&Ls for Women
Small-holder Farmers & Women-Owned Agri-Businesses
- Supporting
PATHWAYS Country-Level Implementation Teams to Establish Partnerships
within and outside CARE
- Providing
Regular and Effective Technical Assistance to PATHWAYS Country-Level
Implementation Teams
- Support
other on-going EDU projects and initiatives on and ad-hoc basis
Required:
- 5+
years experience in economic and agriculture value chain development in an
emerging economy context,
- 5+
years experience working with an INGO or other large complex
development-oriented organizations.
- 5+
years experience providing technical assistance to and/or managing
development projects, donor initiatives.
- Training
design and implementation experience for adult learners and mid-level
professionals
- Demonstrated
experience in analytical research methods - both quantitative and
qualitative
- Overseas
work experience in Africa
- Experience
building collaboration across and working with multi-sectoral and
multi-cultural teams to drive results
- Excellent
partnership brokering, coordination and facilitation experience
- Strong
and demonstrated technical experience and expertise in agriculture value
chain development, economic development and agriculture/agri-business
- Strong
and demonstrated experience in training and mentoring of adult learners
and midlevel professionals
- Strong
experience in Gender Equity and Diversity and working with diverse and
geographically separated team
- Excellent
facilitation and partnership brokering and stewardship skills
- Project
Planning and Management
- Strategic
Planning
- Strong
Analytical skills - both quantitative and qualitative
- Strong
interpersonal and motivation skills
- Process-
and systems-oriented
- Ability
to effectively manage multiple priorities (multi-tasking) and drive
results in a timely manner
- Strong
analytical, processes- and systems-orientation.
- Critical
thinking and logical reasoning skills
- Problem-solving
and lateral thinking skills
- Appreciates
and comfortable with complexity and complex tasks
- Excellent
verbal and written English skills, particularly communication and
presentation skill for diverse audiences including conducting training
events for adults and professional
- Knowledge
of word processing, spreadsheet software, and some data processing
Desired:
- Some
experience in microfinance and /or value chain finance
- Overseas
work experience in South Asia
- French
language proficiency
Mode of Application
- Applications
must be received by CARE by May 25,2012.
