POSITION : Crop Delivery Officer

Requirements

• A Master's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Agriculture, International Development or related discipline with at least Four (4) years’ work experience in activities related to agricultural commodities and rural development
• Proven knowledge of agricultural value chain players (especially cassava, maize, millet, sorghum, rice) and support service institutions in Nigeria
• Good understanding and interest in how markets and value chains work
• Strong project management expertise, exposure to implementing technical assistance projects, and ability to bring together sector stakeholders
• High degree of motivation, initiative, independence, reliability, adaptability, and professional maturity
• Strong commitment to gender sensitive, pro-poor development work and an ability to work in a multi-disciplinary and multi-national team
• Strong interpersonal/people management skills and excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent problem solving, analytical skills, networking and relationship-building skills
• Good working experience with DFID, BMGF and USAID funded programs
• Experience in working in Northern Nigeria and fluency in Hausa language are added advantage

Responsibilities:

Technical Oversight:

• Develop intervention strategies and implementation procedures in a participatory manner with key stakeholders
• Formulate strategies to develop service markets in commodity chains/rural markets and seek opportunities to work as per sector strategy
• Lead the effort to conduct desk research of existing information and produce a detailed market and stakeholder analysis that broadly defines the impact, demand and feasibility for a range of possible interventions
• Define in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and potential partner organisations the scope of implementation activities and where applicable negotiates a formal agreement
• Formulate strategic and technical direction for the delivery of biofortified seed in Northern Nigeria and other participating West African countries
• Establish, maintain and strengthen relationships for mainstreaming of biofortified crops in ongoing programmes with collaborating partners, which includes development partners/INGO’s, government officials and the private sector
• Provide programmatic and technical expertise to partner organisations including commercial companies in the development of viable biofort agribusiness clusters
• Take part in facilitating and managing the work of partners, facilitators and service providers ensuring value for money for the tasks given
• Undertake regular field visits to ensure proper implementation of activities in line with programme objectives and goals
• Represent the programme in events, meetings as assigned, displaying courtesy, tact, consideration and discretion in all interactions with partners, other members of the programme, and with the public

Seed Systems:

• Liaise with seed companies licensed to produce and sell biofortified seeds. Collaborate with the Regional Seed System Specialist in the bulking of parent seeds/lines of leads entered for National Variety Trials
• Set up trials to monitor and ensure certified seed purity and viability
• Work with partners and technically support the laying out of demonstration plots and conduct field days to promote biofortified maize in Nigeria
• Build capacities of both private and public-sector partners in the seed system (including small/medium scale seed companies, CBOs and NGOs) through development of training modules for seed production, seed multiplication, seed business management and marketing
• Provide technical expertise for HarvestPlus Nigeria and other West African projects in promoting community based seed entrepreneurship in their respective countries
• Plan, organise and implement seed production and commercialization plans, including in-bred lines maintenance, production of breeders, pre-basic and basic seeds of parental lines for increased commercial seed production
• Facilitate the commercial production of biofortified seed by licensed seed companies
• Inspect fields under production by seed companies to ensure adherence to certification standards
• Engage with private sector and community based seed producers in developing a sustainable market for seed and monitor the production of high quality seeds for production

Market creation/linkages, delivery and promotion:

• Build capacities of partner companies and organisations on contract farming/out-grower management and aggregation/off-take of biofortified crops
• Provide technical content and support the development of training materials on Good Agronomic Practices including pest management, extension training delivery, post-harvest handling and processing, to support value chain actors
• Establish and manage model villages to become evidence based villages for biofortification
• Define and analyse systems that are of major importance in developing the markets for biofortified seeds, crops and foods
• Identify the value chain and core transactions, key rules & supporting functions, and assess key constraints
• Monitor biofortified crops and food value chains to identify market failures and pressure points, and ways to make the chain more functional and efficient
• Facilitate the establishment and strengthening of seed sales outlets to ensure increased farmer access to biofortified seeds
• Create and strengthen market linkages for biofortified crops and foods; bridge the gap between demand and supply; promote the availability, accessibility and affordability of biofortified crops and foods

Value Chain monitoring and Data Collection:

• Work with the MELA Specialist to regularly review scope and targets for operational planning in alignment with the program Theory of Change (ToC), monitoring framework, results pathway and indicators
• Participate in results measurements including baseline studies, periodic evaluative studies and impact assessments
• Continually monitor and evaluate intervention activities - inputs and outputs, taking actions to correct course as necessary, and produce activity reports that supports decision making
• Perform other duties assigned by the Country Manager.
• Carry out regular assessment of biofortified crops and foods value chain including market development opportunities, market prices, demand and supply interactions
• Work with the MELA Specialist to design and implement a robust data collection plan covering all value chain activities and actors including monitoring of market price, product quality, demand and supply linkages and differentials

Remuneration :  Competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.