Value Chain Development Specialist Job 2015

Job Description

Vacancy: The Value Chain Development Specialist Background: The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the Hub) is the U.S. government’s flagship project under the presidential Trade Africa initiative, launched in 2013 to boost trade and investment with and within Africa.

The Hub partners with East African and U.S. businesses to attract investment needed to transform the East African private sector into vibrant global trading partners. 

Improving the region’s trade competitiveness, encouraging the diversification of exports beyond natural resources, and promoting broader, more-inclusive economic growth will lead to more food secure and resilient East African communities.

 

The goal of the Hub is to deepen regional integration, increase the competitiveness of select regional agricultural value chains, promote two-way trade with the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and facilitate investment and technology to drive trade growth intra-regionally and to global markets.

The project pursues these goals through four integrated components:

Investment and technology

Agriculture and agribusiness

Trade promotion and African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

Trade policy and regulatory reform

Objectives and Duties: The Value Chain Development Specialist will provide support to the four components of the Hub program. 

He/ She will report directly to the Director, Agriculture and Agribusiness but will work closely with the other three component Directors.Specific Tasks: The Hub is seeking applications from experienced value chain experts for Value Chain Development Specialist position under its Agriculture and Agribusiness component. Although the Hub component 2 focuses on priority value chains under USAID/East Africa Feed the Future strategy, it will also cover other value chains with potential for investment. Priority value chains under Feed the Future strategy include maize and other grains, beans and legumes, fruits and vegetables, and livestock.

The Hub Agriculture and agribusiness component complements a number of activities and programs that are designed to: support private sector investment in agriculture; assess the legal, regulatory, and institutional agribusiness enabling environment in order to diagnose constraints to economic growth; and build sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity in the region.The specific tasks will include but not limited to the following:

Identify, diagnose, and recommend reforms to agribusiness enabling environment constraints that hinder start-up and growth across priority value chains;

Assist in the provision of direct overall assistance to improve the regulatory management systems, procedures, and institutions at country and regional level, including building networks to advocate and drive reforms;

Identify upgrading needs and key gaps (choke points) where the Hub can have the greatest impact;

Identify lead firms that are likely invest in upgrading activities along the value chain;

Identify capacity building needs for regional actors including private sector actors and evolve competitiveness strategies to be implemented by the Hub.

Participate in the provision of capacity building activities to regional and other private sectors  to support economic impact through the sound implementation East Africa Community (EAC) Common Market instruments;

Support with investment opportunities identification in the priority value chains;

Support with improving agricultural productivity and competitiveness across priority value chains by expanding access to transformational technologies to value chain actors including smallholder farmers;

Support with improvement of services (market information, finance, among others) to selected value chains;

Establish and sustain contacts with key value chain stakeholders: producers, traders and their associations; processors and their associations; actors in the supporting markets; and research/policy associations;

Highlight gender and environmental considerations and actions;

Assist with development of SOW for short term technical assistance (STTA), supervision of consultants and quality assurance of products of STTA; and,

Assist in the provision of technical assistance to improve trading of food staples goods at national and regional level.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

Strongly preferred Master’s degree or equivalent in business administration, marketing, finance, management or related area or equivalent;

At least ten years of relevant experience with developing value chains in developing countries, preferably in Africa;

A good knowledge of international and regional trade, and/or regional integration, preferably in developing countries;

Experience researching trends in end markets, and supporting firms to meet the requirements of end markets, competitors and buyers regionally or internationally;

Experience that has resulted in contacts with key value chain stakeholders: producers, traders, actors in the supporting markets; and research/policy associations;

Demonstrated experience achieving increased competitiveness in the developing country context;

Demonstrated skills for fostering inter-firm collaboration and cooperation between associations, donors, and governments;

Demonstrated experience with promoting cutting edge technologies and methods for increasing firm-level productivity;

Highly desired 3 to 5 years of private sector experience;

Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with institutional and private sector partners and stakeholders in a multi-country setting;

Strong qualitative and quantitative skills;

Excellent English writing and communication skills; and,

Ability to use the latest ICT technology and computer software programs.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should send their CV and a cover letter via email to RecruitmentTIH@eatradehub.org by Sunday, August 02, 2015, 11.59pm East Africa Local time. 

Only candidates who send their information by the deadline will be eligible. 

Please write “Application for “Value Chain Specialist” in the email subject line.