Jobs at Agribusiness Lead

Job Title:Agribusiness Lead

TechnoServe (TNS) is a non-profit international development organization founded in 1968. Its mission is to help entrepreneurial men and women break the cycle of poverty by building businesses that create jobs, income, and economic opportunities for their families, their communities, and their countries. TechnoServe undertakes targeted, catalytic technical assistance and other programming to increase the competitiveness of entrepreneurs, businesses and industries that in-turn provide sustainable employment, inclusion of the poor and increased incomes. A substantial portion of our work is in agriculture, enhancing farm productivity and commodity quality and addressing gaps in processing and other agribusiness capacities. Our programs increase smallholder access to new technologies, aggregation and storage mechanisms, markets, critical information and finance. TechnoServe also undertakes structured programs to identify and support high potential entrepreneurs in various sectors through leadership mentoring networks, formalization support, access to capital and development of sustainable business services such as accounting, finance, marketing and human resource management.

About DFID Program:

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) is financing a new, four- year agriculture/ agribusiness program for Northern Uganda that seeks to improve the incomes of hundreds of thousands of Northern Ugandan farmers using a Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach. M4P aims to accelerate pro-poor growth by making markets function better and with greater fairness for poor men and women. It addresses the behavior of the private sector through a combination of changes to government policies and support to development of new business models that are more inclusive of the poor and seeks to reinforce and strengthen market systems. Climate smart agriculture and agribusiness and women will be prioritized.

Job Summary: The Agribusiness Lead will steer and manage the Programs relationship with multiple agribusinesses, mostly agri-processors, which are primarily but not only located in the North of the country. S/he will build and grow partnerships with these entities, help them analyze and address the opportunities and challenges they face in the market, strengthen market strategy and execute those strategies, with the aim of increasing growth and improving performance, while at the same time benefitting smallholder producers in the North. S/he will be working closely with the agribusinesses on a day-to-day basis and facilitating any additional support to be provided by third parties. The incumbent will be performing regular work planning and reporting will be required. S/he will also lead and supervise a team of colleagues. The jobholder will also coordinate project activities with our partners, manage technical inputs and identify strategies to effective execution of the project objectives.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

The ideal candidates for the aforementioned DFID Project job should possess an MA degree or equivalent in Business, Finance, Economics, Agricultural Economics or other business related fields
Five or more years’ experience in M4P and/or value-chain projects in agricultural / rural markets, ideally with strong northern Uganda experience
The applicant must hold a certificate of completion from the Springfield Centres
“Making Markets Work for the Poor” training course
Past exposure and experience in relevant agricultural market systems and/or in relevant support markets (e.g. inputs, agri-processing/marketing, storage etc.) as well as basic understanding of production
Previous experience working with agri-businesses; private sector
Significant experience related to climate change, gender mainstreaming/ women’s economic empowerment, and/or rural access to finance
Demonstrated knowledge of business and ability to write a business case about an economic opportunity; strong business acumen
Exceptional presentation and communication skills
Demonstrated capability of effectively managing teams
Excellent analytical abilities including the ability to assimilate complex information, identify and prioritize key issues and assist the client to identify practical solutions
Fluent in English as well as in Langi or Acholi; Kiswahili is an added advantage.

How to apply for the job:

If you are interested and you meet the aforementioned job requirements, please apply via E-mail to the HR and Administration Manager at; UG-jobs@tns.org with the position title placed in the subject line and on the application letter. Please strictly send only your application letter and resume with names and telephone contacts of three professional referees.

Deadline: Friday, 1st August 2014

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