Vacancies in the oil, gas, energy and engineering sector

Monday, October 31, 2011

INTL. FERTILIZER DEVELOPMENT CENTER(IFDC) TUESDAY Guardian Newspaper 25, OCTOBER 2011

CLUSTER ADVISOR

The cluster advisor is responsible for the coordination and implementation of 2SCALE activities in the country where s/he will be posted. S/he will be on the frontline in leading the identification of profitable agricultural market opportunities and facilitating the development of sustainable agribusiness clusters.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Identify agribusiness opportunities and champions through networking, communication and market analyses. Contribute significantly to the selection of business ideas, within the country of assignment.
Facilitate strategy development and decision-making related to the project (e.g, selection of target products, markets, regions, decision to stop support to clusters).
Set up a national advisory committee and ensure its collaboration with the project in an efficient and smooth way, so that it adds value to project implementation.
Support cluster stakeholders to develop multi-annual agribusiness plans that include an exit strategy, and update them yearly.
In close collaboration with other project staff in the division, implement activities as formulated in the work plan, including but not limited to.
Assistance to entrepreneurs in developing bankable business plans and in submitting them to financial institutions.
Facilitation of up-or downstream linkages between agribusiness clusters and national, regional and multinational agro-companies.
Facilitation of pro-active networking among agribusiness cluster actors and other stakeholders.
Analysis of markets, cluster performance, and recommendations to improve this performance.
Training of targeted business support service providers on relevant issues related to agribusiness cluster formation and commodity chain development.
Preparation and monitoring of contract agreements with sub contractors and partner institutions.
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Identification, promotion and dissemination of innovative technology practices and business models at all levels of the value chain.
Facilitation of learning among cluster stakeholders, implementation of learning plot activities (e.g, soil fertility management practices), and contribution to the development of learning networks.
Ensure gender and environmental considerations are included in all project activities.
Write and submit quality progress and other technical reports or notes with a strict respect of deadlines.
Document lessons learnt, share them in report and integrate them into subsequent project activities.
Supervise the cluster assistant(s) in the country of post.
Collaborate with the communications specialist, management team and other colleagues as needed to develop outreach material.
Develop synergies with other IFDC projects/initiatives and with other programs in the country.
Develop and ensure good working relationship with the key regional and national partner organizations including local authorities.
Represents the project at relevant national events.
Any other assignment that project management deems necessary for the success of the project.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Masters’ degree in an agricultural, economics or business field, with at least 5 years of relevant professional experience (or bachelors’ degree with at least 8 years of experience). An experience in a private agro-company or a private sector association would be an important advantage.
Entrepreneurial and business-minded.
Up-to-date knowledge of national agricultural business environment, of key barriers to value chain development and innovative technologies, practices and business models. Knowledge of competitive agricultural systems enterprises (CASE) approach is a plus.
Ability to communicate effectively in a participatory way with stakeholders of diverse interests and at all levels ( from farmers to high officials), from both public and private sectors.
Strong skills in organizing and facilitating training programs or workshops.
Team player, able to work in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment.
Ability to write quality reports in French or English and respect deadlines.
Fluent in French or English, and proficient in the other language. Proficiency in local African languages is a plus.
Willingness to travel extensively (up to 50% of the time) and in difficult conditions in the country of assignment and in the region.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES:
Please read this carefully. Failure to comply will adversely affect your application
Interested applicants are kindly requested to send their application in the form of one page letter and current CV describing their experience, qualifications and 3 references by email addressed to the National administration and Finance officer
The interview will consist of a panel interview, a test in French and eventually a PowerPoint presentation on the topic to be communicated to them in advance.
Application is by email only to ifdcnigeria@ifdc.org

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