Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.

Under its 5-year strategy, AGRA looks to catalyze and sustain an Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farmers. Under this strategy, AGRA will deliver through an approach that simultaneously catalyzes change at farmer level, strengthens input and output market systems and puts government at the center to enable and champion private-sector-led agricultural growth at national level.

One key program within AGRA’s strategy focuses on promoting regional food trade and food markets through policy predictability and market systems development across AGRA’s 11 priority countries in East, West, and Southern Africa. Future climate change and natural resource constraints will be elements to consider in securing regional food trade and sustainable markets.

To support the successful delivery of this programmatic focus within AGRA’s overall a Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), AGRA is seeking to recruit an experienced and exceptional individual to the role of Regional Program Officer, Food Trade, West Africa.

Job Title: Regional Program Officer – Food Trade – Job Reference: RFT/POWA/07/2020

Role Summary:

The Regional Program Officer is an exciting position within AGRA’s new Africa Food Trade and Resilience Initiative.

The Africa Food Trade and Resilience Initiative will include two primary strategic components:

• working with Government, business and civil society to stimulate Africa-specific solutions to improve the transparency and predictability of Governments’ interventions to unlock investment and regional trade;
• working directly with private companies that source, process, and trade food in the region, to maximize investment, coordination and benefits to smallholder farmers.

In each component, AGRA will collaborate closely with strategic partners who have major programs in these areas, as well as work to identify and support relevant strategic regional initiatives, with a view to maximize learning, coordination and impact. The initiative will be expected to fully integrate resilience at all levels, including working with policy makers to integrate climate resilience considerations in their agriculture policies and interventions.

The Regional Program Officer position supports the programming, policy, markets and resilience functions of the program in West Africa.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide technical assistance and backstopping to governments through ministries of agriculture and trade to diagnose and assess, prioritize and reform policies, laws, regulations and administrative practices that constrain intra-regional trade.
• Identify and monitor key trade/market trends and contextual dynamics which inform issues of regional food trade policies and initiatives in and AGRA focus countries and Africa;
• Provide technical support in developing regional food value chains and market systems that expand market opportunities for farmers and strengthen market transparency and efficiency.
• Support country managers in messaging and engaging with relevant government ministries, departments, and agencies on topics of regional market systems development and agricultural growth pathways.
• Support creation and/or strengthening of integrated institutional frameworks and mechanisms for building in resilience in regional food systems movement from farm to fork.
• Utilize the latest evidence on climate smart agriculture practices, climate modeling, future climate risks to improve the resilience of agriculture food systems.
• Assist in collecting and sharing data for the program’s Food Security Monitor.
• Assist country teams in development of grant proposals in the areas of policy predictability, markets shaping and resilience with respect to food trade.
• Provide technical assistance to grantees and assist in monitoring progress of implementation of Food Trade and Resilience Program grants.
• Supports the development of quarterly and annual reports and other reports, as needed, in compliance with the requirements of DFID and other partners; as well as provide regular verbal and written updates and briefings on program operations, achievements, and problems to the Head, Regional Food Trade and other program staff.
• Representing the program where necessary.

Qualification Required & Experience

Academic, Professional Qualifications and Relevant experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, or in a relevant discipline. A master’s degree will be an added advantage;
• At least five (5) years of experience on agricultural development, food trade and markets, economic policy and resilience/climate smart agriculture;
• Demonstrated understanding of Africa’s policy and political economy landscape as it relates to intra-regional food market and food trade;
• Deep knowledge of regional food trade and market systems development and the demonstrated ability to catalyze change in addressing market challenges;
• Possesses a good understanding of agriculture market development efforts in public, private and donor sectors in Africa;
• Demonstrated ability to make a major contribution to the direction of AGRA’s Regional Food Trade Program strategy and to deliver its goals and objectives;
• Demonstrable ability to work in complex work dynamics and challenges. Able to adapt rapidity to new technical areas;
• Ability to develop sound project reports that can be understood by a wider stakeholder audience;
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, problem solving, programming and decision-making skills;
• Good team working skills;
• Ability to process multiple tasks at once; and with exceptional attention to detail;
• A desire to keep ahead of new and evolving discourse around policies in agriculture as well as food trade and market trends and resilience;
• Ability to move from program concept to on-the-ground reality in line with AGRA’s mission;
• Good command of English required and a working knowledge of French would be an additional advantage;
• Ability to travel up to 25% – 35% domestically and internationally to engage with AGRA teams and government units in AGRA’s focus countries.

An attractive remuneration package commensurate with this position’s responsibility will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV including your e-mail address and telephone contacts to:

recruit@agra.org noting to quote the job reference number in the subject of your email

Closing Date: 10 August, 2020

For more information on AGRA, applicants can visit www.agra.org

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer