AfDB’s mission is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries (RMCs).

Responsibilities

• Develop coherent programmatic approaches in line with AfDB’s agenda based on identified needs, priorities and requests of regional member countries
• Formulate public and private investment proposals in agriculture value chain development and promote an enabling environment by the public sector for private sector investment and involvement in agriculture (agro-industrial parks)
• Carry out technical, economic and sector analysis that will guide and support both public and private sector investments in agriculture (agricultural policy)
• Design technical pathways, estimate funding requirements and propose governance models that will strengthen the performance of agricultural value chains from input supply, agricultural production, harvesting, transportation, storage, marketing and distribution (including export) for greater value addition, improved quality, reduced postharvest losses and reliability of product supply to consumers
• Design and recommend technical services to increase the quality and sustainability of agricultural infrastructure projects intended to scale up production, processing and post-harvest handling of agricultural commodities
• Assess the requirements for hard infrastructure (energy, water, transport, logistics, information, communication technology and soft infrastructure (knowledge basis, quality management systems, organisational systems) in projects within the overall bank infrastructure pipeline as well as with outside partners
• Carry out technical and economic feasibility studies on initiatives proposed for the strengthening and expansion of agricultural value chains, including market centres, warehouses, cold and dry storage facilities, feeder roads, etc
• Contribute to the establishment of an Africa-wide policy matrix detailing the five groups of key policy changes required to enable the transformation sought by the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA)
• Participate in initiatives and programmes to increase women and youth employment and enhance skills in agribusiness and agripreneurship by providing appropriate technical content

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness/Agriculture, Agro Industry or a related field
• Possession of a doctorate degree (PhD) will be an advantage
• Six years, minimum, of experience in agro-industry development, post-harvest losses reduction, linkage with the private sector, project formulation, preparation, appraisal and management, with broad interest in agriculture and water management issues
• Experience in the bank/multilateral development institutions will be an advantage
• Experienced working in teams within professional and organisational matters
• Experience in most regional member countries including states in transition
• Proficiency in the use of COSTABLE in financial analysis
• Knowledge of agricultural commodity value chains, especially in target commodities/operations promoted in the feed Africa strategy
• Knowledge of industrial good manufacturing practices (GMP) and key quality issues in an industrial setup
• Knowledge of MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project)
• Knowledge of SAP will be an advantage
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French

To apply and for more information, click here.

Photo source: Amref Health Africa