Abt Associates is recruiting to fill the following positions:

1.) Agronomist/Horticulturalist Consultant
2.) Post-Harvest Handling Specialist– Consultant

See job details and how to apply below.

1.) Agronomist/Horticulturalist Consultant

Job Description

Abt Associates seeks a qualified candidate to serve on a team of technical specialists that will assist MCC with the project design of the Sierra Leone Compact. While the proposed compact is focused on power, MCC and the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) are proposing an activity to enable the productive use of power within agricultural value chains, especially downstream post-harvest in processing, milling, and storage. The goal is to obtain maximum benefits from the proposed energy investment to catalyze inclusive, job-creating private sector growth to reduce food insecurity in Sierra Leone. The consultant will contribute to deliverables that inform how MCC and the GoSL can attract, competitively and transparently select, and facilitate private sector investment that will utilize the power investment and associated goods funded by the compact program. To inform these investments, the consultant will examine local, regional, and international market opportunities for Sierra Leone-grown products in key value chains. The goal is to validate the assumption that growth within the Sierra Leone agricultural economy enhanced by power and related investments can be reasonably accommodated within these markets. This market analysis should incorporate both short- and long-term variables, including these that may arise from fundamental commodity market trends and climate change issues.




RESPONSIBILITIES:

The consultant will lead the execution of the following tasks:

• Contributes to recommendation of 10-15 crops with potential for smallholders to produce successfully and sustainably.
• Identifies value chains with the potential to increase production, reduce food insecurity, boost on/off-farm income and employment, and catalyze private sector growth with expanded access to energy and productive agricultural investments.
• Prepares and presents detailed analysis on production costs and yields for each potential commodity and compares against imports.
• Examines production inputs and their supply and quality/availability.
• Coordinates with Market Linkages Specialist to analyze value chain actors’ capacity to comply with regulations and standards.
• Contributes to institutional review of extension services, farmer/producer cooperatives and trade associations and their ability to support production aspects of chosen crops.
• Contributes to project deliverables and recommends ways to strengthen production capacity of actors and institutions.

DELIVERABLES:

The consultant will contribute to the following deliverables:

• Virtual kickoff, Work Plan, and Inception Report
• Market Opportunity Validation Report
• Existing Value Chains, Infrastructure and Policy
• Final Report and Recommendations

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for the above work is from September 12, 2022 to March 12, 2023.

Qualifications:

The consultant will be expected to possess the following skills and qualifications:

• 10 years of experience in horticulture value chains, preferably in Sierra Leone or West Africa experience a plus.
• Proven ability to identify crops which smallholders are likely to be able to produce successfully and sustainably.
• Successful experience preparing and presenting detailed cost of production analyses
• The Agronomist/Horticulturalist is likely, but not required, to have an advanced degree in agricultural economics marketing, horticulture, crop science or another relevant field.

ESTIMATED LEVEL OF EFFORT FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT

The anticipated level of effort for the duration of the period is 37.5 days, or 300 hours. Abt reserves the right to increase or decrease the estimated LOE based on programmatic needs.

About Us

The International Development Division focuses on improving the lives and economic well-being of people in lower and middle-income countries. We command technical expertise in health, agriculture, climate change, food security and governance—as well as in international evaluation. Our multi-layered health portfolio includes policy, health promotion and disease prevention, health finance, and health systems management. In partnership with government clients and local experts, our high-quality programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East are known for impact and innovation.




At Abt Associates, we are committed to creating a lasting culture of equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that in order to achieve full participation, our practices must be free of prejudice, discrimination, and bias that result in inequitable outcomes. We are actively working to advance equity for everyone, and while we still have much work to do, we know that racial and cultural diversity are an asset to our business and the communities where we live and serve. Our ongoing commitment is focused on creating business practices that advance racial and social equity, investments in community impact programs for the benefit of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and expand upon project work related to racial equity and social justice.

APPLY

2.) Post-Harvest Handling Specialist– Consultant

Job Description

Abt Associates seeks a qualified candidate to serve on a team of technical specialists that will assist MCC with the project design of the Sierra Leone Compact. While the proposed compact is focused on power, MCC and the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) are proposing an activity to enable the productive use of power within agricultural value chains, especially downstream post-harvest in processing, milling, and storage. The goal is to obtain maximum benefits from the proposed energy investment to catalyze inclusive, job-creating private sector growth to reduce food insecurity in Sierra Leone. The consultant will contribute to deliverables that inform how MCC and the GoSL can attract, competitively and transparently select, and facilitate private sector investment that will utilize the power investment and associated goods funded by the compact program. To inform these investments, the consultant will examine local, regional, and international market opportunities for Sierra Leone-grown products in key value chains. The goal is to validate the assumption that growth within the Sierra Leone agricultural economy enhanced by power and related investments can be reasonably accommodated within these markets. This market analysis should incorporate both short- and long-term variables, including these that may arise from fundamental commodity market trends and climate change issues.




RESPONSIBILITIES:

The consultant will lead the execution of the following tasks:

• Interviews value chain actors performing post-harvest functions.
• Identifies value chains with the potential to reduce post-harvest losses, increase access to markets, and expand value-addition activities with increased energy and productive investments.
• For each crop, assesses aggregation points, post-harvest processing centers, precoolers, packaging centers, markets, ports, border control points, road conditions, energy supply and distribution points.
• Coordinates with Market Linkages Specialist to assess existing cold chain infrastructure and its contribution to potential new markets.
• Coordinates with Market Linkages Specialist to analyze value chain actors’ capacity to comply with regulations and standards.
• Contributes to institutional review of extension services, farmer/producer cooperatives and trade associations and their ability to support chosen crops.
• Contributes to project deliverables and recommends ways to strengthen post-harvest handling capacity of actors and institutions.

DELIVERABLES:

The consultant will contribute to the following deliverables:

• Virtual kickoff, Work Plan, and Inception Report
• Market Opportunity Validation Report
• Existing Value Chains, Infrastructure and Policy
• Final Report and Recommendations

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for the above work is from September 12, 2022 to March 12, 2023.

Qualifications:

The consultant will be expected to possess the following skills and qualifications:

• In-depth knowledge and experience working in post-harvest functions, including, but not limited to, sorting, grading, packing, storage (including cold storage), and transportation (including refrigerated transportation) of horticultural crops.
• Ability to communicate effective with value chain operators performing these functions.
• In-depth knowledge about the state of the art for performing these tasks in horticultural value chains in Africa (strongly preferred given the high number of horticultural value chains).
• The Post-Harvest Handling Specialist is likely, but not required, to have an advanced degree in crop science, food logistics and marketing, or another relevant field.

ESTIMATED LEVEL OF EFFORT FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT

The anticipated level of effort for the duration of the period is 37.5 days, or 300 hours. Abt reserves the right to increase or decrease the estimated LOE based on programmatic needs.

About Us

The International Development Division focuses on improving the lives and economic well-being of people in lower and middle-income countries. We command technical expertise in health, agriculture, climate change, food security and governance—as well as in international evaluation. Our multi-layered health portfolio includes policy, health promotion and disease prevention, health finance, and health systems management. In partnership with government clients and local experts, our high-quality programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East are known for impact and innovation.

At Abt Associates, we are committed to creating a lasting culture of equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that in order to achieve full participation, our practices must be free of prejudice, discrimination, and bias that result in inequitable outcomes. We are actively working to advance equity for everyone, and while we still have much work to do, we know that racial and cultural diversity are an asset to our business and the communities where we live and serve. Our ongoing commitment is focused on creating business practices that advance racial and social equity, investments in community impact programs for the benefit of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and expand upon project work related to racial equity and social justice.

APPLY