Job Vacancy at GIZ Sierra Leone – Country Coordinator

Overview

On behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and with a co-funding of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH will be implementing the „Market-oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth in the ECOWAS Region (MOVE)“. The project aims at increasing the productivity in the rice and cashew value chains and improve the quality of the commodities. Within the rice value chain, the aim is to significantly improve the livelihoods of small-scale rice farmers in selected African countries by increasing the competitiveness of domestic rice supply to meet increasing regional demand in the ECOWAS region. MOVE will be implemented in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.  The MOVE project is a merger of the existing regional programs Competitive Cashew Initiative (ComCashew) and Competitive Rice Initiative (CARI).

The project is built around 5 different pillars

1. Increasing the value creation of processing in the ECOWAS region.

2. Improve the economic/environmental sustainability of agricultural systems.

3. Improving the marketing of regional products.

4. Disseminating good practices in promoting inclusive business models.

5. Strengthening public-private cooperation in policymaking

The Country Coordinator shall predominantly work on pillar 1, 2 and 4 but may also support other colleagues under pillars 3 and 5. The position is based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

1. Responsibilities

The expert is a professional responsible for:

• Management and overall coordination as well as implement the agreed work plans of the project in the country at policy and technical level
• Ensuring the project implementation within the agreed timelines and budgets in line with GIZ administrative and financial rules and regulations
• Facilitating the information exchange and knowledge management accross the project partners including other projects with regards to the project ground activities
• Managing project national employees in accordance with management principles and guidelines and enable employee to carry out tasks independently and create scope for developing creativity and innovation
• Monitoring and managing a team including consultants and ensuring that they provide cost-effective services

2. Tasks

Under the supervision of the project Team Leader, the expert translates the responsibilities above autonomously and efficiently into action in line with planned targets. This comprises the following tasks:

• Be the main contact person for the public and private sector organisations (national and international) as well as NGOs operating in the thematic sector
• Oversee administrative and financial implementation of the project in Sierra Leone in coordination with the financial team in Abuja, Accra and Eschborn and in cooperation with AVs of respective bilateral programme(s)
• Manage and support strategic development of targeted advisory services for project partners in production, processing, improved inclusive business relationships, access to finance, policy framework and human capacity development
• Contribute to the establishment of an effective system for monitoring, evaluation and reporting on progress towards defined project outcomes
• Prepare collaborative arrangements with partners as required
• Support public and private partners in the preparation of project proposals for funding
• Synthesize achievements and document project approaches for training and capacity development aspects
• Support the selection and contracting partners and consultants for project activities and supervise them under the leadership of the team leader
• Develop information material on the project approaches and activities which prove suitable in Sierra Leone.
• Document the experiences and “lessons” learned from the implementation of the project and ensure scaling up process at the national and continental levels
• Establish and maintain communication with other team members of the project and partners in Sierra Leone and in other project countries
• Support the project team in efforts to set up national multi-actor partnerships

3. Other tasks

• Provide contributions to annual progress reports in line with the deadlines and requirements for content and quality;
• Present and support the concepts and experiences of the project during national and international events;
• Contribute to the preparation and the implementation of project evaluations;
• Preparation, moderation and documentation of meetings and workshops and the organization of field trips as requested;
• Preparation of concept notes for project interventions, studies and data collection process;
• Receive and accompany consultants and visitors;
• Any other instructions given in furtherance of project operations and management.

4. Required qualifications, competences and experience

Qualifications 

Masters/MSc or Doctorate degree in agriculture with specialization in agribusiness, agricultural economics or equivalent

Professional experience

• At least 10 years of experience in agricultural value chain development / Human capacity development in rural areas / Private sector development with 5 years in a comparable position, substantiated by corresponding references;
• Proven experience and expertise in the rice value chain
• Previous experience with GIZ is a strong asset
• Experience working in the context of international cooperation and proven track record in managerial roles
• Leardership experience in intercultural teams and willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed
• Experience in the management of administrative processes
• Experience with agricultural projects and working experience with international donor agencies
• Fluent in English and knowledge of German is a strong asset

Other knowledge, additional competences 

• Excellent communications skills verbally and orally
• Willingness to travel
• Capacity and sensitivity to work in a multinational environment
• Demonstrated ability to design, manage and implement training and extension activities;
• Provide services and support private sector development activities in agricultural training and extension in agribusiness and public private partnerships;
• Experience in design for extension & advisory services and material development;
• Facilitation of discussions and workshops (preparation, implementation and documentation);
• Precise and efficient organization of autonomous work coupled with the ability and willingness for dialogue on identified support needs;
• Presentation skills;
• Computer skills in up-to-date MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook; Publisher would be plus).

Personal Skills

• Clear and diplomatic communication (spoken and written)
• Ability interdisciplinary / multi-institutional teams (units / research organizations, NGOs and Governmental agencies and donors) to communicate adequately with farmers and private companies;
• Leadership and ability to motivate performance and excellence
• Teamwork and constructive attitude in case of difficulties or conflicts
• Capacity of reflection of own work and willingness to learn
• Developed attitude and awareness of service delivery.

5. Duration of the Assignment 

1^st April 2022 – 31^st December 2023

• Duty station: Freetown, Sierra Leone with high field travel intensity (local and regional)

6. Mode of Application:

Suitable candidates are invited to apply not later than ……

Applications include:

• Cover letter
• CV (including work experience and references)
• Photocopies of certificates

have to be submitted in a sealed envelope to the email address [email protected] not later than February 23^rd, 2022 at 17.00 pm. Only applicants shortlisted will be contacted for an interview.

GIZ-Sierra Leone is an equal opportunity employer, both men and women are encouraged to apply.

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