Country Advisor

Job Description

Background

Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyse Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the centre 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. While both men and women are engaged in agriculture in Africa, their roles are often differentiated by gender and women face significant difficulties in accessing quality inputs, finance, extension services, information about available opportunities and markets. AGRA recognizes that closing the gender gaps in access to and control over resources, and promoting the empowerment of women and youth are all essential to catalysing and sustaining an agriculture transformation in Africa.

Therefore, AGRA’s vision for a sustainable, inclusive agriculture transformation in Africa, requires the inclusion and empowerment of women, men and youth, at all levels of the agriculture system. AGRA has recently rolled out a new 5-year strategy to catalyse and sustain an Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farmers. AGRA will deliver this strategy through an approach that simultaneously catalyses change at farmer level, strengthens input and output market systems and puts government at the centre to enable and champion private-sector-led agricultural growth at national level.

The headline goals of AGRA by 2021 are to:

1. Increase the incomes and improve food security for 9 million farm households through the direct result of activities of AGRA, grantees, and partners to increase productivity and access to markets and finance;
2. Contribute to increasing the incomes and food security of another 21 million farm households through the contributions of AGRA, grantees, and partners to policies, programs, and partnerships that increase productivity and access to markets and finance;
3. Support 11 focus countries on a pathway to attain and sustain an agricultural transformation

To support this transformation, AGRA is seeking to engage an experienced and exceptional Consultant as Country Advisor, Uganda for a duration of 12 months.

The Consultant will represent AGRA’s activities in Uganda on a day-to-day basis and will act as the catalyst for AGRA’s integrated interventions, under the guidance of the Regional Head. S/he will mainly be responsible for coordinating activities and building necessary relationships with the government, private sector, donors and other key stakeholders as AGRA prepares to roll out its new strategy in the country. S/he will actively manage the AGRA-Uganda country strategy, programs and investment while maintaining close linkages with AGRA technical divisions through the Regional Head.

Responsibilities

• Refine the Uganda country plan in partnership with AGRA’s regional head and strategy team as needed during the year;
• Coordinate country-level interventions set out in the country plan, working with program teams to deliver innovative intervention models across the value chain;
• Convene and build relationships with domestic government, private sector, donors, civil society organizations and others with a presence in country, to build and nurture country-level partnerships deemed essential to AGRA’s mission in the country;
• Represent AGRA in key meetings and forums of the government and its development partners including donor coordination meetings that contribute to the advancement of AGRA’s investments in the country;
• Coordinate, facilitate, and oversee implementation of AGRA-supported investments in country and ensure high level integration of AGRA’s investments in country, among themselves and with those of government and other development partners;
• Oversee country level research and analytics that are necessary and sufficient to ensure that country and program objectives are aligned to the national/government goals and objectives;
• Identify and help AGRA pursue opportunities to mobilize resources in support of AGRA’s priorities and/or advocating for public and private sector stakeholders to scale AGRA’s demonstrated intervention models in country;
• Maintain working knowledge of national agricultural sector development plans in order to identify and pursue opportunities to (i) mobilize resources to support AGRA’s priorities and/or (ii) advocate for public and private sector stakeholders to scale AGRA’s demonstrated intervention models in country;
• Relay feedback from AGRA’s partners, especially the government and development partners to other parts of the organization;
• Provide day to day oversight of the work of any other AGRA consultants in the country as may be needed;
• Assist Program officers to research and develop grantee portfolios dealing with constraints, resources and opportunities for increasing and improving seed and technology supply at farmer levels;
• Draw on the expertise of AGRA program officers in the areas of soil fertility, policy, and farmer organizations to enhance the operations of country strategies and link program investments and activities to other AGRA initiatives; and
• Serve as primary day-to-day point-of-contact to donors in the relevant countries, furnishing them with required reports, day-to-day communications, and timely insights on program challenges and breakthroughs in a manner, which maintains their positive engagement with the program.

Term:

The Consultancy is for a period of one year and is only open to Ugandan nationals. The Consultant must be available and fully committed to the assignment for the period of the assignment.

Skills and Experience

• High knowledge of challenges and opportunities for agricultural transformation in Uganda in particular, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, in general;
• With special reference to Uganda:
• Experience and proven track record of effective policy and government engagement, such as working with officials including Parliamentary Committees, Ministers, and Permanent Secretaries, as well as organizing and facilitating policy dialogues sessions of ministers and other high level officials,
• Proven record in influencing regional and national policies and strategies with respect to agricultural transformation, and
• Experience, skills and proven record of accomplishment in working with the private sector, such as agribusinesses and financial institutions;
• At least 10 years of management experience, particularly over diverse teams working across diverse geographies;
• Experience working with a large multinational development agency in a management and coordination role is an advantage;
• Experience working on teams with a purview over both domestic-wide and regional activities;
• Passionate about the mission and opportunity AGRA has to catalyze and sustain agricultural transformation in Uganda in particular, and Africa in general; and
• Strong background and proven track record in delivering complex agriculture programs.

Qualifications and Other Requirements:

• Masters degree in Agriculture, Economics or related disciplines;
• A relevant Doctorate degree will be an added advantage;
• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in agriculture related international development work;
• Fluency in English and local language is required;
• Available to start the assignment as soon as possible.

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, please submit your application with a detailed CV in English (including your e-mail address and telephone contacts to recruit@agra.org noting to quote the job reference number. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

To be considered, applications must be received on or before 16th March 2018.

For more information on AGRA and Farm to Market Alliance, please visit www.agra.org

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer

About the Organization

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is a partnership that works with governments, donors, NGOs, the private sector, and African farmers to significantly and sustainably improve the productivity and income of resource-poor farmers in Africa. Founded and initially funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, AGRA supports interventions aimed at improving seed systems, soil fertility, input and output markets, policies, and other priority sectors, with the overall objective of reducing food insecurity. AGRA aims to achieve these goals by: supporting and building capability of farmers and enterprises across the agricultural value chain; being a thought-leader on African agriculture by collecting, packaging, and disseminating knowledge; and creating strong partnerships with public, private, and donor actors to drive change within the sector. AGRA is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and has an office in Accra, Ghana.