Head of the TAAT Clearinghouse

Head of the TAAT Clearinghouse(Ref: DDG-R4D/TAAT/HCH/12/17)

 

Background:The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the internationally recruited position of Head of the Clearinghouse.

 

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.Please visit http://www.iita.org/ for more information on IITA.

 

The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) is a program initiated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of its Feed Africa Initiative.  The main objective of the program is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within 8 Priority Intervention Areas. The program will be implemented by IITA in close collaboration with other CGIAR Centers, FARA, AGRA, national agricultural research and extension systems and private sector partners. It will involve close partnership between the AfDB and other developmental partners such as the World Bank, BMGF, USAID and others. The Clearinghouse (CH) will be set up to operate as a semi-autonomous component of the Program.  The objective of the CH will be to take proven agricultural technologies to scale in a commercially sustainable fashion through the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate partnerships and provide access to expertise required to design, implement, and monitor progress of crop, livestock, and aquaculture campaigns.

 

Position Responsibilities

The tasks of the Head of the Clearinghousewill include:

 

 Main Responsibility

• Provide leadership to the Clearinghouse team and engage Regional Membership African Country (RMC) governments to explain to them what Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Program is all about and encourage them to be actively involved and support the TAAT program take advantage of available extended loans through the AfDB, to expand their agricultural transformation agendas

Specific Responsibilities

• Provide effective leadership to enable the TAAT Clearinghouse team to achieve clear objectives established and to achieve specific outcomes.
• Coordinate the identification of Country specific needs to achieve their agricultural transformation agenda targets and specific investments needed for each target value chain.
• Provide professional advice in the formulation of strategies, policies, procedures and programs relating to investments to enhance agricultural production in collaboration with the donor community.
• In close collaboration with the Countries and CG Centers, conduct a country needs assessment to identify potential Projects for which bilateral donor funds could be invested in, to generate jobs, create transformation and grow the economies.
• Lead the decision-making process in economic and social matters of each Regional Member Country (RMC), based on professional analyses of existing trends, current data on Agricultural transformation and long-term planning of the RMC.
• Hold regular meetings with the CG Centers to review and discuss their capacities and readiness to backstop RMCs with new proven technologies coming out of their research, to help with the set transformation goals.
• Ensure that all policy decisions and other measures are implemented efficiently and effectively in close consultations with IFPRI, to provide accurate and timely support and reporting on progress of implementation of the TAAT RMC loan Portfolio.
• Work closely with the TAAT Program Manager to ensure that TAAT is on track in delivering its overall goals and objectives.

Educational Qualifications and Experience:

• A post-graduate degree in any Agricultural science discipline from a recognized University;
• At least 20 years of extensive experience related to Agriculture Development or business development, preferably in developing countries and proven experience in Agricultural Development and donor funding processes.
• Experience with the development of policy, legal, and institutional frameworks as well as the financial and technical aspects of projects.
• Working experience with the AfDB or any of the major donor organizations is desirable and will be an added advantage.

Core Competencies

• Demonstrated strong analytical and communication skills and capacity to present convincingly, discuss and negotiate with senior country officials.
• Blend of analytical, observational, organizational and networking skills and a good understanding of policy and regulatory issues around PPP development in developing countries.
• Familiarity with the policies and procedures of multilateral and bilateral institutions and demonstrated commitment to making organizational and corporate decisions.
• Fluency in written and spoken English with a good working knowledge of the French language.

Duty Station: Cotonou, Benin Republic

 

General information:The contract will be for an initial period of three years. IITA offers internationally competitive remuneration package paid in U.S. Dollars.

 

Applications: Applications must include covering letter which should address how the candidate’s background/experience relates to the specific duties of the position applied for, curriculum vitae, names and addresses of three professional referees (which must include either the Head of the applicant’s current or previous organization or applicant’s direct Supervisor/Superior at his/her present or former place of work). The application should be addressed to the Head, Human Resources Service. Please complete our online application form using this link: http://www.iita.org/careers

 

Closing Date: 27^th December 2017

 

IITA is an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from women candidates.

                                       

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.