Agriculture Advisor at SNV Netherlands Development

The Agriculture Advisor has the responsibility of facilitating the identification, development and implementation of business models whereby climate-smart agriculture solutions are integrated into selected value chain from an agronomic, financial and inclusion perspective. The Agriculture Advisor will be based in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, and will have to travel regularly to Western region and Accra.

Key Responsibilities include and not limited to:

• Coordinate and lead in conducting market scans, value chain and climate risk assessments, as well as in the identification of green business opportunities in the agriculture sector in the two focal regions: Ashanti and Western region;
• Support agri-businesses to develop sustainable and climate-smart business models; monitor and report on the performance of selected agri-businesses in coordination with service providers;
• Facilitate and provide technical inputs to multi-stakeholder platforms at the sub-national level where sustainable and climate smart business models are promoted, as well as approaches to promote climate-resilient value chains, climate smart investments and policy recommendations to support sustainable and climate-resilient economies are agreed and jointly implemented;
• Support Skills Development advisor in the design and implementation of training and coaching programs on agribusiness management for female and youth entrepreneurs;
• Support Business Development & Market Linkages advisors and Incubation/acceleration advisor in identification, testing and upscaling of green business models;
• Support Business Development & Market Linkages advisors and incubation/acceleration advisor in investment mobilisation for green businesses;
• Support in implementation of a business plan competition, as well as a challenge fund and Green Investment forum;
• Provide inputs to the project’s overall M&E system (e.g. data collection and analysis as needed; knowledge management).

Qualifications

• Master’s degree plus 5 years of experience or Bachelor’s degree plus 8 years of experience in a relevant discipline, such as: Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics or Business Administration;
• At least 3 years of experience in inclusive value chain development and agribusiness finance, preferably with experience in climate-smart agriculture;
• Understanding of climate change and environmental risk management and opportunities linked to the green and circular economy;
• Ability and demonstrated experience of designing and appraising business cases;
• Understanding of market systems development;
• Experience in youth and women entrepreneurship programs;
• Strong agribusiness relationship management experience with the ability to stimulate trust and confidence with clients and investors including managing various stakeholders;
• Good project management skills; ability to contribute to the project’s overall Monitoring and Evaluation system;
• Excellent organising, negotiation, facilitation, influencing and advisory/coaching skills;
• Flexible approach to take on additional responsibilities as assigned/delegated;
• Willingness to travel to all project locations;
• Excellent communication (written and oral), reporting and presentation skills.