Partnership Facilitator - 2SCALE Project at International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)

Position summary
The Partnership Facilitator is responsible for the design and implementation of all activities related to the PPPs under her/ his responsibility. She/ he facilitates, in close collaboration with the private partners and other relevant stakeholders, all the interventions by 2SCALE at the levels of partnership, grassroots (i.e. agribusiness cluster), value chain and industry. She/ he also coordinates the support from business support services, consultants, and cross-cutting 2SCALE specialists to the PPPs under her/ his responsibility.

Required Skills

• Collect and analyze market and industry information related to anticipated and existing PPPs under her/ his responsibility.
• Design, formalize, implement, monitor and document PPPs with private business champions (companies or cooperatives) and other relevant private/ public partners:
  • Mobilization of actors around target agribusiness clusters and value chains.
  • Profiling/ assessments of agribusiness cluster and value chain actors.
  • Business connections of grassroots actors.
  • Coordination of activities of connected local actors within agribusiness clusters, based on competitive strategies.
  • Capacity building (technical, organizational) and empowerment programs.
  • Promotion of innovations within agribusiness clusters and value chains.
  • Capacity and trust building activities to improve efficiency and reduce transaction costs within value chains.
  • Linkage of value chain actors to financial and other support services.
  • PPP key performance indicators and markers for change.
  • PPP action plans and cost-shared budgets.
• Facilitate the development of PPP strategies that are gender-transformative, foster youth inclusion, and are environmentally sustainable:
• Ensure that business champions and other relevant private partners understand and adhere to commonly agreed standards of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design – upon request – capacity building activities to deepen the design/ implementation/ monitoring of CSR policies.
• Prepare service agreements for business support services, in collaboration with the 2SCALE Contract Manager. Monitor these agreements, particularly through frequent field visits to cluster actors.
• Organize frequent governance meetings with the lead partner(s) and other parties in the PPPs. Ensure that governance mechanisms implemented in the partnership are inclusive. Lead the validation, sharing and filing of the minutes of every governance meeting.
• Collaborate with the Communication Specialists to develop outreach materials in a frequent manner, and ensure the visibility of the PPPs and their development (achievements, challenges, lessons learnt).
• Write and submit timely activity reports, as well as other technical reports, notes and partnership profiles.
• Participate pro-actively in the industry team, composed of all Partnership Facilitators with PPPs in the same industry. Respond to and seek advice from the 2SCALE management to improve industry knowledge, forward-looking strategizing within the industry, and priority-setting within existing and new PPPs.
• Represent the program at relevant national/ local events.
• Develop partnership agreements with clear theories of change, and well as related action plans and cost-shared budgets.
• Coordinate field interventions that fall under 2SCALE’s responsibility, in line with set targets, and in close collaboration with supporting 2SCALE cross-cutting specialists. These activities may include but not be limited to the following:  Monitor and document the progress of the PPPs in line with:
  • Use a gender lens in every action, analyze gender-related constraints and ensure that proposed strategies are gender-sensitive and address key constraints faced by female stakeholders in each PPP.
  • Analyze youth-related constraints (for both young women and young men) and ensure that proposed strategies improve youth employment and youth integration in PPPs and their value chains.
  • Lead the inclusion of environmental considerations in all PPPs, and in every pilot of a new technology/ practice, and design – if needed – capacity building activities to mitigate environmental risks.

Required Experience

1. Minimum Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in agribusiness or agriculture.
2. At least 5 years of relevant experience in agribusiness/agriculture with the private sector.
3. Good understanding of and work experience in value chain development.
4. Proven experience in organizing and facilitating capacity building programs (trainings, demonstrations, field visits, etc.), business meetings, and other events for value chain stakeholders.
5. Result-orientation and ability to take initiatives under minimal supervision, and to reach targets.
6. Excellent spoken English and ability to write quality documents in Standard English.