Location: Gwassi, Homa Bay County
Reporting to: Agribusiness Senior Program Manager
Closing Date: 21st June, 2018 COB
Position
The Program Coordinator will support the achievement of the program’s agricultural production, agro-industry and marketing objectives, principally through leading the program’s capacity building strategy with program partners and beneficiaries in these areas; overseeing efforts that lead to increased and improved linkages between small farmers, civil society organizations, government and the private sector; and managing the monitoring and evaluation component. The Program Coordinator will be responsible for the entire program coordination at Gwassi level and supervision of the SMEs integrated in HACA programs. The Program Coordinator will provide the requisite HACA representation at Gwassi level in addition to the day to day coordination of the partnership. S/he will also be responsible for the convening of the quarterly Multi Stakeholder Platform and the Gwassi level Program Steering Committee.
Main tasks and responsibilities
Program management and coordination
Develop and oversee the implementation of annual program plans and budgets in close cooperation with targeted SME’s
Improve/develop the capacity of SME’s/farmers’ associations to identify sustainable agro-based economic opportunities and implement a demand-driven, commercialization approach based on access to markets
Develop or facilitate training modules for partners related to the key decision making tools to provide technical capacity to SMEs to improve their understanding of business-related concepts
Responsible for Program Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (PMEL) system to measure profitability and relevant business indicators of targeted SMEs and households. Subsequently oversee program’s PMEL system in liaison with the PMEL Officer, ensuring the provision of quality data on a timely basis for internal project management and external reporting purposes
Provide technical support in the establishment of a marketing database to keep farmers, their organizations and SMEs informed of the prevailing market prices of various agro-industrial products and commodities that GICEP focuses on
Provide targeted technical assistance to projects through field visits and other methods to foster continuous improvement in quality, programmatic and financial performance
Engage in lobby and advocacy initiatives to inform practice and influence policy
Strengthen partnership & collaboration linkages with key Stakeholders at Gwassi & County Levels
Responsible for the Multi Stakeholder Platform/Program Steering Team at Gwassi level to strengthen linkages between civil society organizations, government representatives and the private sector
Maintain working relations with relevant government line ministries and private sector/research institutions to coordinate the adoption of new products and/or approaches in agriculture development and marketing
Prepare quality and timely project progress reports as per donor requirements
Qualifications
Degree in a relevant field (advanced degree added advantage): Degree in agricultural economics, marketing or business administration, or related field
Over 5 years’ experience in agro-business development, preferably in agribusiness planning and analysis
Demonstrated capacity to work with private sector players (financial institutions, exporters, buyers, traders, transporters, input suppliers or processors)
Familiarity with commonly used tools for market analysis and program design such as sub-sector analysis, gross margin analysis and business planning
Experience in: community-based programming, small to medium scale agro-enterprise management, externally funded development programs, market-oriented projects and dealing with local interlocutors (local NGOs, government ministries)
Good verbal and communication skills and fluency in English
