Background: The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the internationally recruited position of Project Coordinator Cassava Processing and Value Chain Development Expert.
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 the One CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food-secure future. Please visithttp://www.iita.org/for more information on IITA.
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) seeks to recruit a self-motivated, results driven, dynamic, suitably qualified, competent, and experienced person for the position of the Project Coordinator - Cassava Processing and Value Chain Development Expert to be based in Kinshasa, DR Congo. The position of the Project Coordinator - Project Coordinator - Cassava Processing and Value Chain Development Expert will serve as the key technical lead for the USAID-funded Project ‘Cassava Value Chain Development to Support Food Security and the Bread Industry in DRC’. S/he will lead technical and field-based project activities, including but not limited to market linkages, expansion of production and processing aspects of cassava value chain, engagement of the private sector, and capacity building for local partners. S/he is expected to maintain effective working relationships with other value chain project managers, and those working with other partners. S/he is expected to report to the Director of Central Africa Hub.
Position Responsibilities:
- Serve as the project manager and technical lead for designing, operationalizing, and monitoring cassava value chain, production, processing, and marketing related activities.
- Provide technical support to farmers, private enterprises, community-based organizations, and NGOs working on value chain and market development interventions.
- Coordinate capacity development activities in the areas of organizational development, agribusiness, value chain and marketing development including development of training modules; build capacity of agricultural enterprises to perform market-oriented processing for cassava value addition.
- Support Market-based SME development and establish linkages with business development services; strengthen market linkages through concerted value chain and market analysis.
- Support the development and implementation of cassava quality standard in collaboration with line ministries and other organizations; assist in providing business development services to farmers, food processing groups, associations, cooperatives, and enterprises to ensure they are functional, sustainable, and able to meet food safety and regulatory standards.
- Assist agribusiness entrepreneurs and enterprises, including farmers’ organizations, in identifying and applying appropriate value addition and processing technologies; design activities to increase smallholder agricultural production and market linkages that lead to increased profitability.
- Lead development and implementation of the equitable business models and ensure inclusive and equitable benefits shared among the stakeholders, including women and youth; develop and support strategies to strengthen cassava value chain, engagement, contribution, and execution of support from technical service providers to the cassava value chain.
- Assess the operations of processing facilities to address operational issues and identify opportunities for improving performance; coordinate the implementation of a waste disposal system that will result in energy and cost saving; promote the technology for the processing of cassava wastes into livestock feed ingredients.
- Liaise with other development partners and projects to create leverage for cassava value chain in a coordinated approach.
- Facilitate public and private forums (value chain actors, implementing partners) to address key value chain issues.
- Explore and develop the vital linkages between the established business groups and microfinance institutions to facilitate access to credit and loans to invest in their businesses and livelihoods development.
- Oversee general operations and effective functioning of equipment fabrication centers or units established in the project target areas.
- Improve on post-harvest related activities. This will include training in post-harvest handling and logistics concerned with facilities for transportation, collection centers, packing houses, food drying and processin