Head of Component at the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Agency for International Cooperation) is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries.

In Nigeria, GIZ's portfolio includes among others, a programme to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in its regional integration goals. The programme aims to strengthen sector-specific capacities in the areas of Peace and Security, Customs and Trade as weir as Strategic Management and Organizational Development in the ECOWAS Commission.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head of Component

Vacancy No: 053
Location: Abuja
Organization: GIZ Nigeria, Country Office

Background
As a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, we are dedicated to shaping a future worth living around the world. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security.

The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe - from the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector, and governments of other countries. We work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity. Our main commissioning party is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The registered offices of GIZ are in Bonn and Eschborn.

Our approximately 23,500 employees, almost 70 percent of whom are national personnel, work in around 120 countries (July, 2020). GIZ has worked in Nigeria since 1974. From 2004, GIZ has maintained a country office in the capital city Abuja. Currently, 361 national and 66 international employees, 19 regional staff, 4 integrated specialists and 3 development workers are working in the country (June 2020).

Programme
Market Oriented Value Chains for Job and Growth in ECOWAS - MOVE programme

• With global and regional demand constantly rising, cashew and rice production and processing offer important potential for training, employment, and wealth creation in the ECOWAS region. This can be achieved through private sector development, economic empowerment of women and youth and supporting the efforts at minimizing the impact of climate change.
• On behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the Market Oriented Value Chains for Job and Growth in ECOWAS – MOVE programme.
• The aim of the project is to promote market-oriented and future-proof value chains that contribute to income and employment generation in the ECOWAS region.
• With the merger of the Competitive Cashew Initiative (ComCashew), and Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI), the focus will be put on the cashew and rice value chains.
• We aim to ensure long-term, sustainable results and competitiveness in the West African region.
• MOVE project has kicked off in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. The overarching strategy of implementation is built on making value chains more resilient, collaborating with large companies and SMEs, integrating Gender Transformative Approaches (GTA), developing a more conducive local/regional business climate, and then scaling for achieving broad impact in ECOWAS.

We want to support inclusive development through the following activities:

• Increasing the level of value creation within West Africa through strengthened private sector engagement.
• Improving the economic and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems using good agricultural production (GAP) for sustainable production in a climate-resilient, resource-conserving agriculture and carbon sequestration.
• Increasing local consumption of rice and cashew products through marketing initiatives and by-products.
• Youth and gender inclusion: Developing and sharing good examples of inclusive business models and human capacity building by integrating gender responsive and gender transformative approaches (GTA) and information technology (IT) knowledge.
• Policy advice: Consolidating public-private cooperation in policymaking to reduce regional trade barriers and to support social transformation in the ECOWAS region, like ECOWAS Rice Observatory (ERO), the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC), African Cashew Alliance (ACA)

Responsibilities & Tasks

Responsibilities
The senior national expert responsible for implementation is responsible for:

• Independently managing the national technical team of advisors and in accordance with the order and project goals and activities agreed with the partners, team agreements and/or agreements with the superior
• Providing professional advice to partners and cooperating with important stakeholders
• Integrating results and experience into teamwork and the work of all relevant groups
• Technical management of experts in the team of MOVE Nigeria advisors
• Technical and financial planning, coordinating, implementing, and monitoring of MOVE activities.
• Supporting MOVE MF partners and stakeholders in the implementation of projects funded under the matching fund scheme
• Regular reporting to MOVE programme director
• Coordinating and networking with relevant stakeholder in the sector
• Strengthening implementation instruments and introducing innovation
• Managing implementation knowledge by disseminating and documenting know-how, experience, and information
• Supporting the GIZ Nigeria Agric Cluster in its setup as well as serve as resource person for it.

These duties are complex and demanding due to their mere outreach. Their implementation requires sound and careful coordination.

The Officer responsible for implementation performs the following tasks:

Tasks
Management Responsibility:

The Country Coordinator Responsible for implementation:

• Is responsible for the orders and measures in the MOVE Nigeria project that are assigned to him/her and for managing all staff members who report to him/her (management responsibility for staff in bands 1-4)
• Manages staff in accordance with management principles and guidelines to promote a sense of corporate identity, enable employees to carry out tasks independently and create scope for developing creativity and innovation
• Is responsible for recruiting, selecting, grading, planning the assignment of and professional development of staff members who report to him/her
• Is also responsible for monitoring, managing staff and ensuring that they provide cost-effective services
• Carries out the annual staff assessment and development talk for staff members who report to him/her.

Professional advisory services and implementation of technical priority areas:

• Preparation and implementation of operational plans and budgets for effective engagements with MOVE private and public partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders with the view to ensuring that all parties work together seamlessly to deliver the program’s objectives
• Preparation and implementation of activities related to MOVE instruments i.e. Matching fund (MF), Human Capacity Development (HCD), Technical, Organizational and Business Advisory Services, and Support to Policy Advocacy Services
• Oversees in particular on of the 5 Outputs that MOVE has committed itself to
• Development and implementation of advisory services models that will deliver appropriate value chain-wide technical support (i.e. capacity building for rice actors, milling technologies, mechanization services, etc.); and business development support (i.e linkages with financial services and
• input & output markets, business planning etc.) for MOVE beneficiaries
• Ensure quality of all aspects of implementation with a focus on supervision of training activities and reporting
• Working closely with MOVE MF partners to further develop and implement the existing out grower model to integrate smallholder farmers
• Assist to develop and implement appropriate and sustainable ICT solutions for the rice industry.
• Design and development of MF project concepts with partners according to plans and opportunities in line with the objectives of the MOVE
• Working closely with banks and other relevant financial institutions, develop and support the implementation of appropriate financial products and services for the rice industry together with financial institutions and private sector partners
• Support the development of appropriate business models and plans
• Contributes to preparing and implementing the coordination process, joint project activities and work in the field
• Formulates job descriptions, terms of reference, selects and supervises third parties in the course of carrying out project activities, including performance evaluation
• Monitors the development and implementation of MOVE project plans and activities in close consultation with counterparts
• Deals with the design, preparation and implementation of workshops, seminars and other events on issues related to the programme’s area of activity
• Develops and organises quality assurance measures and suggests necessary changes, improvements and initiatives
• Monitors project progress and the activities of the MOVE NG implementation unit, reviews reports and documents on the progress of activities, identifies bottlenecks and recommends alternative management options to the programme director
• Is responsible for seeing that the services provided by the implementation unit are aligned with the partner’s needs
• Working closely with key stakeholders to steer and coordinates technical activities related to Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) implementation

Strategic Networking and Cooperation:

• Preparation and negotiation of memoranda of understanding, agreements of contracts on project implementation and collaborative ties with MOVE partners stakeholders of resource person with a focus of inclusive business modes
• Establish and maintain collaborative ties with MOVE partners, stakeholders and delegations from different backgrounds
• Preparation and negotiation of collaborative ties with MOVE partners, stakeholders and delegations from different backgrounds
• Support the discussions with national and regional partners on and the development of sustainability strategy for MOVE program
• Travels in the field, in accordance with project requirements.

Management and Coordination Tasks:

• Design and support the implementation of specific studies
• Country-specific contributions to monitoring, reporting (to biannual and annual progress reports) and evaluation of program activities
• Synthesize achievements and conceptualize project approaches for institutions in the rice sectors
• Monitoring of MF projects and coordinate the national team in their support activities for the MF partners to achieve their objectives
• Communicates findings and shares lessons learnt during project delivery/implementation
• Contribute to the development of appropriate financial products and services for the rice industry and provide guidance to partners involved
• Monitor MF partners applications lodged with banks, development banks, incentive schemes and other financial intermediaries
• Manages and monitors the MOVE NG implementation budget in consultation with the program director responsible for the contract and cooperation
• In the absence of the programme director, takes appropriate measures to secure operation of the programme.

Knowledge Management:

• Compiles information on project implementation and ensures knowledge transfer
• Develops ready-to-use strategies and technical concepts, including guidelines, manuals and procedures
• Draws up reports and presentation documents
• Formulates appropriate input for various programme reports including annual reports, and contributes to the other reports required by the programme director
• Assists with research activities and studies on policy topics that benefit the rice sector.

Other Duties / Additional Tasks:

• Provide all documentation related to program activities for accounting in line with requirements from co-financing partners
• Present and support the concepts and experiences of the program during national and international events
• Preparation, moderation and documentation of meeting and workshops and the organization of field trips as requested
• Receive and accompany consultants/ recourses persons
• Coordinate the work of consultants /recourses persons
• Liaises with country coordinators and MOVE colleagues in other countries on subject matter topics and procedures.
• Contributes to and shares learnings and innovations within MOVE
• Any other instructions given in furtherance of project operations and management.

Required Qualifications, Competences and Experience
The ideal candidate offers the following qualifications, capacities, experiences, and personal skills:
Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Sustainable Agriculture / Agronomy / Agricultural Economics
• Additional training in the areas of value chain approach; cooperatives/ social entrepreneurship, banking and finance, non- governmental organization (NGO) administration, business development services, grant fund management, policy formulation and advocacy, mechanization knowledge, ICT will be an advantage.

Professional Experience:

• 5-7 years professional experience, with at least 5 years professional experience in a comparable position
• Experience in agricultural values chain development / agricultural banking / agricultural consulting & advisory services / farmer training / grant management / policy formulation & advisory / partnership brokering sustained by corresponding references
• Experience in project management
• Working experience with/ for agro-industries, bank or development partners.

Other Knowledge, Additional Competences:

• Ability to lead and work with a team
• Ability to work independently and without supervision
• Experience of working with political stakeholders
• Ability to manage project timelines, processes and tasks effectively
• Demonstrated ability to design, manage and implement value chain, agricultural financial services, agribusiness development support activities, farmer organization & training, financial grant services, policy & advocacy support activities in agriculture/agribusiness, use of ICT in agriculture/ agribusiness, etc.
• Knowledge of agri-food support polices for Nigeria and of corresponding markets; local knowledge of pilot project areas will be an advantage.
• Self-motivated, pro-active approach in identifying and promoting innovative approaches
• Capacity to analysis and constructive evaluation combined with the ability to translate evaluation findings on beneficences in optimization of curricula and implementation.
• Facilities of discussion and workshops (preparation, implementation and documentation)
• Presentation techniques and concepts for the marketing of project achievements.
• Very good computer skills in contemporary MS office (Word Excel Powrpoint, Outlook)
• A proven track record in a leadership position

Personal Skills:

• Clear and diplomatic communication (oral and written)
• Ability to communicate adequately with interdisciplinary / multi-institutional teams (units / research organizations, NGOs and Governmental agencies, farmers, their organizations and donors)
• Team worker and constructive attitude in case of difficulties or conflicts
• Willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed - corresponding measures are agreed with management
• Self-motivated, pro-active approach in identifying and promoting innovative approaches
• Developed attitude and awareness of service delivery
• Fluency in English as well as in French are mandatory.

Salary

• According to GIZ Nigeria Salary scale for Band 5.

Application Closing Date
16th July, 2023.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV and Letter of Motivation as one document with complete contact details to: [email protected] using the Job Title and Vacancy No as the subject of the email.

Note

• Please include Vacancy No. 053 in the mail subject.
• GIZ is an equal opportunities employer committed to diversity. All qualified candidates, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, race, and religion are encouraged to apply.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.