P2 Workstream Lead at Palladium Group

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: P2 Workstream Lead

Location: Abuja
Job ID: req23428
Employment Type: Full-time

Job Description

• The Pillar 2 Lead will be responsible for identifying and developing innovative and disruptive business models that can improve agribusiness and agricultural productivity, strengthen resilience of smallholder farmers and firms to climate change, and promote sustainable natural resources management.
• This position is strategic to Propcom+ programme objectives as it generates pipelines of innovative models that can open new opportunities for market actors, enhance efficiency in production processes, reduce environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions, and generally optimize value chain processes that promote people, planet and profit.
• The Pillar 2 Lead will manage technical ideation processes, sound brainstorming sessions, and strategic engagement with stakeholders across different spectrum of interests.
• Pillar 2 Lead will also ensure that new business models are systematically designed and piloted to generate evidence and proofs needed to scale the models in different markets.
• Reporting: The position holder will report to the Strategy Director.

Responsibilities

• The position holder will supervise Portfolio Managers and other technical personnel as may be decided by the Senior Programme Management team from time to time. 

Sourcing, assessment, design, and incubation of innovative business models:

• Develop and apply a framework for identifying and assessing viable innovations that align with the programme objectives.
• Develop and apply approaches to generate, incubate, and grow ideas that address specific and relevant constraints in different markets that are of interests to programme objectives and partners.
• Collaborate internally within and across technical and cross-cutting teams and with consortium partners as necessary for co-creation, in-depth analysis, and strategic solutioning. The collaboration must strengthen synergy and continually promote a One Programme, One Team approach.
• Collaborate externally with market actors, innovators, donor-funded market system development programs, and other cross-cutting partners towards generating robust pipelines of innovative business models that are suitable for piloting.
• Provide leadership in piloting ideated innovative models using iterative and adaptive management approaches.
• Lead in conceptualizing ideas and developing clear process flow for their implementation.
• Support rigorous market system analysis to identify systemic constraints that are limiting efficient functioning of the market and generating ideas to prioritize and address the constraints.
• Provide firm-level analysis of needs, capacity gaps, resource-use inefficiency, and productivity inhibiting factors in a way to design alternative and innovative solutions that can be piloted to address the inefficiencies.
• Generate climate-smart innovations, pursue low-emissions strategies, and promote low carbon development initiatives to strengthen climate resilience of smallholder farmers and enterprises.
• Deliver targeted technical assistance to operationalise business plans intended to strengthen organizational processes for increased profitability and improved stewardship to natural resource management. 

Team Management:

• Manage an agile team (staff, consultants, and subcontractors) ensuring excellent work and high-quality outputs.
• Ensure good team management practices including staff planning, recruitment, on-boarding, performance management, and development.
• Be responsible to support teams in generating evidence through quality data collection and management in collaboration with the MERL team.
• Work closely with other Pillar Leads to ensure a cohesive and supportive team working environment.

Stakeholder Management:

• Manage relationship within agricultural entrepreneurship and MSME ecosystem, as well as with representatives of the Government of Nigeria where necessary.
• Lead the creation of Public Private Partnerships to incentivise the adoption of inclusive and sustainable models and practices.
• Build partnerships and establish relationships with other development programs, donor organizations, market system actor groups to strengthen complimentary programming.

Project Management:

• Lead in quality project reporting and ensuring quality delivery of project results on P2 result areas, activities, recommendations, and lessons learned.
• Where relevant, assume responsibility for consistent implementation of company Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Guidelines, Security Protocols and, where applicable, recommend modifications.
• Ensure, at all times, that intervention designs and delivery demonstrate acceptable Value for Money.

Requirements

• A seasoned, and well-rounded professional with experience in the private sector, market systems development, agribusiness financing, and food security programs.
• A self-motivated individual with proven track records in developing innovative ideas and business models that are disruptive and novel in nature.
• Have proven records of partnership building, attracted private sector investments, and influenced positive and sustainable changes in agricultural market systems.
• Experience in climate resilience programming and conversant with contemporary issues in global climate change ecosystems is an advantage.
• Possess strong problem-solving skill with ability to analyse complex problems and communicate ideas in simple, clear terms.
• A strong personality as starter-finisher, resource mobilizer, idea generator, entrepreneurial and collaborator. 

Qualifications

• Preferred candidate for this position must have a master’s degree in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness Management, Project Management, or related fields. The candidate must also possess:
• A minimum of 10 years’ requisite experience supporting agricultural development, food security, MSME agribusiness and/or private sector development.
• Experience working on complex donor-funded market systems development programs required. FCDO and USAID experience preferred.
• Meaningful experience applying market system development approaches across diverse markets in the agriculture and food systems sectors.
• Strong technical experience in the areas of entrepreneurship, MSME start-up, investment finance and MSME business development and/or startup incubation.
• Experience in finance and investment programming in thin, fragile, and unstructured markets desired.
• Active, established networks within food security, agribusiness finance and investment, climate change, and natural resource management sectors.
• Experience in successful management of high risk and complex food security and agricultural market system programs.
• Demonstrated sound management skills, effective leadership, self-awareness, self-accountability, and outstanding interpersonal skills.
• Good writing skills.

Application Closing Date
Not specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online