Partnerships Officer, West Africa- (Job reference: Partnerships WA/05/2019)
About AGRA
Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.
AGRA is rolling out a new 5-year strategy to catalyze and sustain an Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farmers. Under this strategy, AGRA will deliver through an approach that simultaneously catalyzes change at farmer level, strengthens input and output market systems and puts government at the center to enable and champion private-sector-led agricultural growth at national level.
To support this transformation from a country perspective, AGRA is seeking to recruit an experienced and exceptional individual to the role of Partnerships Officer to support the West Africa Region.
The role will be based in Accra, Ghana.
The Position
The Partnerships Unit’s role is to develop and scale partnership intervention models that support private sector led agriculture development and mobilization of (private) investments in the AGRA’s key value chains. In addition, the unit supports AGRA in positioning itself as a preferred partner for private sector led agriculture development, and a leading initiator, convener and catalyst of multi-stakeholder partnerships that drive transformation.
Reporting to the Head of Partnerships, the Partnerships Officer will work closely with relevant staff in various teams across AGRA to identify, disseminate information and deliver on partnership and private sector led opportunities that scale AGRA’s efforts.
The Partnerships Officer will take a leading role in building and managing relationships with predominantly private sector partners to scale AGRA’s existing investments, identify new opportunities for investments, adopt innovative approaches and develop opportunities to leverage additional resources (i.e., catalytic co-investment) for transformation.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Managing AGRA’s institutional relationship with key private sector partners to align with AGRA activities, achieve synergies and leverage resources
- Developing new partnerships and platforms with companies and institutions whose core objective align with AGRA (i.e., value chains, type of intervention, regions, systems change, etc.)
- Support the design of partnership governance structures and frameworks
- Liaising closely with AGRA’s West African Country Heads in mapping of opportunities and the delivery of private sector led regional and country-level partnership strategies and plans (i.e., support mapping and relationship management);
- Provide Technical assistance and strategic advice in partnership management and company management to West African country teams (i.e., training, partnership diagnostics, stakeholder mapping, etc.)
- Support the development of partnership related grants, technical assistance and third party funding proposals
- Managing relevant partnerships and multi-plex grants and overseeing relevant consultancies that are critical to the delivery of AGRA’s mandate
- Disseminate information on key private sector and partnership development and opportunities within AGRA and across relevant stakeholder groups
- Track and report on AGRA’s performance in regional private sector and partnership engagement
- Representing AGRA at key agribusiness forums and alliances in the region to contribute strategically and showcase AGRA’s work and seek opportunities for new partnerships
- Supporting the designing, planning and delivery of AGRA partnership events.
Key Qualifications and Experience required:
- Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience in relevant sectors, including strategic partnership/relationship management, public-private partnerships, agribusiness, commodity trade and investment program management;
- At least three (3) years’ of management experience in the design, engagement and management of complex partner and stakeholder processes;
- Strong private sector agriculture/agribusiness network and strategic network with relevant public sector institutions;
- Knowledge of the agriculture sector and exposure to private sector investment processes and policies, especially in West Africa;
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a team orientation and strong collaborative skills;
- Ability to communicate and translate fluently in English and French language is mandatory.
An attractive remuneration package commensurate with the responsibilities of the position will be negotiated with the successful candidate.
If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV (including your e-mail and telephone contacts) in English and French to recruit@agra.org noting to quote the job reference number.
To be considered, applications must be received on or before May 30th, 2019.
For more information on AGRA, applicants can visit www.agra.org
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer