The Ugandan Jobline

 

Job Title:    Market Development Officer

Organisation: Self Help Africa (SHA)

Duty Station: 
Uganda

Reports to: Market
Development Manager (MDM)

 

About US:

Self Help Africa
(SHA) is an international NGO dedicated to the vision of an economically thriving
and resilient rural Africa. We have 50 years of experience working with
smallholder farmers, farmer associations, cooperatives and agribusinesses
across Africa to help farmers grow and sell more food, improve diets, diversify
incomes and make their livelihoods more sustainable and resilient to external
shocks. SHA also builds awareness of issues affecting smallholders and
represents their interests at policy and institutional levels. SHA is currently
implementing a portfolio of 32 projects in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea,
Burkina Faso, Togo, Malawi and Zambia, funded by a variety of institutional and
private donors including USAID, the European Commission, Irish Aid and World
Food Programme.

 

Job Summary:  The Market Development Officer will ensure
direct planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of DMDP Project
activities with beneficiaries and other stakeholders. This includes: project
participants’ identification (including refugees), setting of aggregation hubs,
facilitating market linkages; helping farmers attract decent prices for their
produce through value-addition; training and mentorship of honey enterprises to
respond to new and expanding market opportunities; supervision of Community
Based Trainers; and, coordinating activities with different stakeholders (e.g.
Community Based Organisations, private sectors actors, local authorities etc).

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  

Facilitate activity
planning and implementation of plans with beneficiaries

·       
Facilitate
participatory needs assessments/situation analysis, problem analysis and
planning exercises.

·       
Engage
and conduct community stakeholders’ sensitization on the project activities and
methodologies.

·       
Lead in
the  identification of bee keepers and
ensure they embrace the project.

·       
Develop
work plans and ensure that activities are implemented according to the
timelines and quality required.

Liaison and linkage
with government officials, local businesses, CBOs and other service providers
within the project area.

·       
Promote
linkages and cordial relationship with government, private sectors actors and
other NGOs.

·       
Represent
the organization to different forum or platform upon delegation by the Market
Development Manager.

·       
Effectively
manage partnerships with private sector actors including ensuring timely
reporting and deliverables as planned

·       
Ensure
synergies between government programmes and the project.

Supporting
institutional and business development for smallholder farmers and/or farmer
groups

·       
Conduct
capacity assessment, formation, training and coaching of honey cooperatives and
enterprises to become market competitive.

·       
Broker
deal between honey enterprises and input suppliers, output market, financial
institutions, information providers etc.

·       
Conduct
scoping and sealing partnership with private sector actors.

·       
Lead in
the establishment of bee keeping nucleus farms to demonstrate best practices
and host learnings.

·       
Establish
and support the development of off-farm businesses such as inputs agents,
aggregation agents, tree nursery operators, architects etc. that support the
bee keeper businesses.

·       
Conduct
continuous market intelligence and assessments to inform programming

·       
Integrated
Village Saving and Loan Association _Saving with a Productive Purpose
(VSLA_SWAPP) in all the bee keepers groups.

·       
Conduct
refresher and specialised trainings as needed by Community Based Trainers.

Mainstreaming
Gender and Nutrition in project activities

·       
Sensitise
project participants on Gender and Nutrition.

·       
Participate
in diagnostic studies to understand women, Persons With Disability (PWD) and
nutrition constraints to be integrated in project activities

·       
Identify
and promote measures to enhance the participation of women and other
marginalised groups (including refugees) in project activities

·       
Collate
Gender, PWDs and nutrition concerns ensuring all are manifest in the project
M&E reports

Monitoring,
Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)

·       
Implement
project M&E plans with support from PM and M&E coordinator

·       
Participate
in data collection based on agreed M&E tools and processes as advised PM
and M&E coordinator

·       
Facilitate
learning, promote peer-learning between staff and partners, participate in
relevant national networks and actively engage in organisation level focal
groups.

·       
Explore
opportunities for positioning, innovation, upscaling and potential follow up
projects

 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

·       
The
ideal candidate for the Self Help Africa (SHA) Market Development Officer job
placement must hold a Diploma (Bachelor’s degree preferable) in Agriculture, Entomology,
Business Administration, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics or related field,

·       
Demonstrated
knowledge of market facilitation skills

·       
Experience
in participatory market surveys and value chain analysis of different
agricultural commodities

·       
Understanding
of key aspects of SHA development work; including food, nutrition and
livelihood security and cross-cutting themes (e.g. youth, social inclusion,
environment, HIV and AIDS);

·       
Skills
in training and facilitation of community processes, including organisation and
mobilisation of communities and networking among different development partners
such as youth groups, community-based organisations, government officers and
SHA staff;

·       
Outstanding
communication, interpersonal and presentation skills management and   organisational skills, including proficiency
in computer packages especially with MS Office and other related packages;

·       
Commitment
to international and humanitarian NGO codes, standards and practises;

·       
High
level of integrity and high standards of personal conduct;

 

Competencies:

·       
Excellent
communication skills

·       
Ability
to work as part of team across different cultures.

·       
Ability
to work with minimum supervision and take initiative

·       
Ability
to solve problems and take corrective action.

 

How to Apply:

Please download the
Application Form, Download
Here and fill it in. Qualified candidates should send a completed
application form, motivational letter and CV by E-mail to –
uganda@selfhelpafrica.net. Please type “Market Development Officer” – [your
name]” in the subject line of the e-mail.

 

NB: Please note
incomplete applications will not be considered for shortlisting. Please note
that Self Help Africa Uganda advocates for equal opportunity and does not
require applicants to pay any fee at whatever stage of the recruitment and
selection process. Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.

 

Deadline:  Friday
5th February 2021 at 5pm

 

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