TechnoServe Background information:

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, jobs, and wealth for their families and communities. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

Program Description:

Tikkun Olam Ventures (TOV) is a new philanthropic development fund and program established by the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). TOV supports social businesses in emerging economies to access, invest in, and adopt Israeli technology and innovations to improve the lives of smallholder farmers. Additionally, the fund promotes sustainable business models by facilitating loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and by providing them with technical support services that increase their chances for success. TOV addresses all barriers to the introduction of new technologies – and facilitates access to finance, technology, learning, and market channels. The first year and a half of the program will serve as the program pilot and focus on supporting SMEs working with smallholder farmers in various horticulture market systems. There is a special focus on increased engagement/empowerment of women and youth.

Position Description:

It is a field-based position that is responsible to implement this new innovative project (TOV project) at the grassroots level by providing technical support to the Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) which aims to improve the livelihood of horticulture farmers in rural Ethiopia. The Business Advisor will also be responsible to facilitate access to and effective use of modern technologies and agro-innovations; access to finance; provide training to SMEs and follow-up effective use of technologies by farmers to ensure sustainable horticulture production practices; and access to market linkages to the farmers.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Support and encourage market actors, agricultural input suppliers, horticulture producers, and other stakeholders (farmers, farmers’ cooperatives and unions, Small and Micro Enterprises, local government, research centers, traders, and agribusinesses) to implement TOV interventions, which will require negotiating, collaborating with, and providing follow-up support to these players. The Business Advisor will support the farmers and cooperatives by providing training on agronomic practice, crop protection and drip kits operation and maintenances, financial management, good governance, and day-to-day technical support to increase productivity and produce high-quality horticulture products. The BA will also support SMEs by providing training and technical support to implement the project goals and objectives effectively.

Job Specific Responsibilities

1.  Implement TOV project interventions:

•         Participate actively in client selection

•         At the field level, doing continuous follow-up and technical support to the women groups, youths, and individual farmers to ensure adoption of new technologies               by    the farmers to increase the horticulture production;

•         Provide technical support on post-harvest handling of vegetables to reduce product loss;

•       Facilitate market linkage to the producers;

•     Providing technical support to SMEs that includes Farmers cooperatives, Unions, and other business organizations engaged in horticulture input supply, marketing,      and other related activities.

•         Working with woreda experts and Development Agents (DAs) and private actors to implement the project activities effectively.

•          Facilitating roundtables and collaborative problem-solving meetings with a range of market system actors at the field and woreda levels;

•         Negotiating with the potential private sector or other implementing partners; persuade market system players of the business benefits and means to adopt more inclusive business models;

 2. Provide/facilitate capacity building activities

•          Ensure all training materials reach on time

•          Deliver training to cooperatives on business plans, financial management, good governance, post-harvest handling, and quality;

•          Facilitate and support farmers’ cooperatives, group of farmers, women group, youths and individual farmers access to credit;

•          Deliver capacity-building training to Small and Micro Enterprises.

•          Check attendance of trainees for reporting and follow-up practical implementation of the training.

 3. Planning and management of demonstration plots

•          Participate in site selection, design, and implementation process

•          Facilitate timely delivery of new technologies to the sites.

•          Follow-up farm activities and application of new technologies,

•         Follow-up demo plots activities regularly,

•         Check demo plot status, complete form, and give feedback

4. Manage the demo plot at the FTC

•          Design and manage the FTC to achieve the desired result that will a base for the farmers to share the experience and new skills;

•          Plan the FTC activities and determine the seeds/seedlings to be transplanted by consulting the professionals and zonal and woreda agriculture offices;

•          Request the necessary materials and budget to the FTC to do the activities on time;

•          Do timely transplanting of seedlings and follow-up the day-to-day activities (agronomic, protection and drip irrigation operation and maintenances) of the FTC to           make it the center of excellence;

•          Organize periodical farmers’ visits to make the farmers share the new experiences and knowledge that lay down the foundation to adopt the new technologies;

•         Record all necessary data (production, cost, harvest, and others) from the FTC and analyze with other professionals and submit the report timely;

·         Manage daily laborers to do the daily activities properly.

•          Prepare audiovisual and written reports on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis per the requirement and guidelines of the supervisor and extension supporting         team.

5. Stakeholder Management

•         Create a good working relationship with stakeholders.

•          Holding meetings with the Agriculture and administration offices of the respective Woredas once every month/quarter.

•         Meet with Cooperatives, unions, SMEs to give progress reports every quarter.

•          Perform other duties as assigned by the Project manager.

•          Working with financial institutions to facilitate bank loans.

 6. Teamwork, Planning, and Reporting

• Participate in regular team meetings and training activities to build own training skills; Collaborate with TOV and other project team members to plan administrative and M&E activities
• Provide strategic feedback to Program Manager, M&E Coordinator, and teammates based on successes, challenges, and other analysis of ongoing activities to improve the TOV program;
• Ensure benefit to women and youth as well as men;
• Work together with and support Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) coordinator, as required
• Prepare weekly activity plan and share the weekly schedule and weekly report to the program manager
•  Perform other duties as assigned by the Program coordinator;
• Manage, support, and provide technical support to the interns working in his working areas.

Required Skills & Experience:

•           Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture, Irrigation, Agronomy, Plant Science, Crop Sciences, Agricultural Science, etc.

•         Three years professional experience – ideally private sector – in one or more of the following areas: horticulture, irrigation, agronomy, cooperative management, or agriculture.

•          Strong planning skills and experience working to strict time-guidelines

•          Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills

•          Willingness to spend significant time in rural areas

•          Excellent communication skills, written and oral, in both English and local language

•          Computer literacy, Business Acumen

Preferred Skills:

•          Knowledge of a second local language is an advantage.

•         Motor bicycle riding license, ability, and willingness to ride a motor bicycle.

Success Factors:

Competency is a combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) directly related to successful performance on the job:

Core Competencies:

•         Integrity and honesty: Is widely trusted; seen as a direct, truthful individual; presents truthful information in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; does not misrepresent himself or herself for personal gain.

•          Teamwork / Relationships:  Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team with a full understanding of the role to be played as a team member and/or leader, to achieve a common goal.  Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.

•          Learning attitude:  Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn. Actively identifies new areas for learning; applies and shares new knowledge and skill appropriately.

•          Diversity / Inclusiveness:  Demonstrates an understanding and appreciation for diversity and supports diversity efforts. Interacts effectively with and inclusively with people of all races, cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, ages, and genders.

•          Communication:  Expresses ideas effectively in individual and group situations. Listens effectively; shares information, ideas, and arguments; adjusts terminology, language, and communication modes to the needs of the audience; ensures accurate understanding; acts in a way that facilitates an open exchange of ideas and information; use appropriate non-verbal communication.

•          Decision making / Problem solving:  Is able to analyze situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical, and acceptable solution.  Is able to make effective decisions on a day-to-day basis, taking ownership of decisions, demonstrating sound judgement in escalating issues where necessary.

•          Results-oriented / High-quality deliverables:  Stays focused on the efforts necessary to achieve quality results consistent with programmatic or departmental goals. Demonstrates the ability to achieve effective results; works persistently to overcome obstacles to goal achievement. Accomplishes tasks by considering all areas involved, no matter how small; showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and tasks.

•          Planning & time management Establishes a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal. Effectively plans, schedules, prioritizes, and controls activities; identifies, integrates, and orchestrates resources (people, material, information, budget, and/or time) to accomplish goals. Prioritizes work according to the program or department’s goals, not just own job responsibilities; manages own time effectively.

•          Business acumen:  The ability to use information, ask the right questions, and make decisions that make an impact on the overall business performance.