Route to Market Distribution Portfolio Manager (PM)

Description

• Program Overview:
• The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) anticipates funding the five-year Promoting Market Systems, Innovation and Resilience (PREMIER) activity in Mozambique. The PREMIER activity will facilitate the development of an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable market system to boost agriculture-led economic growth in the Nacala corridor of northern Mozambique. The activity will use a market systems approach and will focus on minimizing barriers that disadvantage the vulnerable, women and youth and exclude them from economic opportunities within the agriculture sector. This activity is anticipated to cover a combination of staple and high value crops
• The activity will implement solutions including:
• Enhancing access to finance across sectors for the rural poor and SMEs
• Enhancing risk mitigation management
• Building the capacity of smallholder producers and agribusinesses
• Increasing incomes for smallholder farmers
• Establishing strong and transparent relationships between actors
• Expanding employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, especially for youth and women
• Position Overview:
• The Technical Team will be responsible for facilitating support to primarily private sector actors through three main components: a) exploit attractive market opportunities where the Nacala Corridor has a comparative advantage, b) catalyze and expand local agro-processing industries, and c) work with and through local third-party service providers as delivery partners. With strategic guidance from the COP, the technical team comprises the Technical Director and five Portfolio Managers (PMs). The PMs manage relationships with clients and related local delivery partners to reach Premier’s objectives for inclusive supply chains, food processing, route to market distribution, business development services, and access to finance

Duties

• Primary Functions and Responsibilities:
• The Route to Market Distribution Portfolio Manager will lead the Premier activities to pilot and scale a range of interventions to improve critical market infrastructure and value-add services within the Nacala corridor. In order to achieve this, the responsibilities of the Route to Market DIstribution PM will include the following:
• Define and execute a strategy for the portfolio objective working with private sector partners, public sector actors and stakeholders to create sustainable changes to the relevant market systems
• Identify private sector agribusiness clients to test, pilot and scale innovative and inclusive business models through Premier’s co-investment facility (the Private Sector Investment Fund, PSIF)
• For each client, conduct initial research and gap assessments such as business and quality assessment audits, growth opportunities and constraint analyses, and business diagnostics to identify issues and needs for each business or group of businesses to create the Core Business Technical Assistance (CBTA) plan
• For each Inclusive Business Plan partner, identify the value drivers and competitive advantages for their Inclusive Business Plan (IBP), developing the business model and designing the solution
• Support Premier’s agribusiness clients to select appropriate local third-party service partners to implement their CBTA and secure the necessary advisory services through a Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Develop and implement classroom sector-wide trainings through local BDS providers focusing on common challenges faced by agri-small growing businesses
• Support and collaborate with businesses that create agricultural and technology sercices
• Contribute to Premier networking and relationship management with private and public actors to promote
• Premier objectives and facilitate wider adoption and crowding in
• Drive monitoring, evaluation and learning across the portfolio through collection and analysis of data to measure performance and impact

Requisites

• Master’s level Degree in either Business, Economics, Agriculture, Finance or equivalent
• 5 years of experience or more as the technical manager for donor-funded value chain, M4P, and/or Market Systems Development projects
• Demonstrated success using facilitation in at least one of the following: the USAID value chain approach, M4P, or Market Systems Development approach, which led to greater competitiveness and inclusiveness in markets.
• Fluency in English and Portuguese.
• Demonstrated experience with conducting value chain analysis and developing value chain work plans is desired
• Strong private sector market orientation, entrepreneurial and innovative thinker.
• Detail orientation, including strong organizational, analytical, and quantitative skills.
• Excellent computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other administrative applications.
• Communicative and open to exchange and learning
• Required Languages:
• Fluency in Portuguese with excellent oral and written communication skills required
• Proficiency in English is preferred

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted
• We encourage all qualified female and individual candidates, who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply
• With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes
• We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks. If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515. More information on TechnoServe at: Twitter: @TechnoServe