Chief of Party Location: Accra, Ghana

Location: Accra, Ghana
Duration: Long-term

CARANA Corporation (www.carana.com), a contractor for USAID, designs and directs innovative economic growth strategies to help countries and businesses compete globally, reducing poverty and raising living standards around the world. For 25 years, we have specialized in market-led solutions to development challenges in more than 80 countries, packaging our expertise with on-the-ground resources for continuing, cost-effective results.

CARANA seeks a Chief of Party for a pending USAID project which will focus on facilitating agriculture investment in Northern Ghana. Private investments important to the modernization of the rice, maize and soya value chains, will benefit rural entrepreneurs and smallholder producers engaged in out-grower schemes and contract farming arrangements. To achieve both social and economic returns, partnerships with private sector actors will be established to support transactions which are commercially viable and demonstrate high social impact. The project will provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to facilitating agriculture related investment, engaging a broad range of Ghanaian financial intermediaries in providing agricultural financing, alongside an option for direct financing of targeted investment deemed critical to USAID’s Feed the Future (FTF) strategy.

The Chief of Party will serve as the overall project manager and as the Agriculture Investment Development Unit Manager.

Duties:

• Provide project management and oversight of all activities;
• Serve as liaison with USAID, GOG, and CARANA HQ;
• As the Technical Leader of the Agriculture Investment Development Unit, identify pipeline of investment opportunities within the rice, maize and soya value chains in Northern Ghana;
• Facilitate linkages to other Government of Ghana and development partner projects;
• Oversee Agriculture Investment Development Unit including, project preparation and investment proposal development, social engagement and investment facilitation and financial sector support;
• Work with Investment Fund Manager to drive forward investment opportunities;
• Link investment project stakeholders to existing support programs (GOG or donor projects) that could offer direct assistance;
• Facilitate access to support services to address cross-cutting issues that are common across investees, such as business performance improvement, investment climate and new market development;
• Must be willing and able to travel to Northern Ghana occasionally.

Preferred Competencies:

• Previous experience as a fund manager, particularly in West Africa, ideally in agriculture sector or encompassing agricultural value chain investments and/or social impact investing;
• Familiarity with legal and administrative processes of fund management;
• Familiarity with access to finance for agriculture, especially smallholder engagement and outreach;
• Experience working with the commercial banking sector;
• Deep understanding of agricultural value chains and markets in West Africa;
• MA, MS, or MBA degrees, or CPA/CFA certificates

To apply: click on the following link to our consultant registry http://carana.resume-management.com/apply and select “Chief of Party – Ghana Finance” from the drop down menu of current open positions.
No phone calls please. CARANA is an EOE.