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Senior Operations Officer - Agribusiness- Dakar, Senegal

Job #: 120927
Title: Senior Operations Officer - Agribusiness
Job Stream: Technical Assistance & Advisory Services
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Closing Date: 05/13/2012


Background / General description:
Improving the investment climate in Africa is one of three core priorities of the IFC/World Bank Group strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa. IFC manages the Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group, which comprise staff based in the regional hub offices of Nairobi, Dakar and Johannesburg and across the continent, who work with a team of product specialists based in Washington, DC and Istanbul. The Investment Climate Advisory Services have been supporting Sub-Saharan African countries to design and implement investment climate reform programs for nearly a decade, and have scaled up their efforts significantly in recent years.

The programs assist client countries to implement a range of investment climate reforms, including economy-wide reforms of aspects of business regulation, supporting international trade and investment, regional integration as well as addressing obstacles to private sector investment in leading industries, such as agribusiness, infrastructure, tourism and health. The team’s objective is to support African countries’ efforts to create a positive investment climate to increase their competitiveness and private sector investment.

The Investment Climate Advisory Services are seeking a Senior Operations Officer to help strengthen and scale up its approach to supporting agribusiness in client countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This effort builds on a portfolio of ongoing projects in Africa and elsewhere and is focused on achieving measureable impacts in terms of investment and increased sector output. Work in this area supports the new World Bank Group Agriculture Action Plan (FY2010–2012) which projects an increase in support by the Group to agriculture and related sectors from a baseline average support in FY06-8 of $4.1 billion annually to between $6.2 and $8.3 billion annually over the next three years. Moreover, it is a direct response to the IFC's corporate strategy on agribusiness and its institutional development goals, in particular, its focus on "addressing constraints to private sector growth in the food supply chain". The position is located in Dakar, Senegal.

Duties and Accountabilities:
• Serve as a global/regional technical specialist in agribusiness working closely with the Industry Specific Investment Climate Practice in the Investment Climate (IC) Department of the World Bank Group providing knowledge leadership for our clients that builds upon a private sector driven focus to agribusiness development and investment climate transformation for the sector.

• Contribute to the development of a global practice through support and guidance to management and staff within the Investment Climate Department and IFC Regional Advisory Services on strategy, policies, project design and implementation, impact models and potential interventions that would contribute to agribusiness development in emerging economies.

• Participate in developing the “proof of concept” for various sub-products that will define what, how and where the Department will undertake projects and assistance to clients within the agribusiness sector.

• Work closely with the global business line team in HQ to leverage the global team’s expertise to help deliver results to clients in Africa.

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of a knowledge management framework (covering the intersection of investment climate issues and agribusiness development in emerging economies) with a view to:

o Increasing staff capacity to identify, design and implement agribusiness projects;

o Developing and then housing a suite of tools (from diagnostics & implementation to monitoring and evaluation) to aid project development and execution;

o Disseminating best practice and implementation experience;

o Increasing knowledge transfer to clients; and

o Improving the overall quality of projects executed.

• Monitor the World Bank’s lending and technical assistance operations and IFC investment operations and advisory services related to commercial agriculture and agribusiness to determine trends, opportunities for project development and coordination in project delivery.

• In conjunction with IFC Regional Advisory Services support the development of a pipeline of new projects and supervise existing projects to further the growth of agribusiness in emerging economies.

• Conduct detailed appraisals/ diagnostics of IC agribusiness projects, develop reports which include recommendations for internal and client use, support the implementation of projects to:

o Ensure overall quality control in line with corporate monitoring and evaluation requirements.

o Assist in identifying and developing a database of short-term consultants/firms with experience in the overlap between agribusiness the investment climate in emerging economies.

The staff is expected to work in close coordination with the World Bank and IFC's Senior Investment Officer in the country, and with the investment climate team staff in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Dakar, Washington and Istanbul. The staff is also expected to participate in and contribute to the Investment Climate Advisory Services’ support to regional investment climate reforms.

Selection Criteria:
• Masters or PhD in Agricultural Economics or related discipline or other post-graduate degree (MBA, Finance, International Affairs/Development).

• At least 10 years of experience on agribusiness development issues, with a mix of policy research and implementation of capacity-building programs as well as strong technical experience preferably including direct experience in the private sector.

• Demonstrated technical knowledge of best practices related to agriculture development with a private sector focus

• A track record of managing successful agriculture development projects, preferably in a developing country context is a strong advantage

• Strong technical knowledge and implementation experience in two or more of the following areas as they relate to emerging economies:

o Regulatory and enabling environment constraints and policy remedies related to agribusiness development;

o Policies and institutional regimes to encourage FDI in agribusiness into and among developing countries;

o Public-private cooperation mechanisms to encourage agribusiness growth and development

o Role of the public sector in the development, promulgation and adoption of agro-food safety and quality standards and certification schemes;

o Regulatory schemes related to secured transactions and access to finance in agribusiness, including warehouse receipts;

o Competition policy constraints and policy remedies related agribusiness development;

o Assessment and remedies to trade and logistics constraints to agribusiness production and exports (pre- and post-harvest).

• Strong analytical, oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues and recommend solutions.

• Well developed client relationship skills and sensitivity in dealing with development partners and government authorities.

• Proven leadership abilities with project management experience.

• Experience in designing country- and region-wide advisory/technical assistance programs in emerging markets.

• Ability to lead and work with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams across several regions.

• Willingness and ability to travel extensively.

• Fluency in English and French is required. Fluency in Portuguese is highly desirable.

Women are particularly encouraged to apply.

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