Value Chain and Private Sector Development Specialist, ACDI/VOCA South Sudan

Value Chain and Private Sector Development Specialist, South Sudan ACDI/VOCA is seeking a long-term Value Chain and Private Sector Development Specialist for a current five-year, USAID-funded project in South Sudan. The project’s goal is to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and food production in the three Equatoria states of South Sudan, with a value chain focus on smallholder production of staple crops. The anticipated start date for this position is mid-July 2012. Please note that this is not a family post.

Responsibilities: • Provide overall leadership in applying a value chain approach and learning process to ensure project interventions are targeted and responsive to evolving market requirements and upgrading needs. • Coordinate with other project staff to support farmer and producer organizations in evaluating market requirements and developing responsive production plans. • Facilitate linkages among lead farms, producer organizations, wholesalers and traders to make local production competitive with imports in domestic markets. • Provide assistance in conjunction with other technical staff to build the capacity of producer organizations to perform marketing functions. • Strengthen farms, associations and rural enterprises to improve post-harvest handling and value-added services including drying, milling, processing and storage.
• Support retailers and wholesalers in developing market associations to promote a more transparent and equitable system of market fees and ensure a reliable flow of local production to market. • Work with local government to facilitate efficient market access for local production.

Qualifications: • Minimum 7-10 years of experience working on agricultural development and competiveness projects. • Master’s degree in relevant technical field. • Demonstrated understanding of the value chain approach, ideally in an African context. • Experience with post-harvest handling a plus. • Experience implementing activities in large, complex projects in challenging environments. • Fluency in English required.

How to apply:

Please apply online at http://acdivoca.maxhire.net/cp/?E55465361D43515B7E59192F77561A6907627B4D. No phone calls please. Only finalists contacted. Women and minorities encouraged to apply. EOE.