Agriculture Value Chain Specialist for Malawi

Agriculture Value Chain Specialist for Malawi (Ref: 13-47 AVCS/IRS/SSA)

The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking an Agricultural Value Chain Specialist to be based in Lilongwe, Malawi.

The Center: CIP is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved well-being, and gender equity for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world. CIP works with partners to contribute high quality science, technology, and capacity strengthening for sustainable science-based solutions. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru, with staff and activities in over 30 locations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. . Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The CIP Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) main regional office is in Nairobi, Kenya. CIP also has offices in 7 other African countries.

CIP is launching a new going-to-scale project building on our successful research work on nutritious orange-fleshed sweetpotato in sub-Saharan Africa. We are looking for energetic researchers and development specialists to lead this effort in key countries in the region and to help us reach farmers and consumers with new and innovative approaches and partnerships.

The Position: The Agriculture Value Chain Specialist will be responsible for the implementation of a going-to-scale project in Malawi to improve nutrition benefits from with pro-vitamin A rich orange-fleshed sweetpotato.  This will require managing complex multi-disciplinary partnerships with government, non-governmental implementation organizations and private sector partners and working closely with other CIP scientists based in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique. The position will be part of the regional project team and reports to the regionally based Project Leader. The principal tasks and responsibilities comprise the following:

Duties and responsibilities:

• Oversee and coordinate project activities and partnerships in specific districts of Malawi.
• Provide technical support to national partners to ensure production and multiplication of high quality foundation planting material.
• Manage the collaboration with private sector food processing companies and implement partners from the NGO sector to ensure timely delivery of quality.
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and impact assessment at country and regional levels.
• Develop and report against country-level project work plans as part of the regional project management system.
• Produce and contribute to scientific publications, policy briefs and other information materials, and participating in regional and international forums.
• Participate in national agriculture and nutrition forums to contribute to evidence-based planning and policy development.
• Coordinate and participate in periodic capacity building and training events for implementing partners and wider stakeholder groups.
• Supervise and/or facilitate associated in-country research activities by national research institutions, CIP and regional or international partners.

Selection Criteria:

• Ph.D. degree in an agricultural economics, nutrition, marketing, or other similar degrees. Specific training related to sweetpotato is an added advantage.
• At least 3 years as a project leader in an agricultural research and development context, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa.
• A minimum of 2 years hands-on experience working in agricultural seed systems or value chains, preferably with sweetpotato or other vegetatively propagated crops.
• A minimum of 3 years hands-on experience working with government, private sector and NGO collaborators in agricultural, nutrition, or value chain projects.
• Strong experience with communication technologies as research and development tools.
• Solid and up-to-date understanding of M&E, Impact Assessment and scaling-up principles and methodologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English are required.
• Ability to work in an international agricultural research center, interacting with its staff and managing research programs in a variety of institutional and ecological settings.
• A good ability and demonstrated expertise to write, plan research, analyze data and complete timely reports.
• Good record of publications and citations.
• Aptitude for teamwork, leadership, training, and communications.
• Willingness to travel frequently and work under field conditions.

Conditions: The employment contract will be for a three-year term (with a three month probation period) with the possibility of renewal, subject to availability of funding. The salary will be internationally competitive, paid in US dollars, and commensurate with experience. CIP prides itself on its collegial and supportive working environment, which allows space for personal and professional growth.

Applications: Applicants should apply by email, sending a cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full C.V. and the names and contact information of three referees knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to cip-recruitment@cgiar.org, copied to Jan Low (j.low@cgiar.org). The reference name of the position should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email message. Screening of applications will begin on October 09, 2013 and will continue until the post is filled.

CIP seeks diversity and gender balance in its staff.

Women and citizens of developing countries are particularly urged to apply.

To learn more about CIP please visit http://www.cipotato.org/