Organisation: Mercy Corps
Project
Name: MasterCard Foundation Driving Youth-led New Agribusiness and
Microenterprise (DYNAMIC) programme
Duty
Station: Lira, Uganda
Mercy Corps
is an international non-profit organization which implements high-quality,
analytical development work in very difficult places. We have been operating in
Uganda since 2006 and currently implement development programs in the Acholi
and Karamoja sub-regions of Uganda with funding from USAID, EC, SDC, and USDA
among others.
About
MasterCard Foundation DYNAMIC Programme:
Working in
consortia with GOAL, VSO and Restless Development, the Driving Youth-led New
Agribusiness and Microenterprise (DYNAMIC) program will strengthen systems and
facilitate creation of sustainable economic opportunities for disadvantaged
youth. DYNAMIC’s goal is to increase the number of young people who are in
secure employment or self-employment and to promote agricultural market systems
for youth. DYNAMIC will reach 125,000 out-of-school youth aged 15–24 in eight
districts of northern Uganda over five years. Through a market facilitation
approach, youth already engaged in on-farm activities will move from
subsistence to more productive and profitable farming. DYNAMIC will increase
the employability of youth by facilitating access to demand driven technical
skills, knowledge and market information. In parallel, DYNAMIC will link
agribusinesses and microenterprises to market opportunities and diverse
stakeholders, and ensure they can utilize financial services.
Job
Summary: The Market Development Advisor will work to enhance DYNAMIC’s ability
to deliver high impact market development programming; development of market
development interventions, tools and resources; and the empowerment and
upskilling of other DYNAMIC team members to implement market development
interventions, particularly the 16 Market Development Officers and their
supervising Program Managers. The Market Development Advisor is an integral
member of the Program Management Unit and will contribute to strategic and technical
direction for the program. The Market Development Advisor will work closely
with the Financial Services Advisor to identify and enable access to financial
services as part of the DYNAMIC approach.
Key
Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Direction of Market
Development:
·
Provide technical oversight and direction on
market development for or in collaboration with all aspects of DYNAMIC program
activities.
·
The incumbent will develop tools and resources to
assist with market development analysis, program design, activities’
implementation and M&E. Initial phases of DYNAMIC will specifically focus
on thorough market development assessments, partially through youth-led
research, as foundational knowledge to design program interventions.
·
Carry out refresher and specialized trainings as
needed with staff and partners and design necessary didactic materials
(manuals, handouts etc.).
·
Participate in the development and rollout of
agency tested tools and initiatives to ensure consistent high-quality implementation.
·
Steer and participate in sector identification,
intervention design and strategy development of the DYNAMIC program with
guidance from the Deputy Program Director.
·
Conduct continuous market intelligence and
assessments to inform programming including identification of sectors and value
chains that have high potential to benefit the youth.
·
Develop and manage relationship with private
sector partners working across program targeted sectors.
·
Carry out pilot studies and research relevant to
the program and aimed at informing implementation and learning and coaching of
partner higher and medium level firms and enterprises.
·
Guide the market development team in field
activities that may include conducting light due-diligence on potential
partners and supporting the negotiation process, as requested, in finalizing
teaming and partnership agreements; identifying capacity gaps of potential
private sector actors, designing and implementing most feasible capacity
building activities based on identified gaps; and providing continuous support
and oversee activities of the private sector partners.
2. Contribute to, Capture and Champion
Market Development Best Practices:
·
Significantly contribute to the suite of market
development resources available to support and promote quality practice in the
field.
·
Help mentor and develop technical skills in Market
Development Officers and other staff across program field teams.
·
Provide support in building a more dense, diverse
and collaborative network of relationships for market development practitioners
and other stakeholders and to broker effective relationships at the country and
regional levels.
·
Connect best practices and learning from programs
across MC countries to ensure an evolving and effective learning system for
improving program implementation.
3. Organizational Learning: As part of
Mercy Corps Uganda’s commitment to organizational learning and in support of
our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and
relevant to the communities they serve – we expect all team members to commit
5% of their time to learning activities that benefit the DYNAMIC program as
well as themselves.
Qualifications,
Skills and Experience:
·
The ideal candidate for the Mercy Corps MasterCard
Foundation DYNAMIC Market Development Advisor vacancy should hold a Bachelor’s
Degree in business, agribusiness, economic development or other relevant field
required; Possession of a Master’s Degree strongly preferred.
·
At least eight years’ experience and background in
business or market/economic development particularly in the private sector,
market development and/or related industry.
·
Dynamic leader who can guide teams to believe in
and follow a strong market development philosophy.
·
Previous experience with a wide range of
stakeholder and partner management with national/regional companies;
international agencies; community-based organizations; agribusinesses, etc.
needed.
·
Strong group process design and facilitation
skills, including developing and leading workshops, as well as group consensus
building around market development philosophy.
·
Working knowledge of agricultural development
required.
·
Excellent track record in adaptive management in
fast-paced, entrepreneurial work environment required.
·
Strong writing, communication, organization,
prioritization and negotiating skills.
·
Excellent (English) verbal and written
communication skills with a full knowledge of office applications.
·
Working knowledge and experience in business
financing for SME’s and/or youth engagement is highly valued.
·
Willingness to spend much time in the field and
work closely with various district-level program teams.
All suitably
qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to apply online at the web link below.
Click Here
Deadline: 29th February 2016
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