Business Development Officer - Poultry Development for Resettlement (PDR) at Mercy Corps

Reference Number: MDG/HUMOPS/2019/00057
Location: Maiduguri, Borno State

Program / Department Summary

• Poultry Development for Resettlement program aims to revitalize the poultry livelihoods and markets through the introduction of affordable, hybrid chickens in the context of Northeast Nigeria. The program will facilitate support to individuals and/or households in order to engage in a safe income generating activity (Poultry rearing) and provides households with access to a nutritious source of protein in the form of chicken and eggs, and thereby improve their nutritional status.
• The position will be based in Maiduguri with travel to project sites on regular basis. The project works with, private sector, Individual poultry farmers, returnees’ households and the host community.

General Position Summary

• The Business Development Officer will be responsible for supporting market actors with business skills development, business plan and innovation to adopt new business approaches in the intervention communities of PDR program.
• S/He will be responsible for supporting the implementation of strategic, impactful, and high-quality programming.
• The BDO will report to the Deputy Program Manager - MALL and work collaboratively with business development assistant and other program staff.
• S/he will work extensively with other sectors of the project to ensure that all activities are implemented successfully and timely.

Essential Job Functions
Strategy & Program Management:

• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.
• Originate ideas for self and others and test those ideas.
• Share information and work with colleagues to create innovations in the team’s work.
• Facilitate effective communication of information to various audiences using a variety of techniques, ensuring the information is tailored to the audience.
• Following up new business opportunities and lead where necessary community meetings, business partner meetings for Poultry Development for Resettlement program.
• Identifying synergies between third parties and linking them to forge productive new relationships.
• Support market actors in assessing relevant information about market potential and opportunities to improve their businesses.
• Facilitating market linkages that provide vulnerable groups access to useful secondary services that markets provide when functioning well.
• Support mother unit and small holder poultry farmers to develop a clear business plan that will accommodate innovative and/or new business approaches.
• Facilitate access to the required knowledge and skills, so that mother unit and SHPF businesses have the confidence to adopt new practices and have the ability to do so successfully.
• Facilitate linkages between mother units and financial institution.
• Support the establishment and strengthening of groups of smallholder poultry farmers to form market-oriented enterprises that enable them to engage more effectively in an emerging market system; train the group on VSLA methodology and other business and financial management.
• Contribute to effective program reporting, monitoring and evaluation systems for both internal and external use in coordination with the other program staff.
• Adherence to all MC policies and procedures as outlined in MC policies and procedure manuals;
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission in country of operation;
• Other duties as assigned.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to programming.
• Responsible for expenditure tracking of activities carried out in the field

Influence & Representation:

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with the community, government, private sector and other stakeholder’s
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets are met.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
• Work closely with Mercy Corps Nigeria country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspects of its implementation process.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of our 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 Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
• to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Accountability

• Supervisory Responsibility: Business Development Assistant
• Reports Directly To: Deputy Program Manager
• Works Directly With: Finance, Program, MEL, Operations, and support team

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S in relevant field required; MA/MS/MBA or equivalent preferred.
• 3-4 years of experience working in the private sector, development sector, general program management experience required.
• Experience in business plan development and financial model development is required.
• Previous experience working with savings groups and/or cooperatives is desired.
• Ability to gather evidence (quantitative and qualitative data), evaluate it, theorize trends and develop insights.
• Ability to prioritizes and plan activities based on achieving long-term outcomes.
• Ability to make confident decisions quickly and shows good judgment in ambiguous situations
• Ability to work under pressure
• Demonstrated strengths in analytical skills, monitoring and evaluation, and report writing
• Strong interpersonal, intercultural and communication skills.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders to identify small holder poultry farmer according to criteria required.
• Experience with conducting assessments, monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts required.
• Experience representing the organization and its interests to a diverse range of local and international government officials, local civil society organizations, other international organizations, the media and the public.
• Commitment to renewing and maintaining knowledge of best practices.
• Demonstrated training and facilitation experience
• Excellent oral and written skills and computer skills
• Fluency in English; fluency in Hausa is required

Success Factors

• Strong Work Ethic, having the ability to learn the most efficient way of learning the most efficient way to complete tasks and finding ways to save time while completing daily assignments. Dependability and Responsibility, having the ability to come to work on time, are there when they are supposed to be, and are responsible for their actions and behavior. Adaptability, being adaptable and maintaining flexibility in completing tasks in an ever-changing workplace.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

• The position is based in Maiduguri, Borno State and it requires travels between field offices in Northeast Nigeria.