Local Economic Development Manager at Adam Smith International

Expected Start Date: June 2017
Employment Type: Contract
Job Functions: Consulting Business Development Management

Job Description

• Youth Skills & Employment Programme:
  
  • Increasing economic opportunities for 60,000+ marginalised youth in northern Nigeria
  • Complete responsibility for the local economic development component of the program
  • Formulate policy, business development services and access to finance for beneficiaries
• The Local Economic Development (LED) Manager will have overall responsibility for the LED component of the MAFITA programme, supporting Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) to create growth and employment opportunities for MAFITA supported youth.
• The LED Manager will formulate and implement state policies and strategies for MSE support and job creation, and provision of quality business development services (BDS) and access to finance (A2F) to MAFITA’s beneficiaries.
• The LED Manager will also provide support to the Community Skills Development Centres and Apprenticeship interventions.

MAFITA:

• MAFITA is a large, six year, youth employment program operating in Nigeria’s northern states.
• Through a combination of innovative skills development and job creation interventions, MAFITA will support over 60,000 marginalised young people to find employment or become entrepreneurs by 2021.
• MAFITA is a flagship youth employment project for DFID and Adam Smith International. We are seeking an exceptional full-time Local Economy Development (LED) Manager to join the team from June 2017 and play a key role in delivering this exciting programme.

LED Responsibilities

• Support state governments in the implementation of MSE support and job creation policies and strategies
• Facilitate the development and implementation of effective business development services for MSEs and new start-up entrepreneurs
• Facilitate the development and implementation of effective and affordable financial services for MSEs and new entrepreneurs
• Facilitate the establishment of an effective broker system at selected trade associations for provision of BDS and financial services to members and new start-ups
• Support the establishment of BDS and financial services at COSDEC support centers
• Coordinate the development and implementation of a sustainable job creation strategy for MAFITA

Duration and Location:

• This is a full time position, commencing June 2017 with an expected commitment of at least two years. The LED Manager will be based in the Kano with some travel to the focal states and Abuja.

Required Skills

• A demonstrated track record in a field relevant to the duties and accountabilities of the position
• Experience in international development for a consultancy firm, development agency or NGO
• Strong technical experience in the following areas (experience in more than one area is desirable):
  • Local Economic Development
  • Youth employment / empowerment
  • Job creation
  • Value chains and market systems development
• Experience in designing and managing project-centred monitoring and evaluation work
• Fluency in English, knowledge of Hausa is desirable
• Excellent interpersonal skills, communications and writing skills
• Preferably experience living and working in Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa
• An undergraduate (and preferably postgraduate) degree in a relevant field