Local Market Senior Specialist at TechnoServe

Job Summary

• Reporting to the Regional Business Support Manager, the Local Market Senior Specialist will help develop, execute, and monitor marketing programs targeting, mainly the local/domestic market for cashew products.
• This includes conducting market (outlet) research, analyzing trends to help define marketing strategy, and providing advice as to how to best reach the target market.
• S/he will implement tailored technical assistance plans that focus on building profitability, supporting processing units to increase their sales and market reach.

About the Project

• Prosper Cashew is a five-year, $26 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Food for Progress Program that aims to catalyze investment for the West African cashew processing sector.
• Over the next five years, the project will strengthen and revive existing cashew processing facilities across Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria and support the development of new processing facilities and other value chain enterprises as part of the project’s overall goal to increase the share of raw cashew nut that is processed in the region from about 8% to 50%.
• Over five years, Prosper Cashew will improve the capacity of 60 processing units who source cashews from approximately 34,000 farmers, facilitate $497 million of investment in the cashew sector, and generate $1.5 billion in cashew kernel sales.
• The project expects to create more than 26,000 new jobs (at least 50% for women) and indirectly benefit more than 133,000 women, men, and children in West Africa.
• A key component of the project will be to strengthen and increase commercially viable cashew enterprises through business and technical support. On the business side, the project will build processor capacity in business management, financial management, investment facilitation, HR and workforce management, marketing, and supply chain development.
• Prosper Cashew will support processors to integrate their supply chain to maximize cost competitiveness and capitalize on other value propositions such as single origin, traceability, organic, and certified cashew kernels.
• Prosper Cashew will support cashew processors to develop a robust supply chain, from the sourcing of raw nuts to sale of processed kernels.
• The project will pilot innovative direct supplier programs to guarantee a sustainable source of quality raw material and will support the marketing of kernels from West Africa by bringing together processors and international buyers.

Primary Purpose and Function

• Reporting to the Regional Business Support Manager, the Local Market Senior Specialist will help develop, execute, and monitor marketing programs targeting, mainly the local/domestic market for cashew products. This includes conducting market (outlet) research, analyzing trends to help define marketing strategy, and providing advice as to how to best reach the target market. S/he will implement tailored technical assistance plans that focus on building profitability, supporting processing units to increase their sales and market reach.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Conduct market research to identify customer trends, competitor offerings and demographic data.
• Liaise with communication teams to come up with branding ideas, graphic designs, promotional materials and advertising copies.
• Explore and identify effective marketing and promotional channels, including media platforms to be used to relay product messages to customers.
• Investigate the performance of processors’ marketing campaigns and strategies through evaluating key performance metrics.
• Create innovative marketing campaigns depending on robust data and present the recommendations to management.
• Establish and maintain relationships with new and existing clients through networking and prospecting.
• Create goals and objectives in order to approach customers through appropriate marketing channels.
• Help in outbound and inbound marketing activities by displaying expertise in certain areas such as events planning, advertising, optimization and content development.
• Support the development of a market information system to keep processors updated on market trends and prices.
• Initiate/promote buying visits from buyers to processors and support them to make the visits successful.
• Support processors to conduct market analysis and develop new product lines, including cashew byproducts.
• Participate in market analysis and support project efforts to develop local markets for domestically processed cashew kernels.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Journalism, Communication, or other related discipline, with 5 years’ experience in both digital and traditional marketing and sales (preferably food products), or Master’s degree with 3 years’ experience
• Strong experience operating data analytics software
• Strong experience with web analysis tools
• Strong communication skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, content management software and customer relationship management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience and knowledge of the Nigerian Market, especially retail market and/or cashew kernel market
• Experience working on and with a regional and or virtual team
• Should be able to work independently (evidence/experience of previous work in an environment when the majority of collaborators including supervisor was not based in the same location)

Languages:

• Proficiency in spoken and written English is required
• Proficiency in local languages preferred
• Knowledge of French is a plus

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills
• Excellent time management and organizational skills
• Excellent oral/written communication and presentation skills
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and meet demanding deadlines
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Strong interpersonal and team-building skills
• Proficiency in MS Office & presentation skills are required
• Willingness to spend up to 40% of time traveling domestically and/or to relocate in Nigeria

Travel:

• Willingness to spend up to 40% of time traveling domestically and/or to relocate in Nigeria