Market Systems and Cooperative Business Technical Advisor at Nuru Nigeria

Job Summary

• The Market Systems and Business Development Specialist at Nuru Nigeria will analyse market systems, identify opportunities, and implement strategies to improve the business environment for smallholder farmers, entrepreneurs, and local enterprises.
• The specialist will work closely with stakeholders, including the Farmer Association, Farmer Organisations, local businesses, government agencies, and other NGOs, to promote sustainable market linkages, increase market effectiveness, enhance income-generating activities and drive farmer organisation sustainability.
• The role requires strong analytical skills, a deep understanding of market dynamics, viable rural business models, and the ability to develop and implement innovative strategies to drive economic growth and improve livelihoods.

Responsibilities
Market Systems Analysis:

• Conduct thorough market assessments, mapping key actors, value chains, and market opportunities.
• Analyse market trends, supply and demand dynamics, and other relevant factors affecting farmers, local businesses and community-driven aggregations for profitability.
• Identify market constraints, challenges, and opportunities for growth and development.
• Develop comprehensive reports and recommendations based on market analysis findings.

Business Development Strategy:

• Leverage existing curricula and approaches to farmer organisation business development applied by Nuru Nigeria, including but not limited to the IFC Agribusiness Leadership Program, GIZ Farmer Business Schools, and others.
• Design and implement market-based strategies to promote sustainable business growth and development for the farmer organisation.
• Develop and implement business models that support the profitability of smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and their livelihood diversification.
• Identify and facilitate access to finance, technical assistance, and training opportunities for market actors.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to develop marketing and branding strategies that enhance product visibility and competitiveness for farmer organisations.
• Support the development and implementation of business plans, including financial projections and risk assessments for Nuru Nigeria’s Farmer Organisations.

Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Build solid relationships and multi-stakeholder networks with stakeholders, especially off-takers, agro-allied companies and input financing organisations that can support Nuru Nigeria’s Farmer Organisation.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify partnership opportunities and leverage resources to support market development initiatives.
• Coordinate and facilitate multi-stakeholder platforms, workshops, and training sessions to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration.
• Develop proposals and explore funding opportunities for farmer organisations to ensure self-sustainability.
• Represent Nuru Nigeria in relevant meetings, conferences, and market systems and business development events.
• Support organisation fundraising efforts.
• Liaise with Nuru International through regular collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning:

• Align Nuru Nigeria evaluation systems with Nuru Collective farmer organisation impact indicators like SCOPEinsight and profitability analysis.
• Support the development of robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track the progress and impact of Nuru Nigeria’s market development initiatives.
• Collate and analyse data on critical market information, market dynamics, market trends and impact indicators in a timely manner for informed decision-making.
• Identify lessons learned and best practices to inform future program design and implementation.
• Prepare regular progress reports and contribute to program reporting requirements.
• And any other duties assigned by your line manager.

Qualifications and Job Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Business Administration, Economics, Agricultural Economics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in agricultural market systems development, business development, or related fields.
• Proven experience in market analysis, value chain development, and business planning.
• Strong understanding of agricultural systems, rural development, and poverty alleviation strategies.
• Experience developing financial models and analysing business-level financial statements.
• Knowledge of market-based approaches, including value chain development, access to finance, and enterprise development.
• Familiarity with Nigerian market systems, agricultural value chains, and economic development challenges.
• Excellent analytical skills, including the ability to collect, analyse, and interpret complex data.