Project Assistant at Syngenta AG

Job ID: 18028669
Job: Business Sustainability - Corporate Affairs General Management & Other

Description

• The Syngenta Foundation's mission is to create value for resource-poor smallholder farmers in developing countries through innovation in sustainable agriculture and the activation of value chains.
• The Foundation works with partners in developing countries and emerging markets. Our aim is to help smallholder farmers become more professional growers. We do this by extending science-based know-how, facilitating access to quality inputs, and linking smallholders to markets in profitable ways. This adds value for rural communities, and sustainably improves food security.
• The Syngenta Foundation operates across product streams following a pipeline approach (Proof of Concept, Scale-Up, Handover).

Our current streams are:

• Agriservices
• Risk Management and Financial Inclusion for smallholder farmers, implementing and scaling up affordable agricultural insurance products and risk transfer mechanism to access credit.
• Access to Seeds (Seeds2B) includes investments in plant breeding and technology transfer of new varieties to smallholders.

SFSA is seeking to recruit a Project Assistant to support the coordination of the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa (AVISA) Seeds2B project in Nigeria. The position will provide expertise on the seed system’s current landscape for Cowpea and Sorghum in Nigeria.

Responsibilities
Main duties and responsibilities include:

• Support the AVISA project coordinator of Nigeria in all the activities pertaining to the project
• Establish relationships with Nigeria seed companies growing Cowpea and Groundnut and become the expert in their capacity, interest, and needs
• Support the Early generation Seed (EGS) effort and  the Technical assistantship program through close collaboration with the programs leads
• Learn, adapt and champion the Seeds2B commercialization process
• Participate in the implementation of the workshops needed for the project
• Remain up to date with all the Nigeria crop market information available through desktop research (keep a list of publications) and through discussions with value chain players such as public and private breeders, retailers, distributors, agro-dealers.
• Help Facilitating the creation of Target Product Profile and the implementation of SFSA’s Product Advancement Approach by the NARS and CG
• Support the establishment of relevant demo trials and field days
• Use TEAMS to capture all outputs for the project
• Track project expenses using the Smartsheet tool

Qualifications / Requirements

• BS degree in Agronomy, Breeding, Agribusiness, or related field.
• Three years experience with good knowledge in seed production or seed research, breeding, and agronomy
• Knowledge and experience working with the private seed sector and national seed regulations
• Effective collaboration and communication across different work levels, functions, and locations.
• Experience in working in a diverse team spread across geographies (‘virtual teams’)
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate with diverse audiences whose native language may not be English.
• Ability to communicate value to customers