Senior Agribusiness Specialist, Agribusiness Performance Evaluation, Nigeria at Social Impact (SI)

Project Objective

• USAID/Nigeria has engaged the MEL Support Activity to conduct an external Midterm Performance Evaluation of an agribusiness activity. This Activity aims to strengthen the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment by broadening access to finance by mitigating the credit risks of agribusinesses; promoting and facilitating investment opportunities for agribusinesses to expand and scale up operations; and sustainably enhancing the performance of agribusiness micro, small and medium sized enterprises.
• The primary purpose of this mid-term performance evaluation is to determine whether the assistance is meeting the stated development objectives, and to understand the lessons learned from this particular Activity in Nigeria. It is intended to provide an independent examination of the overall progress and accomplishments of the Activity.
• The estimated start date will be October 1, 2021. The evaluation is expected to last until January 2022, and the estimated LOE will be 51 days.

Position Description

• SI is seeking a Senior Agribusiness Specialist  who will who will provide technical support to the evaluation team.
• The Senior  Agribusiness Specialist  will be working alongside three team members: Team Leader, Agricultural Economist, and Evaluation Specialist.

Responsibilities

• Perform desk review and identify additional information required for analysis.
• Provide technical expertise on agribusiness and support the Team Leader's efforts in evaluation design, methodology, and data collection instruments.
• Schedule and interview key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• Provide ongoing analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Support the preparation and presentation of the key findings and recommendations to USAID/Nigeria.
•  Write assigned sections of the draft evaluation report in coordination with team members, taking into consideration feedback from the preliminary findings presentation.
• Work collaboratively with team members throughout design, implementation, analysis, and report writing to complement each other's areas of expertise.

Qualifications

• Must have at least a Master's Degree or equivalent in Development Economics, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or related fields.
• Must have a minimum of seven (7) years implementing and evaluating programming around strengthening the enabling environment for agricultural development.
• Must demonstrate experience and knowledge about the Nigerian agribusiness context, particularly on business enabling environment, finance, investment, and policies.
• Must be able to conduct interviews and focus group discussions and analyze the resulting data.
• Must demonstrate good interpersonal and diplomatic skills as well as strong report writing and analytical skills and an excellent oral communication skills.