Senior Portfolio Manager at Palladium Group

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

• The Senior Portfolio Manager will be responsible for identifying systemic constraints within climate-smart agricultural markets and developing sustainable market-based solutions that deliver increased resilience, productivity, and nutrition outcomes for smallholder farmers. Key functions include managing technical assistance to partners, guiding the development and uptake of inclusive, “green” and sustainable business models (e.g. crop intensification, seed multiplication, solar-powered agric mechanisation, aggregation of nutrient-dense grains etc.), facilitating the delivery of demand-creation initiatives, and ensuring integration of gender and nutrition across the implementation of all interventions. The successful candidate will also be expected to lead results measurement and contribute to knowledge management, communications, learning, and reporting.
• S/he will work closely with the GESI Advisor and MERL team to ensure that intervention designs align with programme gender targets and MERL plan for ease of tracking, evaluation, course-correcting, and reporting results. Close collaboration with cross-functional teams including, communications, knowledge management and policy is critical to scale impact and deepen systemic change across Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Specific Responsibilities

Intervention facilitation

• Use research and evidence to develop market-led strategies and business models.
• Identifying and selecting project opportunities, maintaining coverage, and fulfilling project commitments.
• Develop annual work plans, resource requirements, and budgets, in alignment with Programme deliverables.
• Work with the Pillar Lead and other members of the technical team to develop business case decks and identify and pitch business cases to potential partners.
• Provide technical assistance to targeted private sector partners in identifying new roads to markets as well as designing efficient distribution and aggregation channels.
• Broker trade negotiations and market linkages between farmer groups/BMOs/Associations and national and multinational companies to expand market access and value to all actors.
• Lead field delivery, working with partners to execute bottom-of-the-pyramid strategies.
• Perform periodic industry analyses on the broader agricultural market and targeted subsectors to keep the programme strategy responsive.
• Work with the Operations and Management team to ensure due diligence, financial, credit, and risk reviews on potential partners.
• Ensure the appropriate communication of clear intervention guidelines, expected outcomes, timeframe and work plan to all relevant parties.
• Assist the Pillar Lead and other members of the technical team in the development of relevant grant agreements, MoUs, ToRs, and any other administrative requirements for the interventions.
• Conduct regular field visits to ensure proper implementation of activities.
• Periodically assess Programme/intervention assumptions in the light of the changing environment; identify emerging priorities, refine, and adapt intervention strategies accordingly.
• Work closely with other management teams to ensure programme support and facilitation tools are creating additionality, catalysing markets, and not distorting development.

Stakeholder Management

• Understand how the political economy impacts markets, and how the knowledge can be used to shape local policies and markets.
• Maintain contacts with key stakeholders to increase synergies.
• Assist in establishing contacts with state and non-state actors that may contribute to the successful implementation of market activities and maintain relationships with key players with common interests as Propcom+
• Ensure value for money in the delivery of every intervention activity managed by partners.
• Serve as liaison for the Programme in targeted subsectors and markets, displaying the qualities of a good market facilitator – listening, good communication, courtesy, tact, and discretion.

Competencies

• Communication: Confidently delivers tailored messages to various audiences using various media and tools. Asks insightful questions, validates the speaker’s feelings and points, and encourages the speaker; leaves the speaker feeling ‘heard’. Reports concisely and proactively with observations, analysis, and implications of the observations on project work and can present such findings to a variety of stakeholders concisely and effectively.
• Relationship Builder: Quickly develops trusting relationships with others; proactively assesses and manages trust with others. Maintains industry, government, and corporate networks and consistently forges new business relationships to fit priorities. Follows-up on connections to catalyse positive relationships. Demonstrates neutrality and helps parties come to creative agreements and solutions while keeping ownership with the parties.
• Businessperson: Understands the idea of the marketing mix (the 5 ‘P’s); can gather market info and advise on marketing strategy; Advises on building and keeping good customer relations. Keeps records in more.
• Innovator: Tests out new ideas on an ongoing basis; actively searches for solutions beyond traditional boundaries and informs colleagues. Makes time to reflect and codify learning; seeks out sources of learning. Proactively shares both successful and unsuccessful endeavours; actively identifies issues that may hinder effective collaborations and devises means of minimizing these; takes a leadership role in a team. Collects and arranges complex evidence within an Excel workbook; to aid subsequent cost-benefit analysis of economic options; and prescription and argument for pro-poor improvements in the market

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, marketing, business, or related fields. A master’s degree will be an added advantage
• 5-10+ years of cognate experience in similar programmes, developing market systems, or designing bottom-of-the-pyramid models.
• Technical experience in market system development approach to development
• Experience with supporting assessments, monitoring and evaluation, and other learning efforts required.
• Knowledge and experience working in the North of Nigeria, with an understanding of the gender and youth inclusion challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including government, community-based organizations, and the private sector.
• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills.
• Excellent oral, written, and computer skills.
• Fluency in English; fluency in Hausa is an added advantage.
• Adaptive and can work independently.