Job Vacancy at DAI

Programme Summary

Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE) will use the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach to generate pro-poor and inclusive economic growth in the non-oil sectors of the nine Niger Delta states. The programme’s stated objective is to raise the incomes of at least 150,000 poor people, of whom 50 per cent will be women.

Scope of Work

A senior M4P Portfolio Manager is required to work with the Team Leader and the Implementation Managers to engage with the key stakeholders in the selected value chains, to help clarify and define the specific activities during the Pilot phase and manage the collection of information on the additional interventions to be implemented during the project’s main implementation phase. 

The M4P specialist will have line management and technical implementation roles to assist the intervention managers and the intervention officers to finalize and start their interventions, and guide the analysis into all new additional interventions, ensuring that they have proper documentation around.

The M4P specialist will coordinate alongside the Grants Team, and follow up any proposed initiatives or suggestions from the Team Leader, whenever grant funds might appropriately be used in support of NGOs, CSOs and other service providers, in support of local networking, and programme activities, to strengthen market development in the MADE intervention sectors, which include Palm Oil, Fisheries, Agricultural Inputs, Leather, Poultry, Access to Finance, and any other new sectors that MADE will enter into.

Tasks:

Sectoral analysis, pilot project design and intervention implementation

• Supervising and directing the implementation of pilot activities
  • The Senior M4P specialist will manage and assist the Intervention Managers to start up new pilot interventions in the MADE sectors and to help guide the pilots through to scale up and roll out.
  • There will be some preliminary consultations with the private sector on market development issues, in the above sectors, and in the additional sectors to be started up in the implementation stage.

• Managing the development and finalizing design of additional interventions

• Supervising and managing the market systems analysis, development and delivery of additional interventions required to meet the Project Milestone deliverables over the life of the project
• Design, structure and negotiate technical aspects of interventions with potential private sector or other implementing partners (deal notes);

• Providing QA/QC on all ongoing interventions;
• Ensure the meeting of programme output targets for milestone payments;

Management

• Serve as a member of the senior management team for the project, liaising with Monitoring and Evaluation and the Advocacy and Finance and administration teams
• Provide to the Ops Manager the yearly, quarterly, monthly forecast and weekly plan and budget for each value chain, activities, STTAs and grants.
• Managing and directing the Intervention Managers and Intervention officers.
  • Supervising and managing the intervention managers in the development and implementation of new interventions using the analytical processes and analytical rigor needed to identify and address the underlying constraints in the target sectors.
  • Assist the Programme Team Leader in personnel reviews for the market development intervention team.

• Other management tasks, as required.

Reporting

• Ensuring the quality reporting of progress on all activities, interventions in his portfolio for the quarterly and annual reports.
• Will lead on the Annual Workplan development for the M4P interventions, and finalisation of quarterly workplans

Qualifications

The senior M4P Portfolio manager must have:

• Graduate degree in economics or business
• 10 years of experience working on agricultural development programmes delivering demonstrated results, preferably in Africa and Nigeria
• Proven background of engaging with large agribusinesses to develop linkage programmes;
• 5 years of experience designing and managing systemic development interventions (M4P and Value Chain) in developing countries, preferably in Africa
• Strong business management and financial analysis skills
• Excellent communication and written skills

Reporting

This position will report to the MADE Team Leader and will engage with the senior technical advisor any issues of a technical nature.

LOE: LTTA.   Two years, extendable to the end of the Implementation phase (with a three month trial period)

Place of Duty: Port Harcourt