Agribusiness Interns at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)

Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium with offices in 16 countries throughout Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

We work with businesses, foundations, governments and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based, agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity and improve access to inputs and credit across 45 countries worldwide.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Agribusiness Intern

Job ID: 402
Locations: Abuja, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Niger
Job Type: Short-term (Contract)
Category: Internships
Project; USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity
Period of Performance: July 2021 to June 2022.

Program Description

• The five-year USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity aims to strengthen the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment.
• To achieve this goal, the Activity focuses on four interrelated components:
  • Improving the enabling environment for agricultural sector growth;
  • 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 size enterprises (MSMEs).
• In line with the U.S. and Nigerian governments’ commitment to growing the non-oil-based economy, these efforts will increase the depth, breadth, dynamism, and competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.
• The Activity operates in seven states of Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger along soybean, maize, aquaculture, rice and cowpea value chains.

Position Description

• This is an internship position to support the Component four team with its activities, initiatives, and interventions.
• Component four is charged with the responsibility of enhancing Agribusiness MSME Performance.
• The intern’s support to Component four will include backstopping, editing technical documents, administrative support, support follow-ups and monitoring of Activity stakeholders, more specifically, partner Agribusinesses, Commodity Associations and other tasks as assigned by the Activity’s Director, Agribusiness, or his designate.

Specific Job Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support to Component Four, as needed.
• Facilitate meetings, conference calls, correspondence, and contact lists;
• Perform other duties related to this assignment as requested by the Director of Agribusiness, or his designate.
• Support office Agribusiness- related activities.
• Liaise with other interns on agribusiness-related matters.
• Take office meeting notes on agribusiness meetings.
• Keep a directory of agribusiness contacts for the unit
• Undertake assignments from the unit and other team leads.
• Help with the planning and hosting of training events
• Support the preparation of project reports on agribusiness activities
• Follow-up on field offices requests with operations.
• Liaise with state coordinators on outstanding businesses and provide feedback to the coordinators.
• Assist the regional coordinator in documenting signed MoUs and other documents.
• Perform Any other jobs that may be assigned from time to time.

Qualifications

• At least an Undergraduate Degree in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Science, Economics, Social Sciences or a relevant field;
• Must be legally able to work in Nigeria;
• Adequate knowledge of the Nigeria agribusiness challenges, and opportunities;
• Clear and systematic thinking that demonstrates good judgement and problem-solving competencies;
• Sound knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and social media;
• Excellent written and oral communications skills in English Language.
• Ability to use initiative, prioritize, multi-task, and work well under pressure to meet deadlines;
• Good communication skills in multicultural, multi-lingual environments and good ability to work effectively as part of a multicultural and diverse team;

Reporting line:

• S/he reports to the Activity’s Agribusiness Director, or his designate.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit a single MS Word-formatted document consisting of:

• An Expression of Interest cover letter
• A current CV / Resume, containing evidence of relevant experience and qualifications.  

Application should be sent to: [email protected] Applicants MUST specify "Agribusiness Intern (Specific State you are applying for)" in the subject line.

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Note: Only applicants that meet the above minimum qualifications will be considered or contacted. No phone calls please