Project Assistant at Syngenta Foundation

Syngenta Foundation is a leading science-based Agtech company; dedicated to bringing plant potential to life. Each of our 28,000 employees in more than 90 countries work together to solve one of humanity’s most pressing challenges: growing more food with fewer resources. A diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace environment are enablers of our ambition to be the most collaborative and trusted team in agriculture.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Assistant

Job ID: 18028669
Location: Kano
Employment Type: Contract
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
• 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
• 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

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
• 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
• Knowledge and experience working with the private seed sector and national seed regulations
• Effective collaboration and communication across different work levels, functions, and locations.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Terms of Employment

• The position is nationally recruited and based in Kano, Nigeria. The contract will be until the end of 2022, subject to a probation period of three (3) months, renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. 
• We believe that the diversity of our staff contributes to excellence. SFSA is an equal opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality