Vacancies at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

---

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an International non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS re-established presence in Nigeria in 2000 and currently focuses on vulnerable children, agriculture, health and HIV, extractives and governance, and peace building programming. We are recruiting to fill the position below:     Job Title: Rural Finance Specialist Location: Abuja Job Description

• CRS is recruiting a Rural Finance Specialist for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The Rural Finance Specialist will be responsible for rolling out a grassroots microfinance approach as well as building capacity of financial service institutions that serve smallholder out growers.
• He/she will oversee research, identification and development of new business opportunities for financing of smallholder farmers.
• The specialist will also provide overall leadership and general technical direction of the project’s rural finance interventions.
• He/she will engage with financial intermediaries (including credit and savings cooperatives, microfinance institutions and commercial banks) and finance-providing value chain actors (such as input suppliers or buyers) to expand their capacity to undertake rural enterprise and agriculture-related investments.

Requirements

• The suitable candidate should have a Master’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, minimum of 8 years of experience in finance in Nigeria and with knowledge of current practices in developing rural financial markets, particularly in financing agricultural value chain development.

    Job Title: Training and Capacity Building Specialist Location: Abuja Job Description

• CRS is recruiting a Training/capacity building Specialist for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.

Responsibilities

• The Training Specialist will be responsible for overall design, roll-out and quality of the training activities under the project.
• He or she will develop and maintain key performance indicators to monitor the effectiveness of training activities to ensuring service delivery is consistent and in line with agreed standards of CRS and private sector partners.
• The specialist will build the capacity of project and private sector staff to assess development needs, perform gap analyses, facilitate learning processes and leadership skills.

Requirements

• The successful candidate will also have a relevant academic Degree
• At least 10 years of experience in capacity building of project staff and beneficiaries, conversant with digital training innovations and excellent interpersonal skills.

    Job Title: Manager Producer Services Location: Abuja Job Description

• CRS is recruiting for the position of Manager Producer Services for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding. The Manager is expected to supervise and coordinate the day-to-day activities of the producer services team across the project’s operational areas, as well as the rest of the project.
• He/she will also be responsible for leading the planning, implementation and oversight of agronomy, aggregation and related activities of smallholder producers.
• The Manager, Producer Services will also monitor field activity budgets and work plans, and ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of results as agreed upon with project management and donor policies.

Requirements

• The Producer Services Manager should have at least a Master's Degree in Agricultural Science, Development Studies or other relevant qualification and 8-10 years progressively responsible managerial work experience in private sector-driven out grower schemes.

    Job Title: Advisor, Producer Services Location: Abuja Job Description

• CRS is recruiting for the position of Advisor, Producer Services (several positions) for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The Advisor will provide advisory services to farmers and partner agribusiness staff, and training and information to help them comply with value chain requirements, strengthen their business capacities, and deepen project impact.
• The Advisor will also gather product and region specific information to help agribusiness and value chain service providers to anticipate demand and the needs of producers. He/she will recruit new farmers, provide business development services and trade support to farmer groups and liaise with other project teams.

Requirements

• The Advisor should have at least a first Degree in Agriculture, Development Studies or related qualifications and more than 5 years’ experience working with producers in commercial value chains.

    Job Title: Social Impact Advisor Location: Abuja Job Description

• We are recruiting a Social Impact Advisor for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The Social Impact Advisor will support enterprises to define and integrate positive social and environmental impact objectives, monitor and evaluate social impact in several value chains that the program will support.
• He or she is expected to carry out social impact studies, support formulation of tangible social impact strategies, accompanied by indicators, monitoring and evaluation and the achievement and reporting of social and environmental impact.

Requirements

• The Social Impact Advisor should have a minimum of 7 years’ experience with economic growth or community development, some training or experience in social impact investing measurement frameworks, superior communication skills, ability and comfort to work private sector and development partners.

    Job Title: Gender and Youth Inclusion Manager Location: Abuja Job Description

• We are recruiting a Gender and Youth Inclusion Manager for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The Gender and Youth Inclusion Manager will manage the implementation of project activities in the areas of gender equality integration and youth programming.
• He or she will plan and implement periodic gender and youth inclusion analyses and ensure that the results inform project strategies.
• The gender and youth inclusion manager will also be involved in program assessments, taking a leading role in gender and youth analyses, reviewing and adapting training materials, technical and capacity building, and contribute to evaluation and scaling up of promising strategies that lead to increased participation, risk mitigation, access to services and impact for women and youth.

Requirements

• He or she must have a Master's degree in relevant Social Sciences and at least 5 years’ experience in gender and youth integration in economic development programs.

    Job Title: Business Development Services Coordinator Location: Abuja Job Description

• CRS is recruiting a Business Development Services Coordinator for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The BDS Coordinator will support agribusiness companies to strengthen their institutional, supply chain and business management systems. He/she will also support project teams to develop new partnerships, new services and implement out grower schemes profitably. Overall, he/she will ensure quality and successful implementation of the business development Services that CRS offers in the project.
• He/she also oversees and directly participates in the preparation of business proposals, scopes of work, and implementation of project contracts.
• The BDS coordinator will also take leadership of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning activities for business development services approach of the Project.

Requirements

• The successful candidate will have at least a Master's degree in business related field at least 8 years’ experience in advising or working in private sector in a strategic position.

    Job Title: Value Chain Director Location: Abuja Job Description

• We are recruiting a Value Chain Director for an anticipated agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The project has a strong focus on private sector-driven value chain development in several agricultural subsectors.
• The Value Chain Director will have responsibility for coordinating, planning and implementing technical interventions across several value chains.
• Together with a team of value chain technical advisors, the Value Chain Director will manage value chain assessments to inform market-based interventions, develop value chain strategies for working with producers and enterprises to increase competitiveness and inclusiveness of value chains, lead implementation of activities aimed at increasing smallholder productivity and market access and building sustainability and commercialization of farmer’s organisations using facilitation approaches.

Requirements

• He or she should have 10 years’ experience in successful value chain development projects, knowledge of Nigeria’s agriculture sector, an excellent leader, successfully increasing competitiveness and inclusiveness of agriculture value chains and at least a Master’s in a field relevant to agricultural development.

    Job Title: Value Chain Advisor Location: Abuja Job Description

• We are recruiting Value Chain Advisor (several positions available) for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which are contingent on donor funding.
• The role of the Value Chain Advisor will be intensive, covering all activities along the commodity value chain.
• It will also include coordinating farmer mobilization, awareness creation at all levels, training of farmers in best practice agronomic practices, post-harvesting handling, agriculture enterprise curriculum, managing farmer-agribusiness company relationships, dissemination of improved technologies and new practices relevant to value chain actors such as buyers to improve competitiveness at farm level and the rest of the value chain.
• In addition to technical roles, the Value Chain Advisor will assist with planning, implementation, and monitoring of commodity value chain specific activities as well as managing the work of short-term service providers.

Requirements

• He or she should have at minimum a First degree in Agriculture related field, 5 years’ professional experience, knowledge of commodity value chain development, and specialization in at least one or two commodities value chains.

    Job Title: Technical Advisor, Value Chain Services Location: Abuja Job Description

• CRS is recruiting a Technical Advisor, Value Chain Services for an upcoming agriculture project in Nigeria, which is contingent on donor funding.
• The Technical Advisor shall work with the project Value Chain Director and key stakeholders to collaboratively design and implement strategies for agribusiness and competitiveness.
• The position requires comprehensive understanding and experience in the areas of agricultural development, value chain services (such as agro-inputs supply, post-harvest management and finance), private sector engagement and capacity building.

Requirements

• He or she should also have at least a Master's Degree in Agriculture or Development related field plus 10 years of progressively responsible work experience in the areas specified above.

    Job Title: Technical Advisor Location: Abuja Job Type: Short Term Position Job Description

• CRS is recruiting several Short-Term Technical Advisors for an upcoming project in Nigeria, which is subject to donor funding.
• The positions may be based in Abuja or a field office in the project’s operational states.
• The goal of this position is to provide short term technical assistance in smallholder inclusive commodity value chains and specific technical areas including:

Technical skills:

• Agronomy and climate smart expertise in soil health, good agriculture practices, post-harvest handling and storage and small- and large-scale irrigation;
• Market linkages including cooperative development, out-grower or contract farming partnership facilitation, agriculture finance and lending and product aggregation facilitation;
• Value chain tools and approaches including economic models, feasibility studies, capacity building; post-harvest measurement and incentive schemes;
• Financial services advisory for SMEs and large businesses
• Post-harvest management practices to reduce post-harvest losses, improve quality and value addition.

Requirements

• The Short-Term Technical Advisor should have at least a Master’s degree in Agricultural Science, Finance, Business Studies or related qualifications, and 8-10 years progressively responsible work experience in at least one of the technical skills indicated above.

  How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should download the "Application Form Below" and send with a detailed 3-page resume in a single file word document to: [email protected] indicating in the subject line of their application the job title Click here to download Application Form (MS Word)   Application Deadline: 29th December, 2017.

---