Senior Program Officer: Financial Sustainability - Fairtrade Africa

The Senior Program Officer (Financial Sustainability) will lead the implementation of interventions under component 3, “Investing for the Future”, of the Mondelez Cocoa Cooperative Organizational Strengthening Program (CCOSP). He/she will lead interventions (through coaching, hands-on training, and other forms of technical support) in support of nine cocoa cooperatives (unions) to utilize investments strategically to enhance their long-term sustainability and effectiveness for members. The post holder will guide the unions to explore available resources or credit and create partnerships with market, finance and non-finance actors to ensure access to sufficient funds, markets and services to meet the needs of the unions and their members.

LOCATION: Accra, Ghana

REPORTING LINES:

Postholder reports to Project Manager, Mondelez CCOSP (Phase II)

Staff reporting to this post: No

BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY: Yes

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Key duties include:

Implementation

• Lead implementation of component 3 “Investing for the Future”, of the CCOSP
• Establish and maintain a strong working relationship with the unions, other Cocoa Life Implementing Partners and relevant government agencies and departments. This should include regular contact to ensure they are fully and appropriately involved in the project
• Create awareness among union boards and members about financial sustainability and investment
• Support the unions to prepare business plans for priority investment projects, in collaboration with identified private sector partners and financial institutions
• Provide technical support to the unions and help them to enhance their internal controls, financial management systems and protocols
• Build the capacity of the unions (through farmer friendly approaches including coaching) to ensure effective financial management at both union and society level
• Provide day-to-day follow up technical support to the unions, towards effective implementation of their strategic, business, and financial sustainability plans
• Support the unions to raise funds, including grant, credit, etc.
• Support the unions to build long-term partnerships with relevant finance and non- finance actors, towards improved access to finance and services at a most competitive rate for the organizations and farmers
• Support the unions in liaising with financial institutions in negotiating efficient solutions for accessing finance
• Support the unions to optimize and manage available financial resources to ensure long-term financial sustainability of the organizations
• Support the unions to put in place and operationalize investment plans that will ensure long-term financial sustainability of the organizations
• Conduct site visits, provide direct coaching and technical support to the beneficiary unions and ensure new knowledge, information and skills (acquired by participants from the project interventions) are cascaded to farmers at the society level
• Identify challenges in the implementation of the component 3 of the CCOSP and provide recommendations to address same, working in collaboration with the project manager
• Ensure that any necessary changes to the project design, objectives, outputs or budget are identified and brought to the attention of line management in a timely manner
• Contribute to the preparation of procurement and contractual documents for any goods/ services needed to support the project
• Participate in key project meetings in-country and outside Ghana where necessary.
• Provide any additional support to the CCOSP team and FTA, as may be determined by the project manager
• Monitoring, Learning and Reporting
• Collaborate with CCOSP’s Data and MEL coordinator to monitor the project interventions and ensure achievement of activity targets and milestones
• Support the project MEL through the development of quarterly, annual and end term reports; ensure that these reports are submitted in a timely manner and have been checked for completeness and aligned to the project’s MEL framework
• Support the risk management process of the project by regularly sharing feedback and elevating potential risks to the project manager
• Support project documentation by ensuring proper maintenance of all project files, contracts, correspondence, reports, photos, etc.
• Support and participate in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) events
• Support the preparation of any documents needed for project implementation such as Proposals, Memoranda of Understanding, Grant Agreements, Contracts, etc.
• Monitor monthly expenditure against the approved budget. Review expenditure projections to ensure that expenditure stays within budget. Significant actual or anticipated expenditure variances against the budget should be included in the monthly report to line management together with any recommendations for changes to the budget

Required Skills or Experience

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Minimum Academic Requirement

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, Agriculture, Social Sciences or related field
• A master’s degree in financial/accounting and a working experience with producer organizations is an added advantage

Other Specialist qualification (Desired)

• Financial Management
• Market and partnership development
• Knowledge and understanding of the Fairtrade system
• Project Management Certificate

Minimum Years of Relevant Experience

• A minimum of 5 years’ project implementation experience in a similar environment

Knowledge of Systems and Procedures

• Experience in supporting ethical and sustainable supply chains
• Knowledge of agricultural development and sustainable business practices
• Knowledge and understanding of Fairtrade standards
• Thematic knowledge and expertise in FTA’s priority areas
• Knowledge in program and project monitoring and evaluation
• Ability to drive innovation and learning.
• Presentation, training and facilitation skills

Competency

• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Excellent communication and reporting skills (with fluency in twi)
• Supportive and versatile
• Results-oriented and focused
• A person with a high sense of maturity and integrity

Communication Demands and Competencies

• Knowledge of the cocoa value chain
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to speak “twi” and other local languages
• Ability to speak and write in English