Trade & Investment Advisor - Tony Blair Institute

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change we are dedicated to making globalisation work for the many, not the few. We do this by helping countries, their people and their governments, address some of the most difficult challenges in the world today – beginning with those where we think we can break new ground, offering leaders new thinking and new approaches. Our staff – over 200 of them, based all over the world – are working on some of the most intractable problems around issues of co-existence, governance, the peace process in the Middle East and renewing the centre.

Focus of the Role:

trategically located with access to West Africa’s 350million population, Ghana is a peaceful country evident by democratic political stability over the last 20 years. Investor confidence has grown in recent years following Standard & Poor’s rating of B with a stable outlook from B- with a negative outlook, first in over a decade achieved through strong monetary and fiscal policies.

The Government of Ghana has a vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ through value addition of its natural resources. It has restored macro-economic stability and strong growth performance and has made a bold and public declaration to accelerate industrialization, particularly through vertically integrated value addition with Ghana’s agriculture products and rich deposits of mineral reserves, particularly gold, bauxite, iron ore, manganese and lithium. This is in addition to a range of other investment opportunities in key national infrastructure, vehicle manufacture, pharmaceutical, garment, technology, petrochemical, retail, tourism, energy and Agro-processing industries.

The Ministry of Trade & Industry is tasked with delivering on this ambitious but achievable comprehensive program of Industrial transformation, under the “Industrialization for jobs and Growth Initiative” grouped under five key components:

1. Building the competitiveness of existing Ghanaian Industries by injecting financial stimulus;
2. Rolling out a major countrywide “One District One Factory” Initiative
3. Development of Strategic Anchor Industries
4. Establishment of Industrial Parks
5. Enhancement of Domestic Retail Market Infrastructure

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In support of this agenda, TBI is seeking a Trade & Investment Advisor to be based in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, working closely with the Minister, Deputy Ministers, Directors, and other key Stakeholders to implement economic priority initiatives. Specific duties include:

• Identify, engage and facilitate EU and British based companies to set up factories in Ghana purposely to manufacture goods and /or process Agro-Produce for export into the EU and UK Markets.
• Advise Trade Minister on policies and incentives to attract FDI into Ghana from the UK and EU market.
• Undertake socio-economic analysis of Ghana’s comparative advantages and investment opportunities in the agriculture, extractive and light manufacturing sectors, with a view to provide strategic advice and help develop/implement bankable projects.
• Support senior government counterparts in mapping, engaging and managing key stakeholders, including foreign and domestic investors, development partners and various government institutions.
• Undertake institutional and capacity assessments with a view to support government counterparts put in place effective and sustainable structures, systems and skills that will underpin the implementation of national priority investment projects.
• Identify, recommend and facilitate public/private partnerships and/or global development alliances that supports the Government of Ghana FDI development agenda.
• Contribute to TBI-Ghana fundraising and new business development.
• Maintain active dialogue with International donor community, private sector players, local organizations, GOG partners, building contacts to facilitate TBI programmes.
• Support the Country Head and other team members with quarterly and annual reporting; strategic and management programmes.

The Advisor will be a member of a new and evolving TBI team in Ghana. The team consisting of experienced advisors providing embedded support at the Presidency and to key economic institutions of the government to attract and scale up private investment in priority sectors positioned to generate exports, jobs, and backward linkages. The Advisor will benefit from network effects of the TBI Global team. He/she will also be a member of TBI’s Private Sector Development practice, through which they will gain from and contribute to the expertise of TBI’s teams across Africa and beyond.