Junior Partnership Facilitator - SNV Ghana

SNV Netherlands Development is a not-for-profit international development organization that has built a long-term local presence in 38 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin-America. SNV Ghana implements projects to improve individual lives and contributes to solving global challenges in the areas of Agriculture, Energy, and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene. SNV’s implementation approach focuses on developing innovative solutions to alleviate poverty through sustainable and locally-led development.

2SCALE is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and implemented by a consortium led by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and comprising the Base-of-the-Pyramid Innovation Center (BoP Inc) and SNV Netherlands Development Organization. The Partnerships Resource Center (PrC) supports the consortium as a knowledge partner.

This is a 5-year sector programme (2019-2023). It aims to be a flagship program for the Netherlands’ food security policy and one of the leading catalysts of inclusive agribusiness in sub-Saharan Africa. 2SCALE is designed to incubate and accelerate inclusive agribusiness development in target countries in Africa (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Nigeria). Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are the core implementation modality to achieve the objectives of the program.

2SCALE’s strategy is three-pronged:

1.    Incubating inclusive business: through PPPs, 2SCALE works together with private enterprises to develop agribusiness models that promote inclusiveness, develop (new) competitive edge, and have potential for scaling. PPPs support value chain development and agribusiness cluster formation. The agribusiness cluster approach helps smallholder farmers develop farming as a business and supply agricultural products for local, national, regional and international markets. 2SCALE partners with African and multinational agri-food companies as drivers to increase productivity and to improve efficiency and sustainability of supported agribusiness clusters and value chains. Specific attention is given to youth and women to integrate value chains (as farmers, laborers, entrepreneurs, service providers), and to low income / “base of the pyramid” (BoP) consumers that represent the largest market for food products in sub-Saharan Africa.

2.    Replicating inclusive business: through PPPs, 2SCALE supports the replication of most successful business models, in different settings (regions, industries), with the same or different private partners.

3.    Facilitating sector transformation and policy alignment: 2SCALE also supports partnering enterprises to drive sector transformation and policy alignment for critical bottlenecks that cannot be solved by the actors within the focus PPPs, and which affects a number of actors in the sector simultaneously.

The Junior Partnership Facilitator is supporting the 2SCALE country team in the design and implementation of activities related to the PPPs. When relevant, she/ he also supports the 2SCALE technical specialists (e.g. in financial inclusion, women economic empowerment, youth inclusion, climate-smart agriculture), to conduct desk research, fine-tune and facilitate the integration of the thematic-related strategies in the PPPs. The Junior Partnership Facilitator will also support Partnership Facilitators in external communication and reporting. The Position will report to the Country Team Leader

Main tasks

• Support the 2SCALE country team in desk research, collecting and analyzing market and industry information related to anticipated and existing PPPs.
• Support the 2SCALE country team in designing, formalizing, implementing, monitoring and documenting PPPs with private business champions (companies or cooperatives) and other relevant private/ public partners:
• Develop business idea screening forms, partnership briefs and descriptions with clear theories of change, and well as related action plans and cost-shared budgets.
• Participate in field interventions that fall under 2SCALE’s responsibility, in line with set targets, and in close collaboration with 2SCALE technical specialists. These activities may include but not be limited to the following:

1. Mobilization of actors around target agribusiness clusters and value chains.
2. Profiling/ assessments of agribusiness cluster and value chain actors (and of their organizations).
3. Business connections of grassroots actors.
4. Coordination of activities of connected local actors within agribusiness clusters, based on competitive strategies.
5. Capacity building (technical, organizational) and empowerment programs.
6. Promotion of innovations within agribusiness clusters and value chains.
7. Capacity and trust building activities to improve efficiency and reduce transaction costs within value chains.
8. Linkage of value chain actors to financial and other support services.

• Monitor and document the progress of the PPPs in line with:

1. PPP key performance indicators and markers for change.
2. PPP action plans and cost-shared budgets.

• Support the 2SCALE country team in the preparation of subgrants for business support services. Monitor these subgrants, particularly through frequent field visits to cluster actors.
• Support (on request) technical specialists to fine-tune and implement the thematic-related interventions.
• Collaborate with the Partnership Facilitators and communication Specialists to develop outreach materials (in English and French, as required) in a frequent manner, and ensure the visibility of the PPPs and their development (achievements, challenges, lessons learnt).
• When required, participate in the sector teams, composed of all Partnership Facilitators with PPPs in the same sector. Respond to and seek advice from the 2SCALE management to improve sector and industry knowledge, forward-looking strategizing within the sector, and priority-setting within existing and new PPPs.
• Write and submit timely activity reports, as well as other technical reports, notes and partnership profiles.

Applicant must have relevant knowledge in Private Sector; good understanding and work experience in value chain development and agribusiness operations. She/he must have strong knowledge of horti-culture and the vegetable sector.

• Minimum of three (3) years’ experience in agribusiness and agriculture operations with Private Sector;
• Master’s degree in one of the following: Agribusiness; Agriculture Economics, and/or related field;
• Proven experience in organizing and facilitating capacity building programs (trainings, demonstrations, field visits, etc.), business meetings, and other events for value chain stakeholders.
• Result-orientation and ability to take initiatives under minimal supervision, and to reach targets.
• Excellent spoken English and ability to write quality documents in English.