The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a non-profit agricultural research-for-development (R4D) organization, and a member of the CGIAR Consortium.We thank you for your interest in IITA and invite you to explore many exciting and diverse career opportunities in a work environment that enables you to be the best you can, advancing your professional and personal growth in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment.

Agribusiness Specialist

Position Responsibilities:
The Agribusiness Specialist will undertake the following activities:
• Organize and facilitate location specific activities to strengthen small holder capacities in quality management of cassava and maize processing and utilization.
• Link cassava and maize producers to identified markets and help organize producers to meet demands of the identified markets.
• Collect and analyze cassava and maize marketing and utilization information to help guide activity re-planning.
• Develop baseline information for enterprise beneficiaries as basis for monitoring and evaluation of enterprise development progress in target sites.
• Provide timely response to enterprise-related project concerns noted during monitoring and evaluation.
• Propose technical resources and partnership opportunities that hold promise to solve priority problems affecting cassava and maize enterprises and utilization.
• Help strengthen the functional relationship between IITA and GOs and NGOs working on the promotion of cassava and maize production, processing, and utilization technologies.
• Increase local/public awareness of the various processed cassava and maize products, their uses, and their actual and potential impact.
• Provide information and data required to develop project proposals to further promote cassava and maize production, commercialization and utilization.
• Develop, mobilize and disseminate cassava and maize enterprise information resources.
• Prepare national project technical and progress reports.
• Participate in resource mobilization.
• Any other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor

Qualification and Experience
The candidate should have a Post graduate degree (MSc or PhD) in Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Business Management, or a closely related field from a recognized University and more than 7 years’ cognate experience in the field of Agribusiness.

Core Competencies:
• Good knowledge of the Cassava and/or Maize Value Chain.
• Experience with project activity implementation and monitoring.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent spoken and written English; knowledge of French would be an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to write and publish articles in peer reviewed international journals.
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and multi-cultural environment.
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