Agriculture Value Chain Advisor, Washington, DC

Since 1963 and in 145 countries, ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that delivers technical and management assistance in agribusiness, financial services, enterprise development, community development and food security to promote broad-based economic growth and vibrant civil society. ACDI/VOCA currently has approximately 90 projects in 40 countries and revenues of $124 million.

Agriculture Value Chain Advisor, Washington D.C.

The anticipated USAID-funded Strengthening Partnerships, Results and Innovations in Nutrition Globally project (SPRING) is designed to promote appropriate policies and programs that enhance country nutrition programs for vulnerable populations, especially women, infants and young children. The award is expected to provide technical assistance to accelerate action on nutrition policies; strengthen the capacity of countries to design, implement and evaluate nutrition programs; build the evidence-base for nutrition; promote the effective delivery of a core package of nutrition interventions; and emphasize country-specific approaches to scale up nutrition programs. It is also anticipated that SPRING will facilitate partner coordination and collaboration in countries with other U.S. government activities and national stakeholders. The Agriculture Value Chain Advisor will work closely with the Nutrition Specialist to integrate nutrition into agriculture projects to attain the project objectives.

Responsibilities:

•Guide activities to identify constraints and opportunities along value chains—including within the business-enabling environment—in order to develop specific recommendations on how to integrate nutrition into agricultural development projects;

•Provide technical assistance strategies to develop the capacity of producers and enterprises in order to identify and respond to opportunities to integrate nutrition-specific activities within value chain activities;

•Work with a variety of stakeholders—including host governments, USAID missions, etc.—to guide evidence-based strategy development and implementation guidelines to integrate nutrition-sensitive activities into agriculture development programs;

•Facilitate and arrange workshops, events (e.g., trade fairs) and meetings that promote dialogue and knowledge sharing between key value chain stakeholders on how to integrate nutrition into agricultural activities;

•Provide technical guidance to promote the successful completion of nutrition-based agricultural development activities.

Qualifications:

•Minimum of 10 years of experience in successful agricultural value chain development

•Minimum of a master’s degree in agriculture or a related field

•Demonstrated success in increasing the competitiveness of agricultural value chain relationships and mechanisms

•Experience working in conjunction with high-value crops and cold storage preferred

•Knowledge of exporting requirements and demands in developing countries preferred

•Demonstrated knowledge of the latest developments in advancing best practices in value chain development and USAID’s value chain approach

•Demonstrated creativity and willingness to innovate, think systematically and design catalytic approaches to intervening in value chains

•Experience with value chain finance analysis, designing implementation interventions and monitoring activities

•Demonstrated knowledge of key integration points for preserving and enhancing nutrition throughout the value chain

•Strong communications skills (oral, written and cross-cultural)

•Previous experience on agriculture development or livelihood development projects in Africa, Latin America or South East Asia preferred

Please apply online at http://www.acdivoca.org/jobs or respond with résumé, cover letter and salary history to Attn: HR/A&F-BFS, 50 F Street NW, Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20001 or fax +1 202 469 6255. No phone calls please. Only finalists will be contacted. Women and minorities encouraged to apply. EOE/AA.

Closing date: 06 Jun 2011 — ACDI/VOCA