Poultry Business Services Specialist, Tanzania

Project Description

The Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AIDI) is a CGIAR initiative consisting of a series of rapid impact interventions aiming to ensure that smallholder farmers in key food production areas of sub-Saharan Africa have the information and innovation they need to offset the increase of food, fuel and fertilizer prices brought on by the war in Ukraine. The initiative aims to support resource-poor smallholder farmers to increase crop production and productivity through access to know-how, fertilizers, improved seeds, and financing mechanisms. 

Land O’Lakes Venture37 has a sub-agreement with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to implement a rapid impact intervention focusing on the commercial and indigenous poultry value chains in Tanzania. The Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative-Livestock (AIDI-L) is a 24-month project whose overall aim is to contribute to improved food and nutrition security and rural incomes in Tanzania. Specifically, the project’s purpose is to improve productivity and availability of poultry meat and eggs at household and local market levels through widespread adoption of sustainable livestock innovations. AIDI-L aims to reach 17,000 smallholder households in Tanzania though private sector-led, women- and youth- focused innovations in poultry, and 400,000 through poultry vaccination and media campaigns. 

AIDI-L objectives: 

1. Improve access to and scale-up of improved dual-purpose chickens, agricultural inputs and agricultural information, through private sector agribusinesses providing bundled advisory services and inputs in areas where added advantages for these breeds are identified.
2. Support cost-share of start-ups and scale-ups of small-scale poultry enterprises in production, and marketing of locally produced chicken meat and eggs.
3. Provide advisory services through mass media and extension services to raise awareness of key poultry diseases, preventive health practices, and business skills, supporting and facilitation of private sector engagement. 

Position Summary: 

The Poultry Business Services Specialist leads AIDI-L’s enterprise development engagement with local poultry farming communities, women, and youth-led micro/small and medium scale start-ups and scale-ups, poultry related service and input businesses, and cost-shared investment partnerships with private sector actors within the poultry value chain. The Poultry Business Services Specialist will work closely with field teams to link with local enterprises in the poultry sector, as well as partners providing advisory services to the project. This post is based in Dodoma with travel as required. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide technical oversight to public–private partnership engagements including development of incubation clusters, and facilitation of cost-share investments and agreements with poultry incubation clusters, brooders, and poultry businesses.
• Build brooder’s business services and inputs delivery capacity and link brooders to AIDI-L field teams engaging poultry producers to access improved backyard village chickens and commercial chickens in defined geographical areas.
• Lead the development, publishing, evaluation, and award of cost-share investments and oversee the poultry business cost-shared investment portfolio.
• Develop and train on Business Enterprise Capacity Building for Cost-Share Recipients.
• Facilitate links between women and youth brooders and vendors to business development services. 
• Coordinate partnership relationships with key planned project enterprise development stakeholders in the geographical area including private sector and farmer-based organizations.
• Ensure data generated is entered into IMPACTS accurately and in a timely manner.
• Ensure all required work plans, and reports are of a high quality and submitted on time.
• Monitor enterprise development activities, including providing follow-on mentorship and technical support to investments, and ensure project intended outputs and outcomes are being achieved.
• Support in identifying and reporting best practices and facilitating peer-to-peer learning visits.
• Ensure compliance with all organizational, donor and national rules and regulations 
• Work cross functionally with project, MEL, and Finance and Admin teams to provide relevant training and onboarding. 

Reporting & Supervision:

• This position reports to the Project Manager and supervises the Poultry Promotion Officer.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science/Art degrees (BSc/BA) in Economics / Agriculture Economics, marketing, business, rural development or equivalent 
• A minimum of four (4) years of demonstrated relevant field experience in business/finance development for SME’s. 
• Experience developing and managing financing products for the agricultural sector in Tanzania.
• Experience managing financing portfolios, including donor funded enterprise development programs. 
• Demonstrated experience training small-scale producers in business management/development and providing technical support services to agri-businesses. 
• Ability to train/mentor/coach field staff and build technical capacity.
• Ability to communicate effectively, including accurate report writing, familiarity with work plan development and ability to read and write budgets 
• Able to work with limited supervision and deliver on time. 
• Team player with excellent interpersonal and written and oral presentation skills. Fluency in oral and written English
• Proficiency in Microsoft packages including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. 
• Ability to ride a motorcycle over challenging terrain and can obtain a motorcycle license within 4 weeks of engagement.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications:

• A MSc in Economics / Agriculture Economics, marketing, business, rural development or equivalent, or other relevant fields, with additional experience an advantage.
• Experience working in the banking and finance sector in Tanzania.
• Experience working in the poultry sector in Tanzania, especially with small-scale subsistence and commercial poultry producers.

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