CARANA Corporation Post Harvest Policy Advisor Job Vacancy in Rwanda

Location: Rwanda
Duration: Long-Term

CARANA Corporation (www.carana.com), a contractor for USAID, designs and directs innovative
economic growth strategies to help countries and businesses compete globally, reducing poverty and raising living standards around the world. For 25 years, we have specialized in market-led solutions to development challenges in more than 80 countries, packaging our expertise with on-the-ground resources for continuing, cost-effective results.

CARANA seeks a Post Harvest Policy Advisor for the current USAID Post-Harvest Handling and Storage (PHHS) project.

Background
The USAID Post-Harvest Handling and Storage (PHHS) project began activities in Rwanda in September 2009. The project’s goal is to improve food security in Rwanda by linking producers of staple crops, who have surplus produce, to markets. Over its 4 year duration, the PHHS project will work with private sector agribusiness firms and processors to reduce post-harvest losses through investment in post-harvest infrastructure and process improvement, including crop conditioning, storage and processing. Investment in storage facilities will free smallholder farmers from the need to sell crops at harvest time when prices are at their lowest, and increasing the quality of crop for storage will help producers selling surpluses to compete in domestic and regional markets.

Post-Harvest Policy Component
Following the recent Cabinet approval of the National Post-Harvest Strategy, the PHHS Project requires a Post Harvest Policy Advisor to help Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture oversee the implementation of a strategy that was created to address postharvest issues in Rwanda.

This National Post-Harvest Strategy addresses seven key strategic axes:
• Improving collection and dissemination of information for public and private decision making
• Improving efficiency and equitability of transport systems across staple crop-producing areas
• Reducing staple crop post-harvest losses at producer and first-aggregator levels
• Strengthening private enterprise in staple crop value chains
• Increasing private sector post-harvest investment
• Enhancing structured staple trade (MINICOM)
• Creating a transparent national strategic reserve that supports emergency needs and
• liberalized markets

Several national ministries and agencies are responsible for the seven various focal areas, although MINAGRI is still considered the primary implementer. The Policy Advisor will work to build MINAGRI’s capacity to oversee this network and coordinate work across ministries that often have competing interests.

Following the integration of the National Post-Harvest Strategy into the activities and budgets of relevant government entities, the PHHS Project Policy Advisor will oversee the coordination of the National Post-Harvest Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee. The PHHS Policy Advisor will also coordinate with MINAGRI each quarter to monitor whether activities should be adjusted or re-structured to better meet post-harvest needs as the policy is implemented. The PHHS Policy Advisor will help MINAGRI and other relevant government entities establish formal communication channels, committee processes and procedures, and applicable tools to monitor the progress of the National Post-Harvest Strategy. This will all be done with the aim of creating a sustainable inter-ministerial working group to indefinitely continue post-harvest activities that will broadly benefit Rwandans engaged in the agricultural sector—and the public institutions that are directly accountable to them.

Broadly, the Post Harvest Policy Advisor will provide support and assistance with the implementation of policy recommendations and capacity building with MINAGRI. The Policy Advisor will be required to work in partnership with the GOR to implement strategies, track progress, and assist with executing activities recommended in the action plan. The Policy Advisor will work closely with MINAGRI on policy activity implementation.

Minimum Qualifications
• 15 years of experience in working in agribusiness with policy advisory experience;
• Extensive knowledge on staple foods post-harvest best practices;
• Experience working in Africa, especially Eastern-Central Africa and advising governments on policy strategies that will foster private sector investment;
• Experience in advising both public and private sector leaders in adopting policies and systems most strongly correlated with private sector investment and economic growth;
• Experience in marketing, market linkages, value chain analysis, enterprise development and management, monitoring and evaluation, and data collection
• A Master’s degree in a related field; and
• Ability to communicate professionally in French.

To apply: Please complete an application on http://carana.resume-management.com/apply and choose “Post Harvest Policy Advisor” from the “Current open positions” menu. Only finalists will be contacted for interviews. No phone calls please.

Application Deadline: 15 March 2012