Position: Agriculture Project Manager
Location: Rwanda
Reports to: Programme Manager
BACKGROUND
GVEP International (Global
Village
Energy Partnership) is a UK charity seeking to reduce poverty in Africa
through accelerated access to modern energy products and services. To do this
we support the development of a broad range of micro and small businesses and
project companies in the energy economy, by providing them with high-quality
financial, technical and business management support services so that they can
growth and deliver access to energy in of grid areas.
In Rwanda, GVEP has
developed a new programme which goal is to support the growth of a sustained
market for off-grid renewable energy by helping the private sector to deliver
access to energy to 120,000 people in rural areas, in a way that is inclusive
of people living in poverty.
This programme will
comprise three project components, designed and developed to respond to the
country’s challenges and the government’s priorities with regards to poverty
reduction and energy access in rural areas:
Component
1: Renewable Energy Small Projects (RESP) Development Facility: to accelerate
the development of small grid-connected or isolated mini-grid RESP projects,
Component
2: Pico-hydro project development: to support the development of pico-hydro
micro-utilities
Component
3: Energy and Farming:
to increase
productivity for small farmers through access to appropriate solar powered
irrigation systems.
The programme
implementation is expected to start in 2016 and in this context GVEP is seeking
an agriculture
specialist to lead on the Energy & Farming component of the programme.
The Energy and farming components will be implemented in two stages: A design
phase and an implementation phase. The project will consist in providing of a
holistic package of interventions addressing all the barriers that may exist to
smallholders’ access to appropriate solar irrigation technology and growth
prospects. This includes mentoring, help in accessing finance, participating in
value chains and other technical assistance expertise. As well as encouraging
demand from farmers, the project will also simultaneously help the private
sector establish supply chains for successful market introduction of the
technology.
The Role
The Agriculture
Project Manager will lead on the design and implementation phase of the Energy
& Farming component, providing technical advisory on irrigation, farming
and financing model/mechanism that are appropriate to the beneficiaries.
He/she will
establish partnership with local NGOs, farmer cooperatives and government
stakeholders, and will work closely with relevant actors in the agriculture
value chain to ensure successful introduction of solar irrigation systems to
the market and adoption by farmers in the selected parts of the country. He/
She will work in close collaboration with the Programme Technical Manager (PTM)
who will lead and guide the project with regard to its energy component.
Key responsibilities
1) In collaboration with the
Programme Technical Manager (PTM), lead on the delivery of the project design
phase that is tailored to the local farming activities’ methods, crop
seasonality, needs and challenges, including:
Lead
on the identification of project target regions with high irrigation potential
and need for irrigation improvement.
Work
with the relevant government agencies (RAB and REMA) to ensure alignment with
their priorities , as well as to reach out to small farmers communities
Build
alliance and coordinate partnership with local agri-focused organisations with
significant extension network to help with farmer mobilisation and buy-in during
implementation phase
Conduct
baseline assessment/farmer needs assessment to inform project design.
Supplier
survey assessment: Support the PTM in identifying appropriate solar irrigation
suppliers, assessing their needs and initiating engagement with them
In
collaboration with the project Capital Access Officer support the design of a
financial mechanism that is appropriate to the needs of farmers and start
engagement with financial institutions
Establish
partnership with other relevant stakeholders as appropriate such as farmer
cooperatives
In
collaboration with the programme manager and the PTM produce an action plan and
procurement process for the implementation phase based on the findings and
recommendations provided in the design phase
2) Lead on the delivery of the
project implementation phase and provide technical inputs in close
collaboration with other team members , including:
Lead
on project mobilization and outreach to farmers. Organize, promote and manage
outreach events.
Support
in final selection and engagement with solar irrigation suppliers (including
preparation of tender documents specifying product requirements and evaluation
criteria)
Support
in providing technical and finance assistance to solar suppliers in particular
on market development activities to reach out to farmers
Support
in establishing and setting up a financing facility to provide access to
finance to both suppliers and farmers
Lead
on setting up with solar irrigation suppliers and distribution agents a process
to provide support to farmers before, during and after the purchasing cycle.
3) Participate in
mainstreaming gender in activities to ensure women among the target
beneficiaries of the project
4) Strengthening and
maintaining relations with relevant government line ministries and private
sector/research institutions to coordinate the adoption of new products and/or
approaches in agriculture development and marketing
5) Design a strategy
to strengthen linkages with any other NGO’s, private sector and service
providers or government agencies in supporting and addressing various farmer’s
needs
6) Develop project
work plans and ensure timely implementation of the project activities in line
with work plans and activity schedules
7) Provide support
and guidance to the programmer manager to develop, review, oversee and review
project strategy and activities related to the implementation of the project
according to the project design, risk and challenges encountered during
implementation;
8) Provide technical
assistance for the design of the project’s monitoring and evaluation strategy.
Support in developing M&E system to measure profitability and relevant
business indicators of targeted farmers.
9) Monitor, identify
and advice on challenges and risks facing the implementation of the project
10) Ensuring the
provision of quality data on a timely basis for internal project management and
external reporting purposes;
11) Contribute to
dissemination of good practice and lessons from the organization’s work and
promote experience sharing and learning in the organization and among partners
12) Supporting
project reporting and assisting programme management in other activities as and
when necessary.
13) Organize and
assist with management of project budgets.
14) Team management
Required
skills and experience
· Master’s degree in
agricultural economics, agribusiness management or Agronomy,
· 3-5 years’
experience in agro-business development and management of agriculture focused
projects in Rwanda.
· Demonstrated
capacity to work with private sector players (financial institutions, buyers,
traders, transporters, input suppliers, processors in agriculture value chain)
· Experience with
commonly used tools for market analysis and program design such as sub-sector
analysis, gross margin analysis and business planning.
· Knowledge of
agronomic principles and practices, including crops, soils and nutrients.
· Experience in the
practices, principles and operations associated with modern production
agriculture and irrigation. Expertise in small scale irrigation management;
· Experience with
irrigation technologies ; Experience with solar irrigation technology a real
advantage
· Proven experience
delivering agriculture focussed programme to improve livelihood and reduce
poverty of smallholder farmers in Rwanda
· Knowledge of the
agriculture sector in Rwanda and its regulation and stakeholders
- High
level of computer literacy (primarily in Microsoft Office packages). - Excellent
planning and time management skills and ability to meet deadlines - Ability
to work calmly under pressure to deliver as part of a team - A high
level of attention to detail and accuracy in working with numbers; - Strong
analytical ability, able to evaluate and to appraise critically
quantitative and qualitative information.
· Fluent in Local
languages and English.
· Knowledge of the
energy sector and its challenges preferred The position will require regular
travel within remote rural areas Rwanda
Interested
candidates should forward their cover letters and CVS and indicate their
minimum salary requirement to recruitment@gvepinternational.org
on or before 24th
June, 2016. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
GVEP is an Equal
Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals
regardless of race, religion, national origin or disability.