Senior Policy and Institutional Development Specialist
Location: Kigali
Closing date: 30th June 2021
Background:
Land O’Lakes International Development is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in dairy, animal nutrition, crop inputs and agricultural insights from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress. Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 36 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.
Project Description:
The Orora Wihaze activity will sustainably increase the availability of, access to, and consumption of animal-source foods (ASF) through development of a profitable market. To accomplish this goal, Orora Wihaze seeks to remove production, marketing and consumption constraints affecting dietary diversity of households, especially for women of reproductive age and children of 6-23 months. For households that do not produce or sell ASF, Orora Wihaze will enhance access to safe ASF through development of the existing market system.
The Orora Wihaze activity will use a private sector oriented, market facilitation approach to achieve the intended goal. The approach must sustainably increase livestock productivity, improve relationships across actors in the ASF value chains, build capacity of enterprises in the ASF sector, facilitate access to finance and increase private sector investments in ASF value chains.
Position Summary and Primary Responsibilities:
The Senior Policy/Institutional Development Specialist will provide close and strategic technical support to the project Chief of Party. The Senior Policy/Institutional Development Specialist will support the overall project objective by designing and overseeing activities that facilitate the trade and investment of ASF products in Rwanda while promoting win-win partnerships between key public and private sector stakeholders within the ASF market system. The Senior Policy/Institutional Development Specialist will lead a team responsible for working closely with the GOR and private sector advocacy leaders to coordinate policy research and policy advocacy to foster investment, improve the enabling environment, and reduce bottlenecks within the ASF market system. Per the terms of the RFP, this position is considered Key Personnel. The Senior Policy and Institutional Development Specialist reports to the project Chief of Party and will oversee a staff of technical specialists on the project.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Develop and coordinate a comprehensive policy formation and institutional development strategy to build the capacity of both GOR and private sector stakeholders that promotes increased investment in the ASF market system;
- Serve as a liaison in policy formation and institutional development initiatives with key GOR stakeholders including: MINAGRI, RAB, Rwanda Development Board, MINICOM, and the National Confederation of Cooperatives;
- Facilitate key public-private partnerships (PPP) in the ASF sector that build on previous USAID and GOR initiatives;
- Develop partnerships with ASF sector associations to develop their capacity to gather evidence and advocate for policy and regulatory change based on industry needs;
- Coordinate closely with ongoing cooperative development programs (e.g. Venture37 Cooperative Development Program) and the GOR to improve the policy support for both cooperatives and other viable aggregation business models;
- Collaborate with GOR and advocacy institutions to help influence policy decisions that are supportive of inclusive and innovative financing schemes in the ASF market system; and
- Coordinate with the Orora Wihaze Nutrition Specialist to embed nutritional messaging into national GOR-led strategies and support project District Portfolio Managers and Nutrition Advisors to scale nutrition messaging nationwide.
Required Skills and Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Economics, Quantitative Social Science or other relevant degree is highly desirable;
- Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in the areas of trade and investment framework development is highly desirable;
- Experience working with host country public agencies and ministries as well as with private sector advocacy organizations is desirable;
- Demonstrated experience in policy reform process facilitation, public-private dialogue and institution coalition building in rural economies is desirable;
- Experience with policy research, policy advocacy coordination and support to both public and private businesses and related civil society organizations is desirable;
- Experience and familiarity with agricultural development and policy issues, especially in the livestock sector in the African context, agriculture sector strategies and investment plans is desirable; and
- Oral and written fluency in Kinyarwanda, as well as in depth knowledge of the local operating environment in Rwanda, is desirable.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. No phone calls will be accepted.
Land O’Lakes Venture37 will never ask you for personable identifiable information, and we will never request money or payment during the recruitment or employment process. Please submit any questions or concerns to: Venture37generalinquiries@landolakesventure37.org .
Land O’Lakes Venture37 is an equal opportunity employer and an organization striving to help global communities thrive through agriculture. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, among other factors. Our culture values a diversity of voices. So bring us your unique experiences, your workstyle, and your dreams — they’ll only make us stronger.
Application Link:
