Demand Side Advisor

  • Full Time
  • Lusaka, Zambia
  • Applications have closed

GIZ

GIZ

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is the implementing agency of the Federal Republic of Germany for technical and international cooperation. It offers flexible, sustainable and effective solutions in political, economic and social change processes. Most of the work of GIZ is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). GIZ also operates on behalf of other German ministries as well as public and private bodies in Germany and abroad. These include the European Commission, the United Nations, the World Bank and governments of other countries.

The GIZ Agriculture and Food Security (AgriFood) Programme in Zambia aims at contributing to improve agricultural production and competitiveness along selected value chains (in order to increase incomes of small and medium farmers), to improve access to agricultural finance and to improve the food and nutrition situation of poor rural households. There are currently four projects being implemented under the AgriFood Programme, two of them are: Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas (GV AgFin) and the ‘German contribution to implementing the G7 climate risk insurance initiative InsuResilience’ (GV InsuResilience).

The global project Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas (GV AgFin) aims at increasing the supply of agricultural finance products based on the demand and needs of the Zambian agricultural sector. The main goal of the project is to provide farms and agri-based enterprises with access to a complete range of financial services, which they require. Better access to financial services will be supplemented by extensive advisory services and trainings to ensure an effective uptake and usage of products being offered. The GV AgFin Project combines agricultural sector development and financial systems development strategies to address both demand and supply side constraints simultaneously. Therefore, the project activities are not only aimed at the demand side, i.e. the farmers and agri-businesses, but also at the supply side (financial services) i.e. banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs).

Thus, GIZ is seeking a suitable candidate for the following position:

Demand Side Advisor (Lusaka based initially with eventual relocation to Southern Province)

REF: GIZ_AGF_DMD

Main tasks and responsibilities:

  • Conceptual development of different training and capacity development initiatives for farmers, agri-businesses and cooperatives (topics: financial, business and investment planning; financial linkages, etc.)
  • Implementing demand side training in project areas.
  • Conducting business case analysis and needs assessments among the target groups
  • Promoting linkages between the demand and the supply side
  • Providing technical assistance (TA) to savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) on topics related to financial and portfolio management as well as member training
  • Data collection and management related to Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Providing support in reporting of activities to fulfill the requirements of GIZ and BMZ
  • Assisting the partners in the facilitation of collaborative activities
  • Monitoring and Evaluation, knowledge management and PR communication

Capacity development and training:

  • Planning, organising and implementing capacity development initiatives for the demand side (farmers, agriculture based SMEs), including financial literacy, farm business and financial management, investment planning, etc.
  • Reviewing training approaches and developing new learning content (incl. customised case studies)
  • Supporting activities related to mobilisation of participants, including liaising with other SEWOH projects on mobilisation of the joint target groups
  • Coordinating relevant project activities and especially training, including local consultant assignments related to the demand side
  • Evaluating training and capacity development programs

Supporting linkages:

  • Identifying training and financial needs among actors of the agriculture value chains
  • Preparing the demand side for financial linkages
  • Liaising with branches of financial institutions, providing assistance to establish effective linkages with the agriculture sector and supporting outreach activities
  • Supporting development of effective dissemination channels for financial institutions
  • Planning and conducting various initiatives aiming at linking demand side actors to the financial sector

Supporting SACCOs, farmer-based cooperatives and institutions:

  • Conducting business case assessments in selected agriculture value chains
  • Providing technical assistance to farmer cooperatives on business case selection
  • Providing technical assistance in the form of direct coaching, workshops, training and providing advice to the partner SACCOs (board, management, members) on topics such as financial and portfolio management, services and products, product development, processes and procedures as well as policies
  • Supporting implementation of training activities for members of the cooperatives

Project Management:

  • Assisting with general project planning and develops project concepts
  • Supporting communication and documentation activities
  • Compiling regular reports
  • Collecting data on demand side activities and compiling reports
  • Conducting analysis of data and information

Other duties/additional tasks:

  • Performing any other duties/tasks as agreed with management

Qualifications and requirements:

  • Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Rural Finance or Development Studies; a master’s degree is an added advantage
  • At least 5 years’ professional experience in a comparable position
  • Experience in working with Agric SMEs
  • Work experience in adult learning/training/capacity development methodologies in agriculture and rural finance

Other knowledge, additional competences:

  • Fluency in English, both written and oral and must have skills in articulating oneself well
  • Fluency (oral) in at least one local language in the project area
  • Good presentation and teaching skills
  • Excellent IT skills (i.e. MS Office, internet, email, etc.)
  • Good knowledge about the financial sector and financial instruments
  • Ability to negotiate between different stakeholder groups
  • Must be self-driven, creative and have very good problem-solving skills
  • Ability to work independently and to prioritise and manage workload
  • Must be responsible, proactive and target-oriented
  • Must be willing to travel (as the role will require regular travel around the country)
  • Possession of a valid class B driver’s license
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work in a multicultural and multidisciplinary team
  • Willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed – corresponding measures to be agreed with management

The successful candidate will be expected to start full-time employment with GIZ, on a fixed term contract as of April 2019. Interested candidates must send the CV and a cover letter electronically, quoting the reference GIZ_AGF_DMD in the email subject line to: [email protected] by 15:00 hrs on Friday, 1st March 2019. Certificates, qualifications, etc. must not be attached to the application. In addition, traceable references of previous engagements must be provided. Please note that only applicants selected for interview will be contacted. GIZ is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. Therefore, women and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.


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