Programme Officer - Agribusiness

About Rikolto

Rikolto in East Africa is part of the Rikolto network, an international NGO with more than 40 years of experience working with farmer organizations and food chain actors in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Rikolto's mission is to contribute to the development of a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive agricultural sector, with family farmers supplying quality products for their own consumption and for various markets (national, regional, and international). In its programme in Tanzania, Rikolto is currently implementing a food systems programme in 8 regions of the Northern and Southern Highlands of Tanzania, mainly through 3 programmes focusing on transforming urban food systems (Good Food for Cities), sustainable rice production, and living income through the cocoa/coffee programme.

About the Projects

Rikolto in Tanzania has recently secured funding from the World Food Programme (WFP) to implement two projects aimed at promoting sustainable agricultural practices and enhancing economic empowerment. The first project, Vijana Kilimo Biashara (VKB), focuses on increasing food productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and developing a high-value market system. This initiative targets youth engagement in agriculture and seeks to strengthen food security by creating better linkages between producers and markets in Tanzania. The second project, A Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress Towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE), is designed to advance economic opportunities for rural women. It will focus on value chains for sorghum and sunflower production, with particular emphasis on the regions of Singida and Dodoma.

Job Description

Rikolto is currently seeking to hire a Programme Officer - Agribusiness for the VKB and JP RWEE projects. The Programme Officer will be responsible for enhancing the inclusion of smallholder farmers in durable and fair trading relationships with private companies in national and regional markets for the sunflower and sorghum value chains, and promoting structural changes to improve competitiveness in the targeted value chains.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in identifying regional constraints and opportunities within the sorghum and sunflower value chains, as well as relevant stakeholders.
• Drive market linkages and relationship-building between regional stakeholders to stimulate the supply of inputs, technology adoption, financing, service provision, and value addition.
• Collaborate with the Program Advisor and Coordinator through planning, implementation, monitoring, and making adjustments on innovation/change pathways in inclusive business models in the sunflower and sorghum chains.
• Collaborate with the Program Advisor and Coordinator through monitoring actions leading to structural changes for the inclusion of smallholder farmers in the target regions of Singida and Dodoma.
• Develop, strengthen, and support business linkages between FBOs and private companies in the target regions of Singida and Dodoma.
• Strengthen the entrepreneurial attitudes, skills, and capacities of FBOs and youth enterprises.
• Provide strategic and technical guidance to FBOs and youth enterprises, ensuring their inclusion in sunflower and sorghum chains.
• Coordinate/implement agribusiness actions with various partners to achieve the structural change agendas.
• Build strong relationships with private companies interested in sustainable sourcing from smallholder farmers.
• Collaborate closely with the M&E Officer to collect and synthesize all program data and report accordingly.
• Provide regular feedback to the Program Coordinator on ongoing field activities and suggest ways to improve operations.
• Collaborate with the Program Advisor by developing plans, budgets, and monitoring expenditures of both Rikolto and partners in the area of jurisdiction.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness, Economics, Business, or Cooperative Development.
• At least 2 years of experience in grains or high-value crops/commercial value chains and working with a variety of stakeholders.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Strategic thinker who can view problems from different angles.
• Results-oriented.
• Communicates clearly in a variety of settings and styles and possesses good networking skills.
• In-depth understanding of value chain development approaches, including gender empowerment approaches.
• In-depth understanding of sustainable non-financial (BDS development) and financial services, including market information systems.
• Extensive experience working with FBOs and facilitating collective action (including marketing where necessary).
• Proven track record of developing FBO or SME business models and business plans.
• Good understanding of sustainability/environmental issues and the ability to interpret information for stakeholders.
• Understands national, regional, and global market dynamics of high-value crops and grains.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Good proficiency in English (speaking and writing).
• Licensed and able to drive a manual car.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should send an application letter, a detailed CV, and copies of relevant certificates before October 25, 2024, to eastafrica.recruitment@rikolto.org, indicating the source of the advertisement and the title of the position in the subject line: Programme Officer - Agribusiness.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and invited for an interview.