Agriculture Advisor – Exports Development at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change we are dedicated to making globalisation work for the many, not the few. We do this by helping countries, their people and their governments, address some of the most difficult challenges in the world today – beginning with those where we think we can break new ground, offering leaders new thinking and new approaches. Our staff – over 200 of them, based all over the world – are working on some of the most intractable problems around issues of co-existence, governance, the peace process in the Middle East and renewing the centre.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Agriculture Advisor – Exports Development

Job Reference: tbigc/TP/5126/203
Location: Abuja
Contract Type: Fixed Term / Full Time
Working Hours: 35 Hours per week
Business Unit: Nigeria
Job Category: Advisory
Business Area / Division: Advisory – Africa

Focus of the Role

• TBI Nigeria will be supporting the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development with the delivery of his priorities for driving agricultural development in Nigeria. Given the impact of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy, the Federal Government of Nigeria is focused on implementing policy initiatives meant to drive economic recovery in the short term.
• To this end, TBI is hiring an Agricultural Exports Development Advisor to support the Honourable Minister of Agriculture (HMA)’s Office to drive the delivery of one of the the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) priority programmes – The Agro-Commodity Exports Policy.
• The Agro-commodity Export Policy is aimed at growing Nigeria’s agricultural exports by about 20% per annum, starting in 2021. The objective of the role is to provide delivery advisory support to the HMA and by extension the Ministry to implement the Agro-Commodity Export Policy which is expected to be approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Key Responsibilities
The advisor will provide ongoing support to the HMA, Ministry staff and relevant government institutions on the implementation and coordination of the Agro-Commodity Exports Policy, with activities that can include the below:

• Prioritising the most transformative value chains (at both crop and downstream product level) with export potential
• Supporting the Ministry’s efforts to improve the enabling environment and policy framework for the highest priority export-oriented value chains
• Categorising the Agro-commodity Export Policy into 4 or 5 major thematic areas of action
• Breaking down the Agro-commodity Export Policy into a detailed annual work plan showing clearly defined activities, timelines for implementation and responsible parties
• Driving the intra-Ministry coordination essential to the successful implementation of the policy
• Working with Ministry staff and representatives of collaborating institutions to develop and implement a performance management plan for the Agro-Commodity Policy
• Supporting the cross-government coordination mechanism around the delivery of the agro-commodity exports policy
• Preparing and providing the HMA with progress reports as required for him to brief the Federal Executive Council.
• Supporting the HMA, Ministry staff and relevant government institutions like the Nigeria Export Promotion Council to identify catalytic investment opportunities for exports of target value chains, and facilitate these investments.
• Promoting the sustainability of this advisory support through mentoring and skills transfer to ministry staff.

Person Specification
Experiences and Qualifications:

• An MA in International Economics, Public Administration, Business Administration, Agro-Economics, Agriculture or related fields.
• At least 5-10 years of experience working on or agriculture transformation and/or private sector development programmes in emerging markets especially in Sub Saharan Africa and or similar contexts to Nigeria.
• Knowledge of Nigeria’s agricultural / agribusiness sector.
• Experience working with governments on agriculture, agri-business, agro-processing, investment promotion. Experience in the Federal Government of Nigeria is an asset, and so is a candidate who has already developed relationships with relevant stakeholders.
• Experiential knowledge of institutional development and organisational management, including process and system engineering and capacity development. Experience working with senior executives is an asset.
• Experience liaising with different stakeholders, navigating political dynamics, moving forward in a difficult environment with uncertainty and risk
• Experience in both the public and private sector is an asset.

Essential Skills:

• Ability to work independently, think strategically and translate strategies into concrete and implementable plans
• Effective inter-personal and leadership skills. Team player with an ability to develop and foster relationships with government
• Excellent writing, presentation skills and verbal communication skills in English
• Understanding of organizational design and accountability mechanisms to reform government processes
• Proven ability to mentor, coach, and build capacity of national counterparts
• Strong analytical and management skills, including sound knowledge of data analysis, strategic planning, and project management tools

Personal Specifications:

• Ability to deliver results in complex and challenging environments
• Willingness and ability to mentor, coach and build capacity of counterparts
• A creative and entrepreneurial approach to overcoming barriers and making change happen

Salary
Competitive.

Application Closing Date
10th December, 2020.