Job Description

Intervention Portfolio Manager

USAID Rwanda Orora Wihaze Activity

Kigali, Rwanda

Closing date: December 9^th 2022

Background:

Land O’Lakes Venture37 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 crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition 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 Feed the Future Rwanda Orora Wihaze (Raise Animals for Self-Sufficiency) Activity is a USD $13.8M five-year (October 2019 – September 2024) Market System Development project that works with local partners and private sector actors in Rwanda to strengthen the animal sourced foods (ASF) market system. Implemented under a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contract, the project works across 8 districts of Rwanda including Burera, Gakenke, Nyamagabe, Nyamasheke, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Kayonza and Ngoma Districts. The goal of Orora Wihaze is to sustainably increase the availability of access to, and consumption of ASF through the development of a profitable market. This will be achieved by a selection of interventions under two broad objectives i) Private Sector-Led ASF Value Chains Strengthened; ii) Increase Demand for ASF Consumption for Women and Children. 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:

The Intervention Portfolio Manager (IPM) will be based in Kigali and will serve as the frontline intervention liaison responsible for supporting implementation of activities across two interventions; i) Development of ASF production and ii) Development of ASF product working in close collaboration with the intervention leads.  The IPM will establish relationships and coordinate closely with key private sector partners and public sector stakeholders, and other development implementers to facilitate existing activities and identify opportunities for both scale and replication. The IPM will be integrated into the activity implementation team to provide support the implementation of market-led innovations with nutrition sensitive approaches in alignment with project objectives.  The IPM will liaise closely with the Orora Wihaze Senior Policy and Institutional Development Specialist and Senior Nutritionist to continuously provide feedback and learning for the Activity within the two key intervention areas of focus.

Reporting & Supervision:

The Intervention Management Specialist (IPM) will report to the Senior Policy and Institutional Development Specialist (SPIDS).

Primary Responsibilities:

• Provide input to specific activity design processes that facilitate partner access to the market innovation funds under the project implementation approach
• Under the direction of the DCOP oversee specific activities under interventions to support ASF production and related ASF product development providing regular activity supervision of innovative initiatives.
• Collaborate with intervention leads to manage key stakeholder relationships with existing and new private sector partners and Government of Rwanda entities, business platforms supported by the Activity and other development activities that are operational in the same intervention focus areas.
• Identify key SME partners for investment and scaling and replication.
• Collaborate with intervention leads during the design and implementation of project market studies and analyses to identify suitable technical support to entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
• Coordinate closely with both the district-based teams, the Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, and the Senior Learning Advisor to gather robust, real-time data to inform project learning and adaptation.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in animal production, veterinary sciences, international development, finance, agriculture, economics, food science or related field.
• Five (5) years or more of progressively responsible work experience in supporting agriculture and agribusiness activities of similar scope and complexity to that of Orora Wihaze.
• Experience working with a wide range of key agriculture sector stakeholders at district and national level including private sector agribusinesses, government entities and the donor community, as well as civil society organizations (e.g., farmer organizations and cooperatives, NGOs, CBOs, etc.).
• Experience supporting collaborative, participatory agriculture and livestock production and market development efforts in communities with similar levels of education, risk tolerance, habits related to ASF consumption in Rwanda.
• Extensive networks of public and private sector stakeholders, as well as relationship management and networking skills.
• Ability to implement project activities with a high degree of autonomy.
• Oral and written fluency in English and Kinyarwanda, as well as in depth knowledge of the local operating environment in Rwanda.

Desired skills/knowledge

• Experience in livestock related agribusiness is desirable.
• Knowledge of private sector engagement approaches including Market System Development (MSD) implementation.