USAID/Modernizing Agriculture activity

Post-Harvest Handling (PHH) Advisor

CNFA

CNFA is a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to stimulating economic growth in the agricultural sector by nurturing entrepreneurship, private enterprise, and market linkages. CNFA specializes in fostering private sector investments in training, new technologies and marketing as a means to increase the overall competitiveness of agricultural value chains and rural development, to increase people’s incomes, to develop skills in the rural workforce, and to facilitate exports.

Program Description USAID/Rwanda Modernizing Agriculture Activity

The purpose of the Modernizing Agriculture Activity (ModAg) is to support increased agriculture productivity and income, access to finance and markets, and access and consumption of nutritious food products in Rwanda, while increasing the resilience of the agriculture and food systems to the changing climate. To achieve this goal, the Activity will sustainably increase agricultural productivity, increase access to finance for farmers and agribusinesses, improve producers’ nutrition and market outcomes, and strengthen the enabling environment to foster market-driven outcomes in agriculture.

Position Description

Under the supervision of the Nutrition and Market Development Director, the Post-Harvest Handling (PHH) Advisor will be responsible for ModAg’s efforts to improve value-addition and PHH related to high and/or nutritious value chains and food products. S/He will facilitate capacity building for Large, Small and Medium Enterprises (LSMEs), as well as smallholder farmers, cooperatives, aggregators, agro-dealers and, agro-processors in improving their post-harvest handling and food safety practices and systems. S/He will be responsible for designing and overseeing all program food safety, post-harvest and processing activities. S/He will collaborate with the ModAg Market Access Advisor to improve food safety and handling issues at marketplaces where there is room for improvement at the stages of transport, storage, packing and retail distribution. The PHH Advisor is based in Kigali.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main duties of the PHH Advisor are:

Lead the design, development, and implementation of ModAg post-harvest-related partnerships
Support ModAg in feasibility assessments, design and delivery of technical assistance to post-harvest and processing enterprises and suppliers;
Identify, engage and catalyze relevant stakeholders (both public and private) to develop and propose user friendly and efficient post-harvest production processing activities
Provide expertise and training on post-harvest approaches, systems, procedures and processes including usage, accounting for profit and loss, processing activities, maintenance of facilities, etc.
Develop or adapt existing training curricula for PHH actors on appropriate post-harvest techniques at commodity level to extend shelf life, increase quality levels and reduce losses during harvest, packaging, transport and storage;
Coordinate with staff across components to design, develop, and teach appropriate procedures and processes for postharvest handling and food safety and related facility operations;
Coordinate with the Environmental Advisor to ensure adherence to USAID (22 CFR 216) and Rwanda environmental compliance requirements
Collaborate with the Gender and Social Inclusion Advisor to identify and implement inclusive strategies in partnership with the private sector.
Contribute to data collection and reporting.
Other duties as assignment by the Chief of Party or designee.
Qualifications

Minimum of Bachelors’ degree required in Food Science and technology, marketing and/or post-harvest technology, Masters’ degree preferred;
A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in food safety emphasizing post-harvest handling and storage with at least 3 years within the Development Project sector;
Knowledgeable on current innovations in PHH technologies relevant in the context of Rwanda agriculture sectors;
Strong interpersonal skills with evidence of ability to engage productively with a wide
range of organizations, beneficiaries, and related parties (e.g., producers, government,
private sector, non-governmental organizations, and research and training institutions);
Private sector experience working with a major agricultural supplier and/or exporter in high value agricultural products will be an advantage;
Experience working on USAID or other donor-funded programs a plus;
Familiar with USAID (22 CFR 216) and Rwanda environmental compliance requirements;
Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel;
Excellent organizational skills and ability to work in a fast-paced environment;
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously;
Fluency in English and Kinyarwandan;