SNV the Netherlands Development Organization is an global development partner working in more than 25 countries in Asia and Africa. In Rwanda, SNV has been working for more than 30 years to improve people’s livelihoods by strengthening the capacities of public and private sector organizations and catalyzing partnerships. It does so by helping to realize the national development goals in three sectors: Agri-Food; Renewable Energy; and Water. SNV supports development in these sectors by working with the government, civil society, and private sector organizations.

SNV Rwanda is recruiting a Senior Production Advisor for an anticipated award in youth employment in agriculture value chains. The incumbent should be a professional with experience and expertise in agricultural production targeting horticulture and poultry value chains.  

The position holder will be responsible for the overall technical leadership in the production and management of Horticulture and poultry value chains. He/she will provide guidance and backstopping to the project partners to ensure that the production components of the program are of high quality in adherence to industry standards and recommended good agricultural and animal production practices.  This includes the formulation and implementation of training materials on good production practices particularly in Good Agricultural Practices for targeted horticultural crops and good management practices for poultry business models, imparting knowledge and skills in value addition and post-harvest loss and waste reduction and providing support to young people and youth-led agro-enterprises intending to improve inclusiveness and competitiveness of targeted value chains. S/he will facilitate access to requisite inputs and work closely with the entrepreneurship advisor to organize young people for efficient production and marketing and develop strong partnerships with financial institutions and relevant service providers to ensure the success of the target young farmers and agro-enterprises. S/he will support young farmers, youth-led enterprises, and their groups to improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and overall production practices for profitable agri-preneurship.  

The function holder reports to the Project Manager and will utilize Local Service Providers to assist with service delivery and the growth and expansion of marketed products of farmers and agribusinesses that are involved in regenerative agricultural production. 

JOB SPECIFICATIONS :

• Contract Type: Full time, National Employment
• Duty Station: Kigali – Rwanda
• Reports to: Project Manager
• Direct Reports: Agronomists
• Contract Type and Duration:  Two years with the possibility of extension based on performance
• Anticipated Start Date: asap

KEY TASKS

Advisory Services 

• Provide technical expertise to partners and SNV staff on appropriate production practices for profitable horticulture and poultry value chains through training, and demonstrations among others.  
• Provide technical support to young farmers and youth-led enterprises in climate-smart and regenerative production practices across the value chains including efficient use of inputs, good agricultural practices, post-harvest handling and hygiene, sanitary and phytosanitary and biosecurity measures to mitigate risk and optimize benefits from targeted value chains. 
• Provide technical advice on planning, production, marketing, and financial management and overall management of youth-led agro-enterprises in targeted value chains. 

Knowledge Development 

• Build the capacity of youth in horticulture and poultry for profitable employment in the agrifood sector through training, coaching and mentorship as well as other extension providers, ensuring the integration of best production and post-harvest practices for enhancing value of their products. 
• Develop and maintain positive working relationships with SNV staff, national and local authorities, international and national organizations as well as technical focal points in agriculture. 
• Support development of appropriate tools and models to create and enhance value in horticulture and poultry enterprises and facilitate.

Project and Process Development  

• Provide primary technical direction to the project production processes with a special focus on climate-smart and regenerative agricultural production. 
• Coordinate all planned activities with the project team including partner organizations, youth entrepreneurship advisors, M&E experts, donors, and other development agencies to ensure consistency with sector priorities. 

People Management  

• Steer direct reports and coach associated partners/ external stakeholders on quality within the context of project assignments.  
• Act as a technical expert in the content area, apply process improvements in projects, and coach colleagues and associated partners both professionally and operationally on the quality of context within the project.  

Positioning 

• Identify and analyse seasonal trends and predictions, opportunities and threats and channels communication accordingly.  
• Actively participate in strategic positioning meetings and acts as a knowledgeable face of the SNV organisation to the client.  
• Analyses, understands and develops (local) networks with relevant stakeholders, identifies new clients. 

Business Development 

• Build, maintains and utilises relationships with relevant stakeholders, represents SNV and identifies opportunities for Business Development policies and procedures.  
• Initiate assignments on a local/(sub)national level, supports proposals and develops technical processes during the inception phase of projects.  

• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural production, Horticulture, crop science , or related field Development  
• At least 5 years of experience working on international development programs to improve production and incomes through market systems with an orientation of farming as a business. 
• Demonstrated experience of successfully steering horticultural production and linking farmers and agribusinesses to markets. 
• Demonstrated experience in building the capacity of farmers, and cooperatives in climate smart agriculture.     
• Proficiency in English is required( written and spoken). 

Conceptual thinking : Having and gaining insight into situations, problems and processes. Deconstructing problems and systematically investigating the various components. Having a complete picture of the context and overview of the whole problem.  

Coaching : Encouraging and guiding employees in order to make their performance more effective and to enhance their self-perception and problem-solving skills.   

Focus on quality :

• Familiarity with results chains and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
• Familiarity with inclusive business models and application to resource constrained small holder farmers.

Result orientation :  The ability to take direct action in order to attain or exceed objectives. 

Persuasiveness : The ambition to win over other people for one’s views and ideas and to generate support.

HOW TO APPLY

The application file containing the following documents should consolidated in one PDF file & submitted to the Country Director via our recruitment portal - via Smart Recruiters at https://smrtr.io/j5WR7 , no later than February 18, 2024.

Note: Note: This is national employment, so qualified Rwandan candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 

The application file includes: Motivation letter, updated CV which has 3 professional references, including current and previous direct supervisors with their full names, phone number and email address.

SHORTLISTING

Shortlisting and interviews will be done on rolling basis until the position is filled. Therefore, qualified and interested candidates are highly recommended to submit their applications as soon as they can.  Only applicants fulfilling the above requirements will be contacted. If you do not hear from us within one month from the submission date of your application, consider your application unsuccessful.

WORKING AT SNV 

SNV is a great place to work and prides itself on its comprehensive benefits package.  We offer competitive salaries and a dynamic inclusive work environment.

SNV is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law, and requires affirmative action to ensure equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.  This is also to include inquiry about, disclosing, or discussing their compensation or the compensation of other applicants or employees.

SNV offers a challenging work environment, opportunities to lead and innovate, and a commitment to growing your skills in a fulfilling and diverse working environment. Our staff benefit from, and contribute to, an internal and global network of experts. For more information on SNV, please refer to our website: www.snv.org

VETTING

SNV carries out rigorous background and reference checks concerning possible safeguarding incidents for all candidates applying for International determined positions. As SNV participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, all reference checks include a request to past employers to fill in a questionnaire regarding Misconduct (sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment), the “Statement of Conduct". This Statement of Conduct adopts the definitions used in the Scheme.  

DATA PROTECTION ASSURANCE

SNV will not retain your Personal Data for longer than is allowed by law or is necessary for the Purposes.

If you are selected and offered employment, the Personal Data you have provided will be used by SNV for the purpose of human resource management and administration. If you are unsuccessful on this occasion to secure employment with SNV, SNV will retain your Personal Data for one (1) year for the purpose of considering you for other suitable positions as and when they arise. If you do not wish to be considered for other suitable positions by SNV, please indicate accordingly in the acknowledgment section.