Summary

The scope of work for the Junior Consultant will be supporting the V4P&P project and will be focusing on enterprise development for emerging microenterprises, coaching and mentoring of Vegetable Business Network members, market linkages, business development service provision and agroecology policy support to counties. The consultant will work within the Veggies for Planet and People and will report to the Project Manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Coaching and mentoring of Vegetable Business Networks in areas of capacity building, market linkages, strengthening of VBN relationships
• Tailor-made capacity building of VBN members, group leaders and coaches on regenerative or agroecological practices
• Enterprise development among VBN members primarily linkages to input/output markets, business skills development and network building
• Capacity building of local service providers such as agrodealers, input suppliers, equipment services providers and offtakers through backward and forward linkages
• Coordinate and foster collaboration with other projects working in similar value chains
• Contribute to knowledge development in the project by developing reports, documenting stories of change and contributing to on-farm research reports
• Supporting county and national governments in development of regenerative or agroecological policies
• Continued support on VBN level vegetable seed multiplication and linkages with commercial seed distributors.
• Supporting establishment/strengthening farmer aggregation and marketing enterprises
• Preparing periodical project reports

Qualifications

• Degree in a relevant discipline; Agribusiness, Horticulture, Business Studies, Entrepreneurship
• Thorough and up to date knowledge of academic and donor thinking in the respective thematic field like regenerative agriculture/ agroecology, women and youth employment and entrepreneurship, and enterprise development.
• Five years’ work experience in an international (development) organization and sound experience in thematic area of working with smallholder farmers on horticulture production and markets.
• Technical knowledge and familiarity in specific topics of value chain development for small holder farmer’s production, markets, food safety, food losses, resilience etc.
• Skills in agriculture market systems approaches and value chain development processes; including stakeholder engagement; the public sector actors, Research institutions, private sector and consumer organisations.
• Experience with capacity development of microenterprises and farmer organisations.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work in a multi-organisation team.
• Good documentation and reporting skills.
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills and experience working in a matrix organization.
• Ability to travel to project locations often.