Country: Senegal
Closing date: 11 Feb 2017
Scope of work:
Regional Agriculture Policy/Capacity Development Advisor
Period of Performance: March 1, 2017-February 28, 2018
LOE: Est 12 months
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Candidates: TCN or Local Nationals
Program Background:
Africa Lead II is one of USAID’s primary capacity building programs in sub Saharan Africa. The program works to help realize Feed the Future (FTF), the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) and the 2014 Malabo Declaration goals of reduced hunger and poverty by building the capacity of champions, institutions and stakeholders to develop, lead and manage the structures needed for African-led agriculture transformation.
A five-year program begun in 2013, Africa Lead II builds on the success of the predecessor capacity building program (Africa Lead) and works with countries and regions to develop strategic long-term activities to strengthen African policy makers and decision-makers, institutions, and non-state actors (NSAs), including the private sector at the forefront of increased agricultural productivity and food security for the continent.
The Africa Lead II Program maintains program teams and offices in Washington D.C., Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and DR Congo. Program activities are driven by buy-ins from various USAID/Washington Offices and USAID Regional and Bilateral Missions in Feed the Future countries.
Africa Lead II is organized around three strategic areas:
Improved institutional capacity Strengthened management of policy change and alignment processes Enhanced capacity and engagement of NSAs, including the private sector and civil society
Position Description
The Regional Agriculture Policy Advisor will take primary responsibility for implementing and coordinating activities in the second strategic area, “Strengthened management of policy change and alignment processes,” funded by country and regional buy-ins, and helps the West Africa regional office respond to policy-related requests from USAID regional and bilateral missions.
He/ she will work with all stakeholders related to implementation of CAADP and Malabo Declaration commitments and will provide training and technical assistance to strengthen policy processes, to improve policy development and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, institutional analysis, and other technically related issues as they arise.
Specific initial tasks are the following:
Work with Regional (ECOWAS) and National government country teams to provide training and technical assistance to revise National Agriculture Policies as well as National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIP) using the NAIP “toolkits” and other methodologies. NAIPs are key documents in the CAADP process to guide individual countries to meet the performance indicators as outlined in the Malabo Declaration of 2014. The Advisor will coordinate closely with RESAKSS and IFPRI as necessary. The Regional Agriculture Advisor will work closely with the Senior Agriculture Policy Analyst based at the Africa Lead office in Bethesda, and assist with the organization and delivery of NAIP training clinics and courses on the use of the Institutional Architecture Analysis at the country and regional level to support the development and implementation of revised NAIPs. Support mutual accountability / agricultural joint sector review processes (JSR) at country and regional level. Deliver technical assistance and training on the “strong JSR” principles and process, help develop JSR road maps, track, organize and coordinate JSR related activities, and monitor and evaluate progress in order to strengthen the agriculture policy process. Support Biennial Reviews in countries to review member state progress against the Malabo Declaration goals Support Africa Lead’s West Africa Regional Office buy-ins (West Africa Mission, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, DRC, Sierra Leone) to design and implement capacity development and policy-related activities, in their respective work plans such as training workshops, policy dialogues and forums, learning and advocacy events, multi-stakeholder consultations and workshops,NAIP revisions, JSR’s, and institutional assessments.
Respond to short-notice requests to participate in workshops and conferences on CAADP related and/ or national, regional and continental agricultural policy processes and to deliver technical assistance and/or event support in various African countries related to policy and institutional reviews, JSRs, NAIP revisions, biannual reviews, policy dialogues and forum etc. Develop concept notes and scope of work for technical assistance support and events. Prepares training materials and reports on the activities as well as reads and finalizes consultant reports on policy process support activities. Works with Knowledge Management teams in Bethesda and Accra to implement metrics to track agriculture and food security policy processes, and support collection and analysis of such data and helps write impact and success stories and well as quarterly and annual reports on policy work in the region.
Qualifications, Abilities, and Education Requirements:
Minimum Master’s degree in agriculture, economics, policy, research, planning related field with focus on policy planning, development and implementation. 5-8 years of experience working with governments and/or non -state actors on programs to strengthen agricultural policy processes and capacity of organizations at various levels: continental, regional, and national levels on policy processes. Familiarity with USAID’s Feed the Future Program and extensive knowledge of CAADP, the Malabo Declaration, and African Regions’ and Countries’ National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans. Proven organizational development, cross-cultural interpersonal skills and excellent communication and public speaking skills with multiple African institutions (public and private sector). Ability to organize and facilitate large meetings, deliver a training course and short term technical assistance. Demonstrated ability in technical writing, data analysis especially related to agriculture topics and excellent report writing skills.
Willingness and availability to travel extensively across the region at least once a month on 1 -2 week assignments. Fluency in French language (written and oral); ability to develop training materials and deliver technical assistance and training in French language . English-intermediate skills but fluency preferred.
How to apply:
To apply, please follow the link below:
https://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm04/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=DAINC&cws=1&rid=2959