Project Manager at Duma works

Key responsibilities for the role include prospecting, closing, and launching partnerships in agribusiness, sales points,nursery development and training of stakeholders.

Project Manager Job Responsibilities

• Improve/develop the capacity of project staff/farmers’ associations to identify sustainable agro-based economic opportunities and understand and implement a demand-driven, commercialisation approach to rural development based on access to markets
• Identify and assist in coordinating relevant workshops in agriculturalmarketing issues for project staff and project beneficiaries.
• Develop or facilitate training modules for project staff related to the key decision making tools for market analysis and program intervention design
• Provide technical capacity to programme beneficiaries to improve their understanding of business-related concepts in seeds companies development such as: factors of production; costs of production; quality control/market standards; opportunity cost; gross margin and profit analysis; return on investment; credit/budgeting; and risk
• Assist with the preparation of training materials, guide and manuals
• Provide support and guidance to the project manager to develop, review, oversee and review project strategy and activities related to the implementationof the project according to the project proposal
• Assist in the development of appropriate criteria and a suitable delivery mechanism for the facilitation of adequate investment and training in farm and nonfarm enterprises
• Provide technical assistance for the design of the project’s monitoring and evaluation strategy
  Develop M&E system to measure profitability and relevant business indicators of targeted seeds companies.
• Subsequently oversee project’s M&E system, ensuring the provision of quality data on a timely basis for internal project management and external reporting purposes
• Assist in establishing linkages with private sector service providers and buyers for accessing new farm and non-farm enterprise opportunities and in the negotiation of market contracts and MOUs with selected private sector partners.
• Assist in the facilitation of linkages with local agencies for accessing new non-farm enterprises opportunities in conservation areas
• Design a strategy to strengthen linkages between civil society organisations, government representatives and the private sector.
• Maintain working relations with relevant government line ministries and private sector/research institutions to coordinate the adoption of new products and/or approaches in agriculture development and marketing
• Provide technical support in the establishment of a marketing database to keep farmers, consumers and buyers informed of the prevailing market prices of various agro-industrial products and commodities

Qualifications for the Project Manager Job

• Bachelors degree in agricultural economics, marketing or business administration, or related field
• 5-7 years international experience in agro-business development, preferably in farm planning and economic analysis
• Demonstrated capacity to work with private sector players (financial institutions, exporters, buyers, traders, transporters, input suppliers or processors)
• Familiarity with commonly used tools for market analysis and program design such as sub-sector analysis, gross margin analysis and business planning
• Experience with community-based programming
• Experience in small to medium scale agro-enterprise management
• Experience with externally funded development programmes would be desirable, preferably with experience in market-oriented projects
• Experience in dealing with local interlocutors (local NGOs, government ministries), preferably in an African context
• Fluency in English.