Senior Food Processing Specialist at TechnoServe Kenya

Stakeholder Engagement: Client Relationship Management

• Promote information exchange and network building by leading the hosting of 1-2 (or more) business-to-business platforms each year, with the goal of supporting food processors to secure new contractual relationships with suppliers of equipment, digital services, inputs, equipment; as well as equip them with information and contacts that will enable them to navigate regulations and certification processes.
• Identify and establish relationships with organizations with technical expertise in the nutrition, food processing, manufacture, supply chain and distribution, etc. field that FSA can partner with to promote functionality of Kenya’s Food System.
• In coordination with other team members identify clients (processors, industry bodies, aggregators etc.) that can have an impact on the availability of nutritious food products and on broader food systems.
• Clearly identify and document their aspirations and challenges; plot a mutually agreed intended impact and route to reach it.
• Plan activities to ensure that the shared objectives are met within the set times and resources and that impact is maximized.
• Effectively manage, maintain and nurture relationships with these clients.
• Ensure regular and responsive communication to monitor progress, identify problems at an early stage and respond to them.
• In coordination with regional implementation teams, map eligible county-based food markets for improvements in e.g. market management, food safety and handling, or needed technical assistance.

Subject Area Leadership: Coordination of Technical Assistance

• Support food/feed processors to improve their business and financial management and operational. This support will first focus on processing and business management to identify cost-efficiencies that can unlock additional revenue for the processor, which in turn enable investment to increase processing capacity.
• Support processors to develop strategies for sourcing that enable them to secure the quality and quantity of raw material required, while also providing services, price premiums, or a consistent market for the farmers selling to them.
• Clearly communicate to clients the full range of support that is available to them from TechnoServe and relevant global, and national food processing organizations.
• Provide on-the-ground support for implementation of technical advice, on issues identified by the business diagnostics carried out post-client mapping.
• Source and facilitate relevant technical expertise from potential partner organizations to support food and feed processors and local food markets. Liaise relationships between identified and engaged technical experts and processors to ensure clear expectations and smooth communication.
• Ensure the FSA Technical and Regional Implementation Leads are fully informed on progress, challenges and successes assignments with each food/feed processor or and food markets.
• In collaboration with other team members at country and regional level develop and deliver standardized training and quick win solutions to less sophisticated clients with simpler technical and business needs.
• Facilitate university student internships / apprenticeship initiative with processors, whereby interns will be assigned for a defined period to provide technical support and address identified issues.

Program Management

• Support the development (at the technical integration team) and coordination (at the regional team level) and implementation of food processing-related activities in the execution of project work plans, and budgets,
• In coordination with the Senior Food Systems Manager, design technical parameters for an open call for food and feed processors sourcing raw material from FSA’s zones of influence to receive technical or grant assistance.
• In coordination with the Senior Food Systems Manager, work closely with the CLA Unit and Finance and Admin units to ensure alignment of resources, activities, and key performance indicators related to policy engagement.
• Support the development schedules, tools, and processes for deploying a robust food processor and local food markets engagement strategy;
• Develop, design and oversee grant activities that support FSA’s policy influencing or strengthening objective;
• Identify issues and risks related to implementation promptly, suggesting appropriate program adjustments
• Lead, or in supporting roles, manage, contribute to, and provide quality control to data analysis and report writing at technical national integration team level related to the food/feed processing work stream.
• Ensure activities carried out are in accordance with TechnoServe and donor requirements.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Work with the Monitoring and Evaluation, and CLA unit, provide anecdotal evidence of impact, including success stories, case studies and lessons learnt
• document and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and project impacts to inform future initiatives
• Collaborate with the M&E team to monitor and evaluate program progress.
• Support or contribute to knowledge management activities including writing articles on project developments, learning or opinion pieces.
• In coordination with the M&E Manager, manage collection of client data, review data for accuracy.
• Contribute towards explanations of metric results and provide input to recommendations to adapt program approach as necessary to maximize impact.

Sector Wide Trainings

• Support the FSA regional implementation teams, technical integration team, identified industry experts and local training institutes with technical input on identification of appropriate topics and development of curricula for sector wide training in support of broader industry development.

Innovation and Best Practices:

• Develop innovative approaches to enhance TechnoServe's work and share these innovations to promote the adoption of best practices within the organization.

Representation and Networking:

• Represent the program at networking events with private and public sector actors, as per the guidance of the COP and DCOP

Miscellaneous

• Perform other related duties as required to contribute to the program's success.

Competencies

Strategic and Innovative Thinker

• Identifies opportunities and builds strategic relationships with other organizations to help achieve identified goals.
• Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn and actively applies new knowledge and skill.
• Analyses both successes and failures for clues to improvement.
• Innovative to try new ideas to find solutions
• Analytical, able to diagnose problems, identify the key issues, and think strategically to evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical, and acceptable solution. Works persistently to overcome obstacles
• Asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources, learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.

Team Player

• Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team to achieve a common goal. Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.
• Effectively plans, schedules, and prioritizes activities.
• Able to take ownership of decisions on areas of responsibility but show sound judgment in escalating issues where necessary.

Effective Communicator

• Listens openly and effectively and ensures accurate understanding; able to adjust communication to the needs of the audience and work at multiple levels; facilitates the open exchange of ideas and information in individual and group situations.
• Transparent in dealings with others, admits mistakes, and is trusted. Inspires confidence in the team of honest intentions and fairness.
• Able to analyze and express themselves clearly in business writing.

Additional tasks that may be assigned in an agile program implementation approach

Desired Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in food science, food nutrition or a related degree, preferably at Master’s level.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in the food industry or as a consultant to the industry
• Good knowledge and understanding of the challenges of food processing in Kenya, both technical and business
• Previous work on a donor-funded program, ideally USAID
• Design and delivery of training
• Managing local consultants/BDS providers
• Demonstrated track record of building and managing strong client and stakeholder relationships, including with government, civil society and private sector
• Strong gender leadership, supervisory, problem-solving, communication, and coordination skills required.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing gender equality.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills
• Willingness to travel extensively within FSA’s Kenya zone of influence,
• Proven ability to develop strategies and conduct analysis on complex commercial questions
• Experience in authoring concise and well-written reports and presentations
• Strategic and analytical thinking skills
• Exceptional interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
• Fluent user of MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint