Specialist, Data Analytics – Youth in Agriculture at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

The Position

Data Analytics Specialist – Youth in Agriculture, Job Reference: SDA/CTE/01/2024, Based in Nairobi, Kenya with frequent travel, approximately 30% .

This position will leverage data to generate insights, drive informed decision-making, and support organizational goals and objectives. The specialist plays a critical role in managing and analyzing data to extract valuable information, identify patterns and trends, and provide actionable recommendations to improve business performance, efficiency, and effectiveness. Additionally, by applying statistical techniques, data modelling, and advanced analytics, this position will uncover meaningful insights that can inform strategic planning, resource allocation, process optimization, and performance measurement.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the Head of Data and Analytics (D&A) in mapping out formal and informal financial services and service providers for specific value chains and specific actors.
• Work closely and collaboration with the Data and Analytics, Gender and Generation Africa teams, analyze linkages and bottlenecks in the supply chains and opportunities to make VCs more productive for the youth.
• Support data analysts for WA, Centre, ESA and GIS and Remote Sense in the validation and prioritization of incoming government demands.
• Support the Head of Data and Analytics (D&A) to undertake analysis such as on country economic conditions, inclusion approaches, possible potential risks the youth, especially women may face in local and regional markets.
• Work closely with the Head of D&A in developing predictive financial models to support youth and women business cases for priority value chains.
• Support the Head of Data and Analytics (D&A) in developing data and analytics models to AGRA Country Directors and the Country Technical Leads and the Directors of the Business Lines under the Centre of Technical Expertise.
• Map existing value chains in AGRA target countries and outline opportunities and how business cases can be developed from each potential value chain for the youth, and especially women to sustainably gain employment. 
• Assess the enabling environment and improved ecosystems including mapping of relevant local stakeholders and their roles in activating and enhancing investments for the prioritized VCs in the AGRA target countries. 
• Analyze local market structures and key risks/barriers in the enabling environment and factors affecting market access for the youth and ways for their improvement.
• Provide analytics on financial costs, including gross margins in the chain and compare costs of credit with profit margins in the prioritized value chains.
• Provide analytics of the structure and nature of demand in terms of existing and potential domestic, regional and international markets, regulatory frameworks, value addition and marketing including quality and trade standards for priority value chains.
• Analyze current market trends in terms of market demand and supply, price-scheduling mechanisms, market determinant factors, supply chains and government market regulatory and control mechanisms for specific value chains.
• Assess existing and potential markets for priority value chains to ensure direct linkages of the youth with the major markets and increased incomes from their business cases.
• Analyze historical and current financial data to understand value chain analysis for local and regional markets in terms of type, size and volume of market, goods sold and bought, supply chain, type of producers, suppliers and vendors, women led businesses/trades, and market associations/trade organizations, especially for women and competitiveness.
• Track current financial data for priority value chains and develop forecasting tools to automate financial data analysis. Analyze processes to identify gaps that can improve profit margins and stablish benchmarks for financial processes.
• Work with other Data and Analytics team members to develop financial models and conduct for financial analysis for value chains financing.
• Analyze the viability of value chains and perform financial forecasting including in terms of financial and economic sustainability of the business cases; profitability improvement; ROI, and Cost-benefit analysis.
• Provide analytics of the implication of fiscal reforms of trade and tax regimes and other specific policy gaps for specific value chains to promoting investment in agro-processing industries.
• Support data and analytical evidence to inform investment opportunities and financing decisions along value chains (VCs) facilitate agribusiness growth.
• Support financial analytics and evidence on investment models and financing opportunities for agribusinesses to facilitate affordable interests rate from banks and the private sector for smallholder agriculture growth.
• Support data and analytical evidence to inform business cases and opportunities along value chains (VCs) and provide information and plans for the development of agricultural marketing policy for value chain specific plans and potential financing.
• Support value chain analytics to inform decision making by assessing the efficiency and profitability of various value chains. The analytics will identify profitable and viable value chains for investment, estimate the investment requirements for various projects across the value chain, assess market gaps and deficits and build business cases from the value chains.
• Provide ex-ante and ex-post policy analysis to determine the impact of policy and regulatory economic interventions to improve government decision making on youth related interventions such as tax incentives, trade facilitation, and market development, among others.
• Support development of investment plans and investment policies through analytics to estimate investment needs (financial and otherwise) and outcomes, and outline investment criteria for selection of projects and beneficiaries, financial instruments, parameters and guidelines for investment, and funding models for the youth and women (through Value4her) projects.
• Develops a robust tracking framework for collection and analysis of project data for measuring performance of the investments in economic growth and food security, contribute to mitigate or adapt to climate change for improving the efficiency and profitability of the investments and youth and women (through Value4her) related projects. 
• Analyze the impact of agriculture investment on parameters such as employment, income and livelihoods of young people to provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of such investments and inform program design and any necessary adjustments to improve program outcomes.
• Develop analytics to guide investment policies clearly outlining investment criteria for selection of projects and beneficiaries, financial instruments, parameters and guidelines for investment, and funding models for the youth projects.
• Develop profiles on the competitiveness, size of markets, volumes of sale, market integration /segmentation of priority value chains and determine the cost, profit, marketing, and supply and demand dynamics of the prioritized value chain in the AGRA target countries.
• Develop Business Plan and Financial Forecasts, including Return on investment (ROI)/ Economic Rates of Return (ERRs)/Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Cashflows for the prioritized investments by countries.
• Develop Financial Investor Pitches Deck for prioritized investment by AGRA target country governments.
• Develop Business Plan and Financial Forecasts, including Return on investment (ROI)/ Economic Rates of Return (ERRs)/Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Cashflows for the prioritized investments.

Key Qualifications and Experience required:

• Relevant professional job experience (market assessments, local economic development, value chain development, strategic planning, etc.).
• A PhD or Master’s degree, preferably with a major in finance, business, marketing, economics or statistics or other related fields.
• Proficiency and experience with data analysis and modelling techniques using software programs such as Excel, STATA, R, SPSS, and SAS.
• Financial analyst with over 5 years management experience and with broad knowledge of the agriculture sector related financial management and planning in Africa.
• Should possess analytics capability with skills of financial modeling.
• Good command of English is required, and fluency in French and Portuguese will be an advantage.
• Strategic thinking and organizational skills.
• Hands-on experience working with statistical analysis and statistical packages.
• Knowledge of corporate finance, information analysis and financial diagnosis.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work independently and effectively with colleagues from diverse cultures.
• Demonstrated experience in effective interaction and coordination with governments, collaborators, thinktanks, and project partners.