Agribusiness and Marketing Officer (ABMO)

POSITION TITLE	Agribusiness and Marketing Officer (ABMO)
POSITION LOCATION	Jamaica
REPORTS TO	Country Coordinator – Jamaica
CONTRACT TERM	2 years
APPLICATION DEADLINE	5th May, 2023
EXPECTED START DATE	May/June, 2023

---

Are you an enthusiastic program facilitator committed to ensuring that inclusive and sustainable agricultural markets in Jamaica function effectively? WUSC is currently looking for an Agribusiness and Marketing Officer to facilitate the inclusion of women and youth into sustainable agricultural markets in Jamaica.

BACKGROUND

World University Service of Canada (registered as WUSC Caribbean in the Caribbean), is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments, and businesses who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently works in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have over 90 staff in our Ottawa office, and over 200 people overseas implementing 16 development projects in collaboration with donors such as Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), the MasterCard Foundation, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.

WUSC Caribbean is implementing the Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) Project, which will promote climate resilient agriculture for equitable economic growth to increase the economic prosperity of women and youth (female & male) in more sustainable agricultural markets in the Caribbean. The project is funded by GAC and will be implemented in Dominica; Guyana; Jamaica; Saint Lucia; and Suriname.

Women and youth (female & male) are central players in targeted agricultural market systems so they can restore the dwindling number of farmers in the region, while strengthening more climate resilient domestic agricultural production to enhance food security, and reduce reliance on imported agricultural products, for more sustainable economic growth. Recognizing that adult males are currently dominant actors in market systems, the SAC Project also works with men, so they can become advocates for women and youth fostering the right conditions for equitable participation. The SAC Project engages agricultural markets in each of the target countries, and provide capacity-building support to local organizations.

WUSC Caribbean applies an Inclusive Market Systems (IMS) approach, engaging multiple stakeholders, including established country partners, to create links between key market actors; strengthen their capacity through training, information sharing and outreach; and foster climate resilient approaches (re-orienting agricultural development for sustainability), at every stage and via every market actor in the agricultural value chain. This approach helps to mitigate the impacts of climate change, reduce the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters, and foster climate-resilient agricultural markets that offer increased, sustainable economic benefits for women and youth.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Agribusiness and Marketing Officer (ABMO) will be responsible for providing support to the SAC Country Coordinator for Jamaica, in the planning, management, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the SAC project’s programing activities linking women and youth to sustainable agricultural market systems using an inclusive market systems approach.  The candidate will work closely with relevant in-country and regional stakeholders – including producers, agro-processors, local and national government agencies, the private sector and others, to ensure the targets set for the country level Annual Work Plans (AWP) will be achieved fully and on time. The ABMO will also liaise with staff, volunteers and specialists working on the SAC project across the region.

• Work closely with the Country Coordinator to develop partnerships, facilitate market linkages, access to finance and other market building activities with a focus on increasing the involvement of women and youth (f/m) in selected agricultural markets;
• Support the development of sustainable agribusiness and agri-trade strategies that identify key local and regional market opportunities for selected agricultural markets. Lead the implementation of the strategies to achieve agreed targets including linkages, partnerships, income, production and productivity targets;
• Contribute to the development of country work plans and other technical reports and documents;
• Support monitoring activities and the continuous integration of monitoring data in order to inform and strengthen target markets and project activities;
• Contribute to a responsive and adaptive project approach by continuously monitoring market trends and liaising with colleagues to identify and respond to changes, emerging challenges, and gaps in the project’s target agricultural markets;
• Facilitate market-driven linkages between relevant government agencies, agribusiness producers, consolidators, processors, exporters and other market actors to ensure effective partnerships and collaborations on agri-business and investment opportunities;
• Support liaison with key regulators and supporting service providers that will enhance the effective operation of the market systems;
• Participate in relevant meetings, technical working groups and conferences, to share knowledge, coordinate programs and to identify potential opportunities and challenges;
• Provide support to the development of press releases and provide inputs to communication products, materials, and campaigns to ensure accurate information is disseminated as required;
• Develop practical tools and guides for colleagues to support implementation, including engagement in design and use of M&E tools;
• Support the work of WUSC’s volunteers to link to work undertaken in-country;
• Collaborate with other SAC project’s technical experts and staff as required, in supporting gender equality and social inclusion, youth, environment and governance objectives in program and training initiatives in the project (this could include the identification of and support in the delivery of training including for: staff; consultants; stakeholders; and volunteers);
• Facilitate access to business support services for key beneficiaries and partners engaged in selective markets system including strengthening capacity, mentorship and coaching, development of agricultural investment concepts and proposals and investment analysis;
• Work in collaboration with the team based in Jamaica to provide support in liaison with the Country Coordinator; and
• Other duties may be periodically assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Education

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Community Development, Agriculture Marketing or other relevant field.
• Or minimum of 8 years of private sector experience in facilitating collaborative problem solving in line with the experience and competencies listed below.

Experience & Competencies

• At least five (5) years of work experience in facilitating collaborative problem solving and action among agricultural market actors;
• Demonstrated interest or involvement in gender equality and social inclusion and/or youth programming, management and advocacy;
• Knowledge of inclusive market-led development approaches;
• Demonstrated networking and relationship building capacity;
• Proven ability to communicate effectively (spoken and written);
• Proven leadership, interpersonal, negotiation and cross-cultural skills, and ability to work with minimum supervision;
• Adaptable and flexible self-starter, with a tolerance for uncertainty and the capacity to find innovative ways to manage issues and challenges;
• Willingness to learn new technologies;
• Highly proficient in use of Microsoft and Google software including Gmail, calendar, drive, spreadsheet, word processing and presentation software
• A good understanding of business operations and principals;
• Experience working and collaborating with diverse sets of stakeholders, including producers, producer groups, private sector, research institutions, donors, governments;
• Knowledge of issues and challenges related to the agricultural sector, particularly those facing female and youth buyers, producers and smallholder farmers in Suriname and the Caribbean more broadly;
• Ability to clearly demonstrate an understanding of and interest in environmental, gender equality and social inclusion, governance and youth issues;
• Detail oriented and able to efficiently and accurately manage budgets; and
• Pro-active and persistent, with the ability to take initiative and work in a team environment.

Languages

• Complete fluency in written and spoken English is required.

WHY WORK WITH WUSC CARIBBEAN?

Join Us. Our work is important, cutting-edge, and fast-paced. We encourage curiosity, innovation, and flexibility. And we provide a phenomenal learning experience.

WUSC Caribbean offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference in the lives of youth around the world. Employees and consultants at WUSC Caribbean work hard to create lasting change in education, economic opportunities and empowerment.

APPLICATIONS

WUSC Caribbean’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form. Successful applicants may be required to undertake an enhanced criminal record check where appropriate.

WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Suitably qualified persons are invited to submit their cover letter, CV, and the name and contact information of 3 professional references via email to [email protected]. Please use the subject line Agribusiness and Marketing Officer for job applications. Applications will be received up to midnight on the 5^th of May, 2023

While WUSC Caribbean thanks all applicants for their interest, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

The Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project is implemented by World University Service of Canada (WUSC) with funding support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC).