Position: Technical Operations Officer
Background: The AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage Pilot is a
multi-year project, anticipated to run until approximately December 2018, that
aims to address post-harvest losses by facilitating the development, marketing
and distribution of on-farm storage solutions to smallholder farmers.
Agribusiness Systems International
(ASI) serves as Pilot Manager for the AgResults Pilot Project in Kenya, under
contract with Deloitte Consulting LLP (United States), which serves as the
Secretariat for the AgResults Initiative and reports to the Steering Committee
of donor representatives.
The pilot aims to increase the
economic welfare of smallholders through improved access to enhanced storage
solutions that minimize crop losses and enable smallholders to store maize
longer, help catalyze a sustainable long-term market for grain storage
solutions in Kenya, and test an innovative approach to engaging the private
sector to serve smallholder needs, with potential future applicability to the
delivery of other goods and services to smallholders.
A key feature of this pilot is that
pull mechanisms will create incentives for target private sector manufacturers
of storage technology to innovate, adapt existing on-farm storage technologies
and supply them to smallholder farmers. Note that pull mechanisms overcome
market failures by using results-based payments to incentivize innovation and
kick-start markets.
They offer ex post payments for
results defined ex ante. The pilot will offer performance-based grants to those
private sector companies (“Implementers”) for storage devices sold to
smallholder farmers.
The role of the Technical Operations
Officer is to oversee the work of an independently contracted firm(s) to verify
the sales that Implementers make, ensure quality of data collection of verifier
firm, support preparation of all project reports, and conduct administrative
tasks as requested by the Team Leader.
Purpose / Overview of Assignment: The Technical Operations Officer fills a pivotal role in the Kenya On-Farm Storage Pilot requiring a wide range of technical, management and interpersonal skills.
In general, the Technical Operations
Officer will support Pilot planning, operations and communications among
project stakeholders including maintaining the pilot work plan and reporting in
the Secretariat’s project management portal.
The Technical Operations Officer will
be responsible for overseeing the Pilot Verification activities carried out by
an external organization(s) contracted independently by the Secretariat.
The Technical Operations Officer will also be expected to conduct administrative activities such as inventory management, procurement and other tasks required to carry out pilot activities.
Responsibilities / Tasks:
Specifically, the Technical
Operations Officer’s responsibilities will include the following: Project
Activities:
- Serve as Acting Team Leader when the Team
Leader is absent.
- Liaise closely and oversee the work done by
the organization(s) hired for Pilot Verification services, which are
anticipated to include a randomized rural household survey, two market
share surveys, and two rounds of sales audits over a period of
approximately three and a half years.
- Responsibilities may include providing input,
conducting spot checks and overseeing the following: sales audits and
development of indicators to identify potential misreporting; fieldwork
and data collection for the surveys; data cleaning, data analysis and
reporting.
- The Technical Operations Officer may also
develop, in collaboration with the Verifier, any necessary templates for
data collected from the Implementers.
- Liaise with the Pilot Verifier organization(s)
to ensure consistency in work plans and reporting.
- Support analysis of LGB testing being conducted
on the storage products in the Pilot, as needed
- Support operations, particularly weekly,
monthly and quarterly management reporting to the Secretariat and/or
Steering Committee.
- Provide operational support including:
administrative tasks, communications & reporting, outreach and
research as may be required.
- In collaboration with the Team Leader, liaise
with project stakeholders including Advisory Council members,
Implementers, the Pilot Verifier organization(s), and government
officials.
- Maintain all project documentation at the
Kenya country office.
- Other duties as assigned by supervisor or
his/her designee.
Qualifications
To perform the role of Technical
Operations Officer successfully, an individual must be able to perform each
activity described above with a high level of quality and attention to
detail.
The requirements listed below are
representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Minimum of five years of experience overseeing
surveys and data collection, preferably in the field of agriculture or
agribusiness.
- Bachelor’s degree required in research
methods, statistics, economics or other related field; master’s degree
preferred.
- Demonstrated experience and effectiveness
developing and overseeing surveys, data collection, survey protocols, data
cleaning, and data analysis and reporting.
- Excellent communicating and problem solving
abilities.
- Demonstrated excellence in oral, written and
reading comprehension abilities.
- Training and/or experience with SPSS, Stata,
SAS, LIMDEP or other appropriate statistics software packages.
- Proficient with Power Point, MSProject and
other Microsoft programs.
Position: Team Leader
Background: The
AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage Pilot is a multi-year project, anticipated to
run until approximately December 2018 that aims to address post-harvest losses
by facilitating the development, marketing and distribution of on-farm storage
solutions to smallholder farmers.
The AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage
Pilot is just one of many activities of the AgResults Initiative financed
jointly by the governments of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the
United States, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Agribusiness Systems International
(ASI) serves as Pilot Manager for the AgResults Pilot Project in Kenya, under
contract with Deloitte Consulting LLP (United States), which serves as the
Secretariat for the AgResults Initiative and reports to the Steering Committee
of donor representatives.
The pilot aims to
increase the economic welfare of smallholders through improved access to
enhanced storage solutions that minimize crop losses and enable smallholders to
store maize longer, help catalyze a sustainable long-term market for grain
storage solutions in Kenya, and test an innovative approach to engaging the
private sector to serve smallholder needs, with potential future applicability
to the delivery of other goods and services to smallholders.
A key feature of this pilot is that pull mechanisms will create incentives for target private sector manufacturers of storage technology to innovate, adapt existing on-farm storage devices and supply them to smallholder farmers.
Note that pull mechanisms overcome
market failures by using results-based payments to incentivize innovation and
kick-start markets. They offer ex post payments for results defined ex ante.
The pilot will offer performance-based grants to those private sector companies
(“Implementers”) for storage
devices sold to smallholder farmers.
devices sold to smallholder farmers.
The role of ASI as Pilot Manager and the Team Leader as the Key Personnel is to facilitate the pilot in close collaboration with the Secretariat, serve as primary point of contact for the storage device companies (referred to as Implementers) for the Pilot, and facilitate an Advisory Council that provides guidance to the Pilot.
It will be important for the Team
Leader to avoid playing the role traditionally played of a technical advisor
when implementing a push mechanism program, as the AgResults pilot is a pull
mechanism that requires a hands-off, neutral facilitator role of the Team
Leader.
Purpose / Overview of Assignment: The Team Leader will assume overall responsibility for facilitating the implementation of the AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage Pilot, in close coordination and communication with the Secretariat as our primary Client.
This position will ensure compliance
with all Client regulations and ASI policies, as well as ensure all
deliverables are submitted on time and within budget.
The team leader will be responsible
for implementing and monitoring the program work plan, meeting quality work
standards and ensuring that program deliverables are met on a timely
basis.
The team leader will be responsible
for financial management, which includes managing the project budget to ensure
all expenditures are in compliance with ASI and Client donor policies and
regulations, and monitoring funds disbursal and financial record keeping.
Furthermore, the Team Leader will
oversee the administration and compliance of the pilot, which includes overseeing
procurement for the program and confirming all activities are in compliance
with terms stipulated in our contract with the Client as well as ASI policies
and procedures.
Responsibilities/Tasks:
The Team Leader will be responsible
for quality delivery of all work in the facilitation of the AgResults Kenya
On-Farm Storage Pilot.
The Team Leader, in collaboration
with the remainder of the Pilot Manager team, will ensure that all deliverables
and other products related to the Pilot will be clear, well thought out,
complete and thoroughly checked for quality control.
The Team Leader will be responsible
to undertake the following tasks:
Pilot Project Management:
- Assume overall responsibility for the
implementation of AgResults Kenya On-Farm Storage Pilot
- Implement and monitor the program work plan,
meeting expectations of quality work standards and ensuring program
deliverables are met on a timely basis
- Ensure proper financial management by
reviewing that expenditures are in compliance with ASI policies and Client
requirements, monitoring funds disbursal, reviewing financial records and
reviewing monthly financial status reports
- Oversee the administration and compliance of
the program, which includes overseeing procurement of any project
resources, liaising with regional office to draw down on administration
and logistical support staff as needed and confirming all activities are
in compliance with donor regulations and ASI policies and procedures.
- Draft, write and submit all program reports
and deliverables
- Supervise any consultants or contracted
services (including ACDI/VOCA employees) working for the program.
Project Activities:
- Develop an annual work plan to be submitted to
the Secretariat for consideration within 30 days of the new project year.
- Monitor and ensure the Pilot Work Plan is
implemented.
- Track, identify and inform the Secretariat in
quarterly reports of all completed activities and propose necessary
amendments at the end of each quarter.
- Identify potential problems and opportunities,
and recommend appropriate solutions and responses to the Secretariat
before taking action.
- Coordinate the meetings of the Advisory
Council.
- Manage and oversee the implementer application
and selection process.
- Oversee program support and ancillary
activities, including but not limited to the LGB-proof testing process
and, in close coordination with the Technical Advisor, oversee spot
checks, communication with the testing firm, and regular reporting to the
Secretariat, (and upon approval from the Secretariat, to the
implementers.)
- Coordinate dispute resolution and fraud
management processes.
- Manage annual Lessons-Learned Exercises and
submit the summary of these exercises to the Secretariat on a yearly
basis.
- Ensure effective stakeholder engagement,
public outreach and communications.
- Ensure quality verbal and written reporting on
Pilot operations as required.
- Maintain neutrality in all aspects of the
facilitation of the Pilot.
- Ensure that Pilot deliverables are met on a
timely basis and keep the Secretariat informed of all delays or changes to
the timeline.
- Other duties as assigned.
Contract Deliverables which Team Leader is responsible for achieving,
preparing, overseeing, and/or submitting:
- An annual high-level Work Plan in MS Project,
which shall be amended quarterly if needed.
- A detailed Work Tracker submitted as needed
and agreed upon with the Secretariat.
- Quarterly reports for every year of the
agreement.
- Quarterly submission, or as appropriate, of
the data needed for tracking the Pilot indicators for the Results
Framework.
- Annual lessons learned report following the
lessons learned exercise.
- One final report at the end of the agreement
after implementation is completed (due approximately Dec 7, 2018)
- Periodic contributions to Secretariat biannual
reporting in January and July.
- All meeting minutes, submitted to the
Secretariat within one week following monthly Team Meetings and within two
weeks following Advisory Council meetings.
- A report on the LGB Proof testing results of
each product tested.
- Develop and maintain a data library including
but not limited to – maintenance of all project documents and key
communication, implementer application and review documents and process,
implementer sales records, verification results and reports, grant
tracking and management, and LGB testing results.
- Other ad hoc reports or information as
requested by the Client or Supervisor or his/her designee
Qualifications
To perform the role of Team Leader
successfully, an individual must be able to perform each activity described above
with a high level of quality and attention to detail.
The requirements listed below are
representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Minimum of ten years of experience working in
agribusiness and with understanding of smallholder farmers particular
needs and concerns.
- Bachelor’s degree required in agriculture,
international development, economics or other related field; master’s
degree preferred.
- Excellent project management, time management,
verbal and written communication, and problem solving abilities.
- Demonstrated effectiveness interacting with
agro-industry stakeholders, including government, private sector and
research organizations.
- Demonstrated excellence in oral, written and
reading comprehension abilities.
- Experience with multi-media applications,
including Power Point, MSProject and other Microsoft programs.
Applicants should respond via e-mail
to ASIKenya@joinav.org.
Closing date for receipt of the applications will be Friday, 13th Februray 2015.
