Introduction

VSF Suisse has partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to develop the dairy value chain in the Fafen zone of the Somali Regional State. The project targets both the host community and refugees in Kebribeyah woreda explicitly. It works with all the key-value chain actors, including dairy cooperatives, cooperative bureau, livestock and agriculture bureaus, academia, research and technical institutions including Jigjiga University, Jigjiga polytechnic college, Etc.

The Business Development Specialist position at VSF Suisse is a key technical position that plays crucial functions in successfully implementing the dairy value chain project through enhancing the competitiveness of producers, traders and processors. Therefore, VSF Suisse is hiring an ambitious and energetic business development specialist based in Jigjiga.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Business Development Specialist

• Evaluate business plans and financial projections for producers, cooperatives and processors;
• Assesses business start-up and expansion with development needs; promote entrepreneurship and investment in dairy value chains by attracting more producers, traders and processors;
• Provide capacity building training, literacy, numeracy and support in financial recordings of dairy value chain actors to maintain relevant data to evaluate the project success;
• Work with the bureaus responsible for job creation, youth, livestock and cooperatives to provide technical assistance to persons starting a new business, including evaluating business and marketing plans, financial pro formas, and projected cash flows;
• Meet with dairy value chain actors to deliberate on the opportunities and the barriers to their business;
• Identify and engage dairy value chain actors and partners under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and strategic leadership given from the country office;
• Assists the project manager in project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in the areas of Provide administrative support through participation in project-level advice and participation in budget development;
• Serves as a technical consultant and liaison with the dairy industry actors, processing plan owners, and government agencies about market systems development;
• Work hand in hand with the dairy specialist of the project to enable dairy cooperatives and processors to engage in business development and foster linkage among producers' groups, processors, traders, and end-users;
• Identify, market opportunities and closely monitor trends in the dairy value chain to alert the VSF Suisse management and value chain actors to take necessary actions/precautions;
• Maintains relevant records and contributes to weekly, monthly, quarterly, interim and final reports and correspondence related to the dairy value chain;
• Ensure there is a coordinated strategic engagement that identifies and prioritizes vital external stakeholders of the dairy value chain and facilitate clear points of engagement for refugee and host communities in Kebribeyah;
• Contribute to build and strengthen networks and partnerships with strategically identified stakeholders of the dairy value chain to improve learning, influence competitiveness, and visibility to realize the sustainable impact on lives and livelihoods of the communities to which VSF Suisse intervened;
• Contribute to strengthen and expand networking with government, donor, and NGO and UN organizations with a vested interest in the program targeted areas;

Performs any other task as requested and directed by the project manager and relevant country office staff

Job Requirements

• Master's degree in Business Development; Business Administration, Finance; Agricultural Economics; Market Systems; or any other related technical field;
• Training Certificates in relevant ILO tools such as SIYB and GET Ahead
•  A minimum of 7 years for MSc/MA and ten years for BA/BSc holders of work experience with international NGOs, government and UN organizations on livestock/dairy business development;
• Demonstrated competence and knowledge on Market Systems Development approach;
• Strong knowledge of standard practices, processes, tools related to Inclusive Market Systems Development;
• Strong knowledge of the ILO market-based approaches is highly required;
• Knowledge of and active network with all the prominent livestock value chain actors in the Somali regional state is essential;
• Experience working with a range of stakeholder groups, including cooperatives, unions, research, academia and regulatory bodies;
• Ability to apply knowledge of the activities and techniques of business development;
• Ability to collect, identify, and analyze, data, prepare charts, maps, and other graphs;
• Ability to organize and write technical reports, facilitate field assessments, monitoring and evaluation missions;

How to Apply

Submit a motivation letter (maximum 1 page) stating why you are the right person for this position, a recent CV of 4 pages maximum (Certificates and credentials are not required at this stage) & contact details of three referees via email: fisseha.abenet@vsf-suisse.org

Note: Use as the email subject "Business Development Specialist". Applications should be written only in English.