Deputy Program Director - Partnership – Soil Values

About IFDC

IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the brokering and convening Intervention Areas (IAs) of the program which cover private sector and financial partnerships, and policy engagement at national, regional and subregional levels;
• Identify, engage and align with partners to drive private sector and financial support as well as the required policy change and enabling environment for improved soil fertility in the Sahel;
• Contribute to timely development, preparation and submission of complete and high-quality work plans, quarterly and annual reports, and any other required documents, in close coordination with the Program Director and Program Management Team (PMT);
• Oversee activities under Brokering and Convening intervention areas to ensure quality and timely implementation of activities and provide support as required;
• Oversee implementation of activities related to brokering and convening in accordance with the program’s protocol and related procedures;
• Oversee the development and implementation of the program leveraging strategy to ensure that targets are met. This includes €100m from private sector, development partners and fertilizer sector financing each (for a total of €300m of additional program leverage);
• Coordinate and communicate on a regular basis with the Program Director and PMT concerning brokering and convening at both an operational and strategic level;
• Respond to questions and requests for information about the program.
  
  

Requirements

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Business management or Agribusiness, agricultural economics, development economics, rural development, agronomy, another related field;
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in international development in West Africa, specifically in agricultural program implementation and evaluation;
• Experience managing complex, multi-country, multi-year donor-funded programs in a senior capacity;
• Demonstrated experience in aligning key soil fertility stakeholders from the private sector, development partners and development banks and deliver policy change creating a supportive enabling environment at national and regional levels;
• Key knowledge of agriculture in West Africa, specifically soil fertility;
• Ability to collaborate effectively with public and private sector partners, including donor agencies, government officials, and industry groups;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders;
• Experience in multicultural, multilingual environments;
• Fluency in speaking and writing English and French;
• Ability and willingness to travel throughout the West African region.
  
  

Reporting and Work Relationships

The Deputy Program Director - Partnerships reports to the Program Director. (S)he works in close collaboration with PMT, Country Coordinators, other project colleagues as well as IFDC staff and colleagues from other project consortium members.

Location

This role is for nationally recruited staff and is based in one of the IFDC offices in Abuja, Nigeria.

Benefits

IFDC's benefits include annual and sick leave, health and group life insurance coverage, a 13th-month salary, social security and pension contribution in compliance with local laws and end-of-contract benefits.

Salary Clause

The salary grade for this position is BG 10.

The determination of new employee salaries takes into account various factors. These include the salary range linked to the assigned job grade, the candidate's qualifications in relation to the job's responsibilities and prerequisites, internal fairness, the competitive state of the job market, as well as potential organizational and budgetary considerations.

About Program/Project

Soil Values is a 10-years program funded by the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) with a vision to catalyze sustainable and resilient agricultural transformation across West Africa by embedding soil health and fertility management into broader agricultural development efforts. With an ambitious aim of supporting 1.5 million small-scale food producers, restoring 2 million hectares of degraded land, and catalyzing a transformative shift in soil health and agricultural resilience across the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Northern Nigeria). Soil Values has three types of partners that work closely together with the national partners for implementation 1) The three Consortium partners (IFDC, SNV, WUR) are directly involved with the implementation of the program, 2) Convening partner (AGRA) and Knowledge partners (ICRAF, IITA, ISRIC, and IWMI). Strong collaboration with World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) among other partners is key for the success of the program.