Job Vacancies at Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA)

MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) is an international economic development organization whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty. Founded in 1953 by a group of Mennonite business professionals, we partner with the poor to start or grow small and medium-sized businesses in developing regions around the world. 


We are recruiting to fill the position below:






Job Title: Value Chain & Market Systems Manager

Location: Bauchi

Job Description

• MEDA seeks qualified Nigerians to support its Youth Entrepreneurship and Women’s Empowerment in Northern Nigeria project (Nigeria WAY) in Bauchi, Bauchi state. Nigeria WAY is a five- year project that will assist economically active women and youth to increase their income particularly those who are involved in agro-processing in the rice, soybean, and groundnut value chains.
• The project will work with communities and families to improve the environment where girls grow up and become economically active
• The project will run until March 2022.

Position Summary

• The Value Chain & Market Systems Manager leads the team providing technical and leadership support in developing the selected value chains and project activities therein related to agro processing.
• The value chain and market system manager will design value chain upgrade activities, considering gender and youth inclusion criteria as well as identify market actors, and clients to support the objectives of the project in the soybean, groundnut and rice value chains.
• The manager will be an integral member of the project team working closely with the Gender Coordinator and Environment and Technology Coordinator to research and design interventions using best practices and private sector approaches.
• The Value Chain and Market Systems Manager is responsible for project outcomes related to value chain results working closely with project implementing partners with support from MEDA’s headquarter-based technical advisors.
• The position has a start date asap, is full time in a 1-year contract renewable up to 5 Years. Based in Bauchi city, Bauchi state, Nigeria the position entails travel around the state and is supervised by the Deputy Field Project Manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide expert advice and build core capacities of local implementing partners in developing innovative business services, new business partnerships, market-oriented business responses and effective market information systems
• Lead ongoing value chain constraints analysis, assessing threats, strengths, opportunities and threats to the value chains, and participating value chain clients
• Conduct specific product and market analyses for the selected value chains
• Develop or revise annual and monthly work plans for selected value chains in close collaboration and consultation with the team
• Include and mainstream the project’s gender, youth and environmental sustainability strategies, with special attention to social outcomes, and monitor these throughout the value chains
• Develop new contacts with stakeholders, businesses, and institutions willing to partner and establish opportunities to leverage their activities to enhance the selected value chains
• Assist in sourcing and developing a database of available business development services, including consultants, niche business organizations, and non-profit business support institutions relating to value chains
• Identify innovative tools or strategies to show demonstrated impact on value chain upgrading
• Engage partners, such as government and research institutions, private sector and business associations, to identify mutual benefits on the value chain, including reduction of transaction costs, reduced waste, reduction in risk, and to increase market opportunities, i.e., volume and/or profit.

Qualifications

• Graduate qualification in Business Administration, Marketing or other relevant discipline
• Minimum of five years of experience in market/value chain programing and/or agriculture; as an entrepreneur in the private sector; or in business development services
• Knowledge of gender and youth related issues in Nigeria as they relate to value chain development and entrepreneurship
• Ability to work collaboratively to achieve results
• Demonstrated ability to mobilize stakeholders into partnerships and alliances
• Experience in providing capacity building and training to colleagues and project partners
• Knowledge of market systems approaches including quality control, market standards, and/or product development
• Excellent writing and review skills
• Willingness to travel to project areas
• Fluency in English and Hausa is required
• Prior work experience in Nigeria is preferred and other comparable country context is desirable

Job Title: Monitoring & Evaluation Manager

Location: Bauchi

Job Description

• MEDA seeks qualified Nigerians to support its Youth Entrepreneurship and Women’s Empowerment in Northern Nigeria project (Nigeria WAY) in Bauchi, Bauchi state. Nigeria WAY is a five- year project that will assist economically active women and youth to increase their income particularly those who are involved in agro-processing in the rice, soybean, and groundnut value chains.
• The project will work with communities and families to improve the environment where girls grow up and become economically active
• The project will run until March 2022.

Position Summary

• The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Manager will be responsible for managing of all M&E activities across the various work flows of the project.
• S/he is responsible for helping to build a results-oriented culture that measures and reports meaningful results.
• The M&E Manager will also be responsible for ensuring robust, consistent M&E systems are established and implemented by staff and partners, and will work closely with MEDA’s HQ M&E Team.
• The position has a start date asap, is full time in a 1-year contract renewable up to 5 Years. Based in Bauchi city, Bauchi state, Nigeria the position entails travel around the state and is supervised by the Field Project Manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with team members and MEDA HQ to design and/or refine M&E approaches and tools for program implementation ensuring efficient systems are in place for program staff to collect and compile relevant and concise information for reports
• Oversee the preparation of reports including concise narratives and relevant tables and/or graphs that capture progress against indicators and provide both management and donors with accurate and user-friendly information
• Ensure that all project monitoring and evaluation schedules are satisfied and are consistent with and responsive to the donor’s framework (Global Affairs Canada)
• Include and mainstream the project’s gender, youth and environmental sustainability strategies, with special attention to early and forced child marriage, and to be monitored during the project
• Design, organize and supervise the implementation of rolling and periodic surveys, utilizing appropriate M&E tools to implement, and improve the collection and analysis of M&E data
• Collect results generated from the implementation of M&E plan and consolidate data to allow the comparison of performance of KFPs, and; analyse those results and inform senior project management of any gaps or shortcomings in the attainment of project goals
• Train the KFPs relevant staff in proper maintenance of the project data, through a database management system, for prompt reporting as and when required
• In collaboration with the Environmental and Gender experts, develop monitoring tools to assess the empowerment of youth and women clients in terms of access over needed resources and building assets, increased decision making and problem solving ability and capacity to bring about changes in their relationships within the family and community

Qualifications

• University degree, ideally at a Masters level in Statistics, Economics, International Development, Business Administration, Social Research Methods or Development related field
• A minimum of five years experience in measurement and evaluation and development programming including analysis/assessment, developing/implementing strategies, developing tools and conducting training
• Experience with/knowledge of innovative impact assessment approaches such as rapid assessments, participatory evaluation, etc.
• Demonstrated staff management experience
• Excellent computer skills and demonstrated aptitude at integrating information technology and automated data collection systems into programming
• Strong team building, relational, interpersonal, analytical and communication abilities and skills
• Creative, entrepreneurial and resourceful approach to developing and implementing innovative solutions
• Willingness to travel to project areas
• Fluency in English and Hausa is required
• Prior work experience in Nigeria is preferred and other comparable country context is desirable.

Job Title: Gender Coordinator

Location: Bauchi


Job Description

• MEDA seeks qualified Nigerians to support its Youth Entrepreneurship and Women’s Empowerment in Northern Nigeria project (Nigeria WAY) in Bauchi, Bauchi state. Nigeria WAY is a five- year project that will assist economically active women and youth to increase their income particularly those who are involved in agro-processing in the rice, soybean, and groundnut value chains.
• The project will work with communities and families to improve the environment where girls grow up and become economically active
• The project will run until March 2022.

Position Summary

• The position is central to a team of value chain, and financial services advisors based in Bauchi State in Nigeria.
• The Gender Coordinator will be the technical lead for the integration of gender inclusion and youth considerations into all aspects of the project.
• The Gender Coordinator will work in the project to integrate relevant national gender policy frameworks and metrics, as well as to achieve inclusive outcomes.
• Additionally, the Gender Coordinator will collaborate with implementing partners to raise awareness and devise strategies to obstacles to inclusion with community leaders, men, women and youth in the areas where the project is operating.
• Position will report progress as part of donor reports and to MEDA team members and management as needed, with a special focus on early and forced child marriage in all activities.
• The position has a start date asap, is full time in a 1-year contract renewable up to 5 Years. Based in Bauchi city, Bauchi state, Nigeria the position entails travel around the state and is supervised by the Deputy Field Project Manager

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of the Gender Equality and Inclusion strategies for the project
• Mainstream gender considerations across all project workflows
• Ensure gender and youth inclusion participation in project activities per project framework, develop and implement strategies with the team
• Work with Lead Firms, Key Facilitating Partners and other project stakeholders to raise gender awareness and the key gender equality aspect of time use for women as economic actors.
• Track, analyse and report on all gender disaggregated data to show women and youth’s involvement in the project, and seek corrective measures as and when needed
• Identifying emerging challenges and promoting best practices in gender-equitable participation to contribute to improving the business environment for small scale business
• Document gender perspectives to business risk mitigation

Deadline: 15th October, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates are required to submit their CV’s and cover letter to: WAYjobapplications@gmail.com

Note: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.