Coffey International Development is managing a five year project in Nigeria to facilitate improvements in the performance and inclusiveness of the wholesale and retail sector The Growth and Employment in States (GEMS) programme, a joint initiative of DFID, the World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria is targeted at four states of Nigeria: Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and Cross River, but as with other components, work in the wholesale and retail component will expand beyond these states where impact can be maximised. In the case of this component, work will be required in the trading centres of Aba and Onitsha (in Abia and Anambra states, respectively).
 
The GEMS4 project seeks to improve income and employment opportunities within Nigeria’s wholesale and retail sector, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable. While Nigeria’s wholesale and retail sector is growing quickly, inefficiencies within the distribution chain have resulted in lower prices for producers, lower wages for employers, lower profits for businesses and a higher cost of living for consumers.
Like the wider GEMS programme that it comprises, GEMS 4 will use a Making Markets Work for the Poor (or M4P) approach to diagnose the problems and inefficiencies within the sector and design interventions that facilitate systemic change. The project will work to build local capacities and change market incentives so that the sector better meets the long-term needs of the poor, including women across Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Cross river states
 

Job Title: Intervention Manager

Job Location: Abuja

Project Background
The wholesale and retail sector is a key component and driver of Nigerian GDP growth, currently growing at a rate of 11.5% per annum. This can be attributed to high population growth, urbanisation and increased incomes. The sector is dominated by food and beverages, which account for 65% of the country’s overall consumption basket. The retail sector consists of the three major forms of distribution: traditional, informal systems; small formal systems; and large formal systems.
Women play a significant role in various stages of distribution chains so there are large implications in terms of gender-focused empowerment and poverty reduction to change in these sectors. The project purpose is to support systemic change in markets on which the poor rely to produce pro-poor outcomes and opportunities such as:
 
•             Enhanced incomes for the poor, especially women
•             Jobs creation;
•             Improved access to markets;
•             More options and choices; and
•             Reduced risks.
 
GEMS4 is mandated by DFID to facilitate, not implement, change. The programme facilitates change with and through local structures, firms, and individuals. Effort will be made not to displace existing organizations. GEMS4 is therefore just a catalytic agent. Like all catalysts, it merely speeds up the process while leaving the intended beneficiaries (local market actors) to run the show. It is about Nigerians taking charge of their own development. For this Nigerian ownership to occur, the programme aims to create a vision that can motivate and direct the programme’s Nigerian partners to reach goals that are mutually agreed upon.
 
GEMS4 would contribute to removing constraints to efficient market operations and linking market actors to work together and serve each other on a sustainable basis. The programme will address poor market functioning along the wholesale and retail components in the markets, with the objective of improving access and returns to the livelihood assets of the poor. GEMS4 will not however directly support the poor; rather programme activities will work with business associations, service providers and other intermediaries who already serve functions along market chains in which the rural poor have a stake. By facilitating fundamental changes in the functioning of markets and the rules of the game governing access by the poor, systemic change will be encouraged.
 
GEMS4 will also address cross-cutting issues that are of major concern to DFID such as: gender, conflict and the environment that are. Therefore all our activities will attempt to ensure that these issues are adequately identified where they exist in the economic or social sector being targeted. To ensure this, all service providers and facilitators will be required to address these issues as and when appropriate and relevant.
 

Scope of work

• The Intervention Manager contributes to an effective programme implementation. The Intervention Manager will develop and implement market-led interventions within the strategic framework of M4P. It includes the following elements:
  • Define or reassess market systems that are of major importance to develop the markets for the poor in the wholesale and retail sector;
  • Identify the value chain and core transactions, key rules & supporting functions, and asses key constraints;
  • Define appropriate interventions areas and develop potential project intervention activities in close collaboration with external partners / stakeholders in the market.
• The Intervention Manager will facilitate project implementation and manage the implementation of all activities that form part of the intervention area that the Intervention Manager is responsible for:
  • Define in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and potential partner organisations the scope of implementation and where applicable negotiates a formal agreement;
  • During the implementation of interventions, the Intervention Manager takes the lead in facilitating the contributions of GEMS4 to the interventions;
  • Where applicable, the Intervention Manager will directly contribute to the development of intervention tools and the capacity building of key stakeholders in the market;
  • The Intervention Manager will draft terms of references for consultants and takes the lead in identifying potential candidates. He/she will lead and manage consultants in the development of respective outputs and interventions. 
• Planning, monitoring and quality assurance functions:
• The Intervention Manager is responsible for and in close cooperation with the M&E Lead, he/she takes the lead in all activities related to planning, monitoring and quality assurance related to the Rice intervention:
  • Participate in GEMS strategic planning exercises.
• Undertake planning and monitoring exercises that are aligned with the overall GEMS M&E system including:
  • Review results chains and indicators of change and agree upon these with the Team Leader of GEMS 4
  • Prepare, in cooperation with the M&E Lead, a measurement plan and review this plan at least annually.
  • Propose the scope and targets for operational planning aligned with the intervention monitoring framework and agree upon this with the Team Leader of GEMS 4.
  • Be responsible for results measurement and the facilitation of data collection related to all the indicators of change as mentioned in the different results chains.
  • Provide on-going advice and support to the M&E Lead on the overall M&E framework, the results chains and the log frame.

Specific Responsibilities:

• The intervention is at the design phase and some assessments of the sector still need to be undertaking to inform market development opportunities to be developed. The following tasks and responsibilities of the Intervention Manager are foreseen:
• Facilitate relevant assessments to support market systems analysis and market development opportunities in the rice sector
• Develop a network of stakeholders and services providers related to business services. Network among private sector, government and civil society bodies relevant to the rice sector in Nigeria.
• Based on M4P principles develop an intervention concept that has the potential for systemic changes in the market for business services.
• Based on the intervention concept, identify the scope of activities that GEMS4 will undertake in the facilitation of the M4P market development.

Where this includes the engagement of external consultant, the intervention manager will:

• Formulate terms of references.
• Proactively assist in the identification of consultants who would be proposed.
• Facilitate and/or contribute to the implementation of interventions in the pilot states and other relevant scale up states

Qualification and Requirements

The successful candidate will be a team-player, who is able to work well in multi-cultural environments, building effective working relations with clients, partners and colleagues, and who places a premium on “getting things done”. You will meet the following criteria:

• Higher education (preferably a master’s degree) in Business Administration, Economics, Agriculture, International Development or related discipline;
• Substantial professional experience working with agribusiness, private sector, donor funded projects, agriculture and research institutions and consulting firms
• Familiarity with an office environment and understanding of the Nigerian way of doing business;
• Outstanding written and spoken English skills; and Nigerian local languages
• Experience of interacting with a variety of internal and external stakeholders (essential);
• Experience of working with donor-funded programmes, NGOs or civil society organisations in Nigeria (desirable);
• High degree of motivation, initiative, independence, reliability, adaptability, and professional maturity;
• Highly developed conceptual, analytical, and innovative problem solving ability;
• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to mentor colleagues.

In addition, the intervention manager will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Lead the effort to conduct desk research of existing information and produce a detailed stakeholder analysis and options paper that broadly defines the impact, demand and feasibility for a range of possible interventions;
• Assess the impact, demand and feasibility of the range of possible interventions against a set of strategic filters and develop intervention plans for chosen interventions;
• Review and approve technical and progress reports and work plans issued by the programme consultants, ensuring they meet company standards and contract requirements.
• take responsibility, for the timely delivery of pilot project outputs within the agreed level of resources
• Continually monitor and evaluate intervention activities inputs and outputs, taking actions to correct course as necessary, and produce project completion reports that well inform decisions about future interventions based upon pilot results.

Mode of Application: Click here to apply

Application Deadline: 13th April, 2014.