CONSULTANTCONTRACT | ALLIANCE BIOVERSITY & CIAT | REMOTE JOBPosted On 22/02/2024
Job Description
This is a remote position.
The Organization
The Alliance of Bioversity International delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.
The Alliance works with local, national and multinational partners across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, and with the public and private sectors. The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.
Project background: AICCRA overview
AICCRA works to make climate information services and climate-smart agriculture more accessible to millions of smallholder farmers across Africa.
With better access to technology and advisory services—linked to information about effective response measures—farmers can better anticipate climate-related events to take preventative action that helps their communities safeguard livelihoods and the environment.
AICCRA has teams in six countries: Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zambia.
These teams collaborate with four AICCRA themes – Knowledge, Partnerships, Innovation and Gender and social inclusion. AICCRA is supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, which is used to enhance research and capacity-building activities of CGIAR centers and initiatives, as well as their African partners.
The IDA grant to AICCRA fulfils the World Bank’s commitment at the 2019 United Nations Climate Summit to increase its support to the CGIAR, a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.
Context
Kenya’s commitment to the blue economy is evident in the establishment of the State Department for Fisheries and the Blue Economy (SDF-BE) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries through executive order No. 1/2016. This department oversees blue economy initiatives aimed at tapping into the potential of the ocean and coasts for food security, job creation, and economic growth.
Key sectors identified by Kenya in the blue economy include fisheries and aquaculture, maritime transport and logistics services, culture and tourism, and extractives (oil and gas, minerals, and energy). These sectors are deemed essential for achieving sustainable results in food security and employment creation.
Within the Blue Economy framework, Kenya plans to boost fisheries through development of appropriate capacity for exploitation of the fish industry including training, deep sea fishing vessels, fish processing factories, cold storage facilities, landing jetties and construction of fish ports.
Project objectives
AICCRA-Kenya aims to develop a pipeline of gender responsive Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) business models for aggregators within the blue economy subsector that can eventually be matched with private investor capital with mandates in Kenya.
Selected aggregators will benefit from a tailored Climate Action Plan (CAP) which will serve as blueprints for others in the region. CSA is defined as improved production, adaptation or resilience to climate change, and reduced emissions from agriculture. While climate change is an economic reality affecting the agricultural sector, women farmers have limited access to inputs, information, and finance to innovate with climate-based solutions.
AICCRA Kenya in partnership with national, regional ecosystem actors and the private sector will nurture promising aggregators through identifying and tailoring climate adaptation plans with the aim to de-risk their business modules by responding to climate change risks and facilitate scaling of innovations through adoption of CSA technologies.
Furthermore, by focusing on innovations with a clear gender lens, AICCRA Kenya aims to highlight opportunities for women in the agricultural sector and increase their adaptive capacity and resilience in the face of climate change.
| Activity | Sub activities | Expected Output |
| Pre-Due diligence & Marketing | NDA Signed with cooperatives. Conduct preliminary to intermediate Due diligence – refer to cooperative questionnaire and risk costing module. MoU/ Partnership execution with pre-selected partners Workshop & Seminar planning CIM (confidential information memorandum ) bankers and Cooperative |
Confirmation of selected cooperatives and re-alignment with cooperative asks Identify and commence engagement with critical stakeholders. Clear dates for AICCRA based workshops and seminars for upskilling stakeholders |
| Valuation, Impact & Due diligence | Calls with Management team of cooperatives Financial Model, CSA Determination, impact determination, Risk and Costing and Debt Capacity done. Climate risk modelling &impact determination Expression of Interest/ non-binding offer In person meetings with management |
Detailed analysis of the three cooperatives on the following points: Investment ask and need CSA costing and risk analysis Scenario analysis based on CSA and climatic harzards Financial capabilities of the cooperatives Impact Capabilities of the cooperatives |
Requirements
- An advanced degree in any of the following or related disciplines: Business Social Policy, Climate change, Natural resource management, Economics, Agronomy, Engineering, or other relevant disciplines.
- In depth knowledge of the agri-food value chains in Kenya.
- Experience in gender analysis and gender value chain assessment.
- Experience in policy analysis and research with focus on agriculture, natural resources, gender inclusion and financial instruments.
- Experience working with development partners as well as the private agribusiness sector.
- Strong communication and analytical skills, with ability to convey complex information to stakeholders of varying levels of experience or ability.
- Excellent IT skills (Word, Excel, Power Point).
Terms of employment:
The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. The initial contract will be for 1 month and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. The consultant will be home-based.
The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability statuses, sexual orientations, marital status, and gender identities.
Applications
Applicants are invited to visit https://www.bioversityinternational.org/jobs/ to get full details of the position and to submit their applications. Applications MUST include reference number Ref: Consultant as the position applied for. Application and CV should be saved as one document using the candidate’s last name, first name for ease of sorting.
Note: The Alliance does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). The Alliance also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.
Applications closing date: 26th February 2024
Please note that email applications will not be considered.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
