Recruitment notice: FINANCING ADVISOR

DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFER

CALL FOR INTERNAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF  AN AGRICULTURAL FINANCING ADVISOR  FOR THE “SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURAL POLICIES” PROJECT OF DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT FÜR INTERNATIONALE ZUSAMMENARBEIT GmbH FOR THE CITY OF YAOUNDÉ.

The Rural Development Cluster (CDR) is made up of several projects in the sector which plan to improve the economic situation of the rural population, particularly women and young people in Cameroon. The target group of the projects varies between the technical ministerial departments involved, specialized institutions, practical agricultural training schools and the private sector, associated with producer and processor organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The position holder will allocate 100% of their working time to the “Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Agricultural Policies (AgSyS)” Project. This project, whose coordination is based in Yaoundé, is looking for an Agricultural Finance Advisor for the office in Yaoundé as part of the implementation of its activities.

The overall AgSYS project is part of the new special initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) “Transformation of agricultural and food systems” (SI AGER), which aims to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 (SDG2) – Zero Hunger. It plans to focus more on sustainability-oriented reform processes, particularly in the agricultural sector and with emphasis on collaboration with the private sector.

The objective of the AgSyS project is formulated as follows:  “Transformation processes towards more sustainable agricultural systems in partner countries and globally are supported  ”. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of green economies  in  the context of climate change as well as on gender equality and the strengthening of civil actors (interactor council platform). The four areas of intervention of the project are 1) transformative agricultural policy, 2) institutional anchoring of proven solutions, 3) advocacy and empowerment of “agents of change”, 4) financing of transformation and 5 ) to establish links between the levels of transformation.

Description of tasks

Under the supervision of the Project Manager and the Advisor in advisory support to political partners and those in the private sector, the post holder will be mainly responsible for ensuring and/or facilitate :

• Participation in the  existing inter-institutional task force  on the national agricultural financing strategy and in dialogues on agricultural financing, supporting the various partners in their pleas for a reorientation of agricultural financing and for the improvement of framework conditions for the sector private ;
• Coordination of all AgSYS advisory support activities related to agricultural financing, while creating synergies with other donors and players in the field such as the French Development Agency and the Deutsche Genossenschafts- und Raiffeisenverband (DGRV);
• Support for the development of sub-regional agricultural financing regulations with COBAC in order to take into account vulnerable people in the requisition of guarantees and repayment deadlines following production cycles;
• Identification of subjects of interest to introduce them into political-private dialogues, while respecting priority subjects for the project such as the modernization of production systems and the improvement of productivity, resilience and local transformation, as well as sustainable cultivation and production methods and with a focus on agroecology and women and youth;
• The mobilization of experts to support specific subjects linked to the implementation of the strategy and/or for the development of financing solutions;
• Monitor the anchoring and scaling of training and credit products that the Agricultural Finance Project (ProFINA) has introduced and continuation of work with partner microfinance institutions (APECCAM, MUFID, MIGEC, MUPECI), in close collaboration with the Advisor for strengthening entrepreneurs’ networks in Douala;
• The preparation and facilitation of exchange platforms and/or workshops and participation in different exchange formats (working groups,  task forces );
• The mobilization of experts for specific subjects and the coordination of possible studies on the economic, ecological and social impact of production and transformation models;
• Contribution to the development of training and communication materials, visit and evaluation missions and the development of reports.

REQUIRED PROFILE

Qualifications, skills and experience required

Qualification

• Bac + 5 in Agronomy or Economics, with good knowledge in the field of agricultural financing at all levels

Professional experience

• At least 4 years of professional experience in a similar position

Other knowledge/skills

• Knowledge of policies, actors and challenges in the agriculture and rural development sector in Cameroon;
• Very good knowledge of the field of entrepreneurship and agricultural financing in Cameroon, including support for start-ups; good knowledge of the support methods that the German Cooperation has developed and successfully tested (Farmer Business School (FBS), Basic Financial Education, Training in Economic Analysis and Planning of Agricultural Investments (FANEPIA), SME Loop) and the different products financial instruments that ProFINA introduced;
• Good knowledge of the agricultural value chain development approach;
• Good mastery of methods and techniques for facilitating interdisciplinary and inter-institutional dialogues;
• Excellent writing and presentation skills;
• The spirit of teamwork, good communication with partners at all levels;
• Experienced in drafting Terms of Reference and calls for tenders and supervising the work of consultants, implementing institutions and funding beneficiaries, in close collaboration with the administration and finance teams;
• Efficient and autonomous in his work; ability to work under pressure and in a multicultural team; good sense of work organization and respect for deadlines;
• Very good knowledge of French and English.

Contract start date  :  January 1, 2024

Contract period  :  2 years (renewable)

Duty station  :  Yaoundé

Internal classification of the position: Band 4,  under the hierarchical supervision of the Project Manager

Deadline for admissibility of application files:  October 11, 2023

Composition and submission of applications

• Composition (required) of application files:  Cover letter, CV ( 2 pages maximum –  only applications respecting this standard will be taken into account
• All applications will  only  be received on our career site, via the e-recruiting platform accessible through the link:

https://gizkamerun.jobs.net/fr-FR/search?keywords=&location=Cameroon&placeid=ChIJIQ8-cFM3YRARU5uCmUXEAys

Female candidates are strongly encouraged.

NB  : Recruitment at GIZ is not subject to any fees or mediation. Any fraudulent information detected will result in the elimination of the application from the current and future recruitment processes. Only selected candidates will be contacted. Unselected files will be destroyed six months after the date of publication.