Introduction and Context

The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialized technical office of the Department Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE) of the African Union Commission (AUC). The vision of AU-IBAR is: “An Africa in which animal resources contribute significantly to integration, prosperity and peace”. Its Mission is: to provide leadership and integrated support services for the development of animal resources in Africa.

AU-IBAR’s mandate is to support and coordinate the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources (livestock, fisheries and wildlife) to enhance nutrition and food security and contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people in the Member States of the AU. AU-IBAR is the main vehicle for the AU to develop appropriate and independent expertise to support and coordinate the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources to enhance food and nutrition security and contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people in the AU Member States.

AU-IBAR is implementing an emergency three-year action titled “Evidence Driven Short Term Solutions to Build Resilience and Address the Adverse Effects of Crises on African Feed and Fodder Systems”, with short title of Resilient African Feed and Fodder System (RAFFS). The purpose of the RAFFS action is to understand the impact of the Triple Global Crises (3C’s: Climate-Change, Covid-19, and Russia-Ukraine Conflict Crisis) on feed and fodder systems, and to build systematic capacities for data analytics for evidenced based decision making; policy, regulatory and institutional reform; and promotion of viable business and partnership models and solutions to address the vulnerabilities of Africa’s feed and fodder systems.
The action Goal is to respond to the worsening food and nutrition security occasioned by recent crises that have negatively impacted on African feed and fodder systems and production of animal sourced foods.
Purpose: To harness evidence driven solutions for short term interventions to enhance access to affordable and quality feed and fodder critical to ensuring sustainable production of animal sourced foods.

Objective

AU-IBAR seeks the services of a Consultant for the position of the Feed and Fodder Business Development Expert within the Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems Project will lead the execution of selected Viable Business Models, Strategic Partnerships, Catalytic Interventions for Coordinated Action to Attract Enhanced Investment for Short Term Solutions to Feed and Fodder Shortages, and Financing Models to increase both up and downstream financing in the feed and fodder and livestock source foods supply chains.

Tasks & Responsibilities

1. Support delivery of the Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems Project through coordination and execution of the activities on Viable business models, Strategic Partnerships, Catalytic Interventions for Coordinated Action Supported to Attract Enhanced Investment for Short Term Solutions to Feed and Fodder Shortages.
2. This will include the coordination of actors, selection and application of viable business models, and formation of strategic alliances to steer the growth of feed and fodder sectors in the selected countries.
3. Support country level and the Africa Women in Animal Resources Farming and Agribusiness Network (AWARFA-N) establish viable businesses based on scrutinized models, and coordination of multi-stakeholder efforts to enhance access to feed and fodder in the implementing countries.
4. The Feed and Fodder Business Development Expert will work closely with AU-IBAR Gender Expert to develop and implement Gender-Smart Investment strategies and models

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

1. Develop and support the implementation of selected business models and strategies to address feed and fodder shortages.
2. Coordinate multi-stakeholder actions and processes towards increased feed and fodder production and increased investment.
3. Facilitate linkages between supply-chain actors including public and private sectors, and financial institutions, and producer organizations.    
4. Support development of sector policies aimed at creating an enabling environment for feed and fodder solutions.
5. Support documentation, knowledge management and adoption of best practices and viable models across the implementing countries
6. Any other task as assigned by the Director AU-IBAR in relation to animal production, natural resource management and resilience building.

Duty stations

The Expert will be stationed in the AU-IBAR offices in Nairobi, Kenya with travel on specific assignments agreed with the AU-IBAR Management

Duration

The duration of this assignment is 6 months.

Remuneration

The remuneration for this Consultancy shall be an all-inclusive monthly fee equivalent to P3 Step 5 on the AUC Salary Scale i.e. US$6,252.37 – US$ 7,499.12.
The expert will be responsible for his/her medical and travel insurance cover for the duration of the consultancy. Expenses for travel on official missions will be covered separately by AU-IBAR in accordance with the applicable African Union Commission rules and regulations.

Supervision and Reporting

The candidate will be under the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator and under the overall supervision of the Director of AU-IBAR.

Requirements

Academic and Professional qualifications

• A minimum of post-graduate degree (Master’s degree) in Agri-business or Business Administration, or related degree. A PhD will be considered as an added advantage.
• Professional certification in M&E, and or Project Management.
• Foundational training in financial management.  

Relevant Experience

• Minimum of ten (10) years of sector-level engagement in the feed and fodder sub-sector.
• Demonstrated experience in the development and delivery of viable models for enhancing access to quality and affordable feed and fodder.
• Evidence of supporting multiple-country feed and fodder development programmes.
• Demonstrated experience in linking and coordinating multi-actors in the feed and fodder sector.  
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing end to end contracting, aggregation, functional financing, co-investment and risk management mechanisms to enhance access to feed and fodder.
• Experience in working for or with financial institutions, public, private and development sectors will be an added advantage.  
• Evidence of participating in policy formulation or review in the feed and fodder sector. coordinating and feed and feeding policy reform.

Other Skills

• Good networking skills and ability to maintain positive and constructive dialogue and relationships with key institutions operating in the regions
• Self-starter with the ability to strategically plan own work and follow-up on implementation;
• Sector related project development, management and implementation skills at national, regional and continental levels;
• Very strong writing, analytical and communication skills are necessary;
• Ability to complete assignments and tasks on time;
• Demonstrated ability to provide strong leadership and foster team environment is required.
• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

Competencies

• Strategic Perspective
• Skills development
• Change Management
• Managing Risk
• Building Relationships
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with impact

Functional Competencies

• Conceptual Thinking
• Job Knowledge and information sharing
• Drive for Results
• Fosters Innovation

Gender Mainstreaming

The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Evaluation Criteria

The applications will be evaluated based on the relevant technical qualifications, experience and competence of the candidates.

Applicants who meet the technical requirements (minimum score 70) may be invited for an interview (virtual or in person as is appropriate).