Agricultural and Value Chain Expert

In order to strengthen its Hub in East Africa and attain program objectives by providing technical and close follow-up support to the implementing partners and target groups Vedens Skove is currently recruiting full-time staff for the following position to be based in Addis Ababa.

Job Summary:

The jobholder will become part of the Verdens Skove East Africa Hub team, working closely with implementing partners and target groups in Ethiopia and Uganda. He/she will work under the overall supervision of the Hub Manager and Advisors at Verdens Skove headquarters in Denmark. The Agricultural and Value Chain Expert will lead efforts to develop sustainable value chains across the program’s prioritized commodities, including Coffee, Vanilla, Cocoa, Honey, and Spices. This role requires close collaboration with the team in Addis Ababa and Denmark and stakeholders to drive commercialization, improve production practices, enhance market access, and ensure that all value chain activities are both socially and environmentally sustainable.

The Expert will serve as the primary contact for advancing agricultural (Agroforestry/NTFPs) business initiatives. Moreover, He/She will provide expert guidance to the partners, farmer organizations (cooperatives and unions) on best agricultural practices. Core responsibilities include coordinating value chains, performing technical analyses, and implementing sustainable strategies to maximize the planned results.

Tasks and major responsibilities:

•    Lead the design, implementation, and monitoring of value chain and marketing interventions aimed at enhancing timber, non-timber forest products, and agricultural livelihoods in support of forest conservation.
•    Coordinate and collaborate with stakeholders, including private sectors, partners (NGOs), government agencies, and civil society organizations, to ensure resource optimization, complementarity, and alignment with project goals.
•    Provide technical support and capacity building to partners, cooperatives, and beneficiaries in areas such as climate-smart agriculture, agribusiness, inclusive business models, marketing, responsible business conduct and certification schemes (e.g., Fairtrade, FSC, EU-Organic, Rainforest alliance etc.).
•    Conduct value chain and market assessments, analyze gaps and opportunities, and oversee data collection, monitoring, and evaluation to guide strategic project decision-making.
•    Support program development and management by contributing to concept notes, project proposals, work plans, progress reports, and the strengthening of primary farmer cooperatives or unions.

Duty Station: Addis Ababa with frequent field visits in Ethiopia and Uganda as well as possible occasional travels to Europe or Latin America 

Required Number: One

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, and especially women, to apply.

Salary: Attractive and negotiable.
 

Essential qualifications

• Bachelor’s and/or Master degree level or equivalent in value chain and marketing, enterprise and business development, agriculture, agribusiness, commerce or related fields.

• A minimum of five years of relevant experience in livelihood diversification, value chain, rural business development and agricultural marketing projects preferably in East Africa;

• Experience in designing and implementing projects aimed at improving agricultural value chains and linkage with markets;

• Involvement in processing different certification schemes, and knowledge of EUDR

• Use of ICT for exploiting opportunities and address constraints to value chain growth and competitiveness;

• Ability to organize farmers into business organizations, including linking them to the local and International markets;

• Fluency in English and Amharic.

Desirable qualifications

• Strategic thinking and judgement

• Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines;

• Good report writing and proposal development skills;

• Strong knowledge of stakeholders in the forest and agricultural sectors;

• Strong interpersonal, communication and networking skills;

• High level of demonstrated competency in developing and implementing effective strategies, and business plans;

• Proven ability to work in a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary environment;

• Computer literate with additional expertise in statistical or other similar software

• Knowledge of Afaan Oromoo and/or Kafi noono as a working languages.

How To Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV and application/cover letter via our e-mail address verdensskove.vacancy@gmail.comwithin ten consecutive working days after the vacancy announcement; 

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.