Trade Specialist Coordinator At Shelter for Life

Program Overview:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service through its Food for Progress (FFPr) program has awarded Shelter For Life a five-year (2023-2028) climate smart horticulture value chain project called Climate Resilient Optimization for Productivity in Horticulture (CROP-H) in The Gambia with the following strategic objectives:

1) To increase agricultural productivity in horticulture products while promoting climate change mitigating technologies and techniques; and

2) To expand trade of agricultural products (domestically, regionally, and internationally) through improvements in the trade-enabling environment.

The proposed program will develop and upgrade horticulture value chain linkages through the following four program goals: 1) Increased productivity and output; 2) Expand and improve quality exports, 3) Provide youth and women employment, and 4) improve incomes and standards of living for smallholder farmers in The Gambian horticulture sector.

Profile:
Shelter for Life International (SFL) is seeking a Trade Specialist Coordinator for the CROP-H project. This position will have intimate knowledge of the horticulture trade and marketing environment. This position will directly plan, coordinate, and supervise activities related to horticulture trade promotion, market access through facilitation of Buyer-Seller relationships, capacity building on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS), and improving the policy and regulatory framework in the sector. This position will be based in Banjul, The Gambia, with occasional visits to project field sites. This position will report to the Chief of Party.

Duties And Responsibilities:
Build and maintain close relations with relevant Government agencies for example, but not limited to, GIEPA, FSQA, GCCI, GRA, GPA, and MOTRIE, to advocate and promote harmonization of trade processes and coordinate positive actions that influence policy on trade, transportation of horticultural products, export, and other sectoral challenges.

Strengthen and deepen engagement with private sector companies and civil society organizations(e.g., trade and business associations) on trade facilitation and expansion issues.

Organize and conduct trade advocacy workshops and forums designed to coordinate positive actions and dialogue between actors that influence policy on trade, simplify business procedures, reduce costs, and streamline clearance procedures.

Organize and conduct business-to-business (B2B) forums with project stakeholders such as cooperatives/producer associations and buyers such as the hotel and tourist industry, exporters, and processors.

Facilitate and create linkages between buyers and sellers of raw fruit and vegetables, value-added products and developing end-market opportunities.

Promote the adoption and increased use of digital market platforms between horticulture actors.
Implement activities that strengthen the institutional and regulatory framework for food quality control and SPS management

Monitors and follows up on critical management and planning issues to ensure effective and timely project execution

Provides overall coordination, management, administration and guidance on designated activities

Coordinate preparation and submission of annual work plan and budget

Compile, prepare, and submit timely monthly activity report and semi-annual performance reports for the components supervised

Ensures the responsible and judicious use of project resources

Facilitates and follows up on capacity building activities for project staff and relevant stakeholders;

Provides technical support and managerial oversight to project Officers

promotes synergy between the different project components to ensure the delivery of desired results and impact.

Manages review and finalization of internal and external project documents, including donor deliverables, presentation decks, studies and technical reports.

Coordinates the drawing up of MoUs and agreements with partners and stakeholders

Provides contract administration of the service providers, experts or specialists hired for implementation and project support, and assess their performance on a regular basis;

Ensures responsibility for networking and communications to internal and external stakeholders;

Undertakes and approves staff performance evaluation and takes corrective measures as required;

In collaboration with the MEL Manager, design, review, and continuously improve program implementation on the basis of results obtained based on quantitative and qualitative data and feedback from project participants, clients, partners and staff

Assist the COP with other strategic and operational tasks as required by the project, while ensuring high quality programming execution and donor accountability.

These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job-related duties as required. All work responsibilities are subject to having performance goals and/or targets established.

Position Qualifications and Skills / Required Profile:
Masters degree in trade, business, policy, economics, agribusiness, or relevant discipline

At least 3 years of demonstrated experience in trade enabling environment issues, solving problems and barriers to trade

Demonstrated experience related to trade simplification, modernization, and harmonization of processes for the export and transit of agriculture products, preferably vegetables and fruit

Familiarity with the process of implementing the National Single Window Business Clearance (SWBC)

Experience drafting white papers and policy incentive regulations

Familiarity with Gambia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments

Familiarity with health and food safety, pest surveillance, phytosanitary certification, treatments, and inspections will be an asset

Preferred experience with project monitoring and evaluation systems and analyzing data

Preferred experience working or collaborating with horticulture-related private sector companies or agribusinesses and farmer cooperatives

Strong project management skills, including the ability to anticipate demand and manage multiple tasks and projects while meeting tight deadlines.

Strong communication, interpersonal, community level facilitation and coordination skills

Outstanding written communication skills in English

About Shelter For Life International:
Shelter For Life International (SFL) is a Christian relief and development organization with over 30 years of history in providing humanitarian and developmental assistance to communities around the world. The SFL headquarters is located in Minnesota, USA. Our mission is to demonstrate God’s love by enabling people affected by poverty, conflict, and disaster to restore their lives and rebuild their communities. We strive to be socially and environmentally sustainable by employing cultural sensitivity, community participation, appropriate alternative technologies, and cost-effective methodologies to our programs, which are underpinned by human-centered design. Learn more at www.shelter.org.