Introduction

VSF Suisse has partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to develop the dairy value chain in the Fafen zone of the Somali Regional State. The project targets both the host community and refugees in Kebribeyah woreda. It works with all the key-value chain actors, including dairy cooperatives, cooperative bureau, livestock and agriculture bureaus, academia, research and technical institutions including Jigjiga University, Jigjiga polytechnic college, Etc.

 The dairy officer position at VSF Suisse is a key technical position that plays a crucial function in successfully implementing the dairy value chain project.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Dairy Specialist

• Identify and engage dairy value chain actors and partners under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and strategic leadership given from the country office;
• Ensure that relevant procedures, standards, and guidelines are followed in implementing activities of the dairy value chain project;
• Assists the project manager in project planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation in the areas of his/her specialty;
• Provide administrative support through participation in project-level advice and participation in budget development;
• Serves as a technical consultant and liaison with the dairy industry actors, processing plan owners, and government agencies;
• Provide solid technical guidance to dairy cooperatives to engage in business development and foster linkage among producers' groups, processors, traders, and end-users;
• Identity, market opportunities and closely monitor trends in the dairy value chain to alert the VSF Suisse management and value chain actors to take necessary actions/precautions;
• Provide capacity building training to dairy value chain actors in the areas of animal feeding, herd health, hygienic milking, milk handling, storage, and transportation;
• Be responsible for following up and supervising the effective establishment of cooling facilities for dairy cooperatives;
• Be accountable for the training and capacity building of youth groups who will be engaged in milk can fabrication;
• Monitor the dairy value chain and the actors including producers, cooperatives, traders, processors, and consumers to identify their challenges and opportunities;
• Maintains relevant records and contributes to weekly, monthly, quarterly, interim and final reports and correspondence related to the dairy value chain;
• Ensure there is a coordinated strategic engagement that identifies and prioritizes vital external stakeholders of the dairy value chain and facilitate clear points of engagement for refugee and host communities in Kebribeyah;
• Contribute to build and strengthen networks and partnerships with strategically identified stakeholders of the dairy value chain to improve learning, influence competitiveness, and visibility to realize the sustainable impact on lives and livelihoods of the communities to which VSF Suisse intervened;
• Contribute to strengthen and expand networking with government, donor, and NGO and UN organizations with a vested interest in the program targeted areas;
• Performs any other task as requested and directed by the project manager and relevant country office staff; 

Job Requirements

• Master's or Bachelor's degree in Business Development, Business Administration, Finance; Agricultural Economics, Market Systems, or any other related technical field;
• Training Certificates in relevant ILO tools such as SIYB and GET Ahead·        
• A minimum of 7 years for MSc/MA and ten years for BA/BSc holders of work experience with international NGOs, government and UN organizations on livestock, dairy programs and projects;
• Demonstrated competence and knowledge on the Ethiopian Livestock Sector, specifically in the dairy industry;
• Strong knowledge of the standard practices, processes, tools, equipment, and materials related to the buying, selling, production, processing, handling, and sale of dairy products;
• Strong knowledge of Market Systems Development; knowledge of the ILO market-based approaches is highly advantageous;
• Knowledge of and active network with all the prominent livestock value chain actors in the Somali regional state;
• Experience working with a range of stakeholder groups, including cooperatives, unions, research, academia and regulatory bodies;
• Ability to apply knowledge of the activities and techniques of the dairy industry;
• Ability to collect, identify, and analyze, data, prepare charts, maps, and other graphs;
• Ability to organize and write technical reports, facilitate field assessments, monitoring and evaluation missions;
• ·Demonstrated ability to facilitate participatory rural appraisal (PRA) at the community level and technical dialogue with relevant government officers;
• Ability to plan, coordinate, and expedite work projects both in host and refugee communities;

How to Apply

Submit a motivation letter (maximum 1 page) stating why you are the right person for this position, a recent CV of 4 pages maximum (Certificates and credentials are not required at this stage) & contact details of three referees via email: fisseha.abenet@vsf-suisse.org 

Note: Use as the email subject "Dairy Value Chain Specialist". Applications should be written only in English.