Country: Ethiopia

Organization: DAI-Policy LINK

Closing date: 9 Feb 2024

ABOUT CAADP

Adopted by the African Union in 2003, CAADP is Africa’s policy framework for agricultural transformation, wealth creation, food security and nutrition, economic growth, and prosperity for all. The main agricultural development initiative of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), CAADP’s vision is to maximize the contribution of agriculture to achieving the ambition of a self-reliant and productive Africa and delivering economic growth and sustainable development for its people. The goal for the sector is an agricultural-led development that eliminates hunger, and reduces poverty and food insecurity, thereby opening the way for an expansion of exports and putting the continent on a higher economic growth path within an overall strategy of sustainable development and preservation of natural resources.

THE POST-MALABO AGENDA

After two decades of CAADP implementation, the continent has made enormous progress in terms of economic and agricultural growth, improvement in poverty and nutrition outcomes, expansion of agricultural trade, and public investments in agriculture. It is important to retain the strengths of the CAADP agenda while adjusting and deepening it to respond to emerging issues. The post-Malabo agenda must meet the needs of sustainable food systems transformation in the context of accelerating climate change and risks of shocks from multiple sources. This can only be accomplished by building on previous successes while tackling evolving challenges. Under the leadership of H.E. The Commissioner ARBE, the African Union has initiated the development of the Post-Malabo Agenda. The objective is to design and undertake stakeholder consultations, analysis, technical writing, validation, and adoption of a new Declaration and Action Plan. This plan that will outline the continent’s priorities for the next 10 years will be submitted to the Heads of State and Governments (HoSG) in an Extraordinary Summit in the fourth quarter of 2024.

POSITION OBJECTIVE

Given the importance of this post-Malabo agenda, the intensity of the process and the limited time available, Policy LINK is recruiting a dedicated process consultant to support the AU and its partners in developing the agenda. The consultant will assist the Technical Coordination Team in coordinating all post-Malabo processes and the work plan to ensure that objectives are met within the stipulated timelines and quality. The consultant will work with partners to support consultations, communications, meetings, and documentation, among other activities, designed to develop the post-Malabo agenda. The consultant will also offer project management support to the post-Malabo team at the AU and will be involved in connecting different pieces of this process. This consultant will be, largely, based at the AUC headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with travel across the region as needed.

SPECIFIC TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The consultant will be part of the secretariat acting as a link between the post-Malabo coordinating team, the steering committee, and partners. S/he will support the Technical Coordination Team on the design, coordination and execution of various tasks and deliverables as per the approved roadmap. More specifically, the consultant will perform the following tasks:

• Workplan development and process design - the consultant will, under the guidance of the technical coordination group to design, develop, update, or finalize a comprehensive work plan to guide the post-Malabo process.

• Planning and implementation – the consultant will support overall implementation of the post-Malabo process, including developing implementation trackers and following up on key tasks and actions.

• Stakeholder engagement - the consultant will support processes for engaging different entities involved in the post-Malabo process and will build and manage relevant relationships to ensure that there is multistakeholder collaboration and synergy. S/he will ensure that inputs from key stakeholders are captured and incorporated into the agenda.
  Secretariat - the consultant will act as the coordinator and primary point of communication for all relevant activities. In this role they will essentially be the secretariat for the post-Malabo Steering Committee, supporting the convening of regular meetings of the steering committee as well as coordination and technical teams that will be working on different pieces of the process. The consultant will ensure regular update and consultations as and when required by the Commissioner and key AU staff to ensure alignment of expectations and leadership input to the process.

• Communication and documentation - the consultant will work closely with communications teams to develop a communications plan and support the development and dissemination of relevant communication materials. In this role the consultant will be responsible for overseeing the documentation, reporting, and filing of deliberations from meetings & events.

• Meetings and events – under the supervision and guidance of the Head, Rural Development Division/Agriculture and Food Security Division the consultant will work with other AU staff/ departments and partners to plan and execute relevant meetings, events, and workshops in furtherance of the post-Malabo agenda. As part of this role the Consultant will ensure follow-up on meeting actions.

• Resource mobilization - the consultant may be required to support resource mobilization efforts by the AU.

MILESTONES AND DELIVERABLES

The post-Malabo process will be collaborative. Various milestones and deliverables will need to be achieved along the way. The Consultant’s input will support the process achieve these milestones and deliverables:

• Establishment of a functional secretariat and steering committee

• Adoption of a comprehensive workplan by secretariat and steering committee

• Analytical studies to answer stakeholder-driven questions on CAADP

• REC level regional consultations completed

• Receiving position papers from various stakeholders and dialogue events

• Regular secretariat and steering committee meetings conducted

• Donor engagement processes carried out

• Post Malabo Agenda (Strategy) Drafted

• Validation of draft strategy

• Production of relevant communication products for Post Malabo Agenda

• Summit processes to adopt strategy accomplished.

Qualifications, Background and Experience:

Education:

An advanced degree in a relevant field preferably in Agriculture, Economics, Policy Development, Development Studies or Program Management.

Experience:

• Knowledge and experience in process and workshop facilitation and capacity-building methodologies, including the facilitation of high-level policy, technical and capacity-building processes.

• Minimum of 10 years of technical experience on complex international development projects working with diverse private and public sector stakeholders and counterparts

• Experience in Policy and Strategy Development at the Regional or continental level

• Experience in building the capacity of the private sector and civil society to better engage in policy formation and implementation.

• Experience in human and institutional capacity development, agricultural development, food security, policy reform and advocacy, and civil society/non-state actor development.

Skills:

• Knowledge or understanding of social, economic, and political context governing food security issues in developing countries and in Africa.

• Strong communication, interpersonal and stakeholder relationship management skills, including the ability to engage with government counterparts, national and regional organizations, the private sector, and other donor organizations and development agencies.

• Creative problem-solving, conflict and ethical management skills.

• Strong team leadership and ability to work effectively with multi-disciplinary teams and to provide an overall positive and friendly atmosphere internally and externally.

• Strong project management, organizational and coordination skills with demonstrated experience in working in complex programs.

• Ability to develop and implement effective computer-based tools for project planning, design, implementation, and monitoring.

• Outstanding written and oral communication skills

• Good computer skills – understanding of SharePoint, teams, outlook, word, excel.

How to apply

Submission of Application

Kindly submit your application and CV via this email: Linkrecruitment@dai.com

The deadline for submission of application is on 9th February 2024.