The primary priority of the Market Analyst is to work together with the Project Manager and Sustainability and Market Research Business Advisor to implement a number of ongoing interventions with various market system partners. The second priority is to develop new business strategies and project interventions aligned to project objectives, based upon market system analyses. To do this, the Market Analyst will conduct primary research with wide array of market system players (i.e. farmers, traders, processors, transporters) to develop new strategies and collaborate with other project team members to test and validate interventions.
Implement market system interventions and facilitation
· Implement ongoing market system interventions, including but not limited to:
o honey and wax value chain- facilitating contract farming arrangements between buyers and smallholder suppliers;
o facilitating access to solar power home systems for smallholders, including financing;
o turmeric and black pepper production support and market facilitation;
o Organic certification and establishment of standards and traceability system for NTFPs
· Facilitate linkage of farmer organizations with output buyers, input suppliers, and credit service providers
· Facilitate embedded services delivery from buyers
· Promote women participation at every level of NTFPs value chains
· Organize field visits from potential NTFPs buyers
· Develop and maintain strategic partnerships in relation to MSF interventions in order to ensure intervention relevance, use, and influence;
Market System Research and Intervention Design
· Develop new market systems strategies that translate to project interventions based off ongoing rigorous market systems research and analysis of non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
· Support the development of business plans, budgeting and profitability/ROI analysis for farmer organizations
· Maintain constant contact with and subscribe to sources of technical and market information
· Collect, analyze, interpret and disseminate market information to project teams and clients
· Collaborate with project team colleagues to implement ongoing and develop new market systems-level strategies and intervention design documents;
· Work with M&E team to identify monitoring, evaluation, and learning data needs as interventions are designed and implemented;
Teamwork, Management and Reporting
· Collaborate with other project team members to leverage their existing relationships with farmers, farmer organizations (cooperatives, unions, etc.), government agencies across various levels, agribusinesses, other buyers, financial institutions, and other market system stakeholders for the purpose of market systems research, analysis, and business strategy and project intervention design;
· Provide strategic feedback to Project Manager and teammates based on ongoing analysis and evaluation;
· Lead preparation of documents and reports as needed to assist Project Manager and team with internal decision making, meetings, communications with stakeholders and partners, and reports to donor;
· Develop presentation materials for Project Manager to present MSF interventions to stakeholders, partners, and donor
· Submit weekly reports to the Project Manager (PM) and support monitoring and evaluation activities;
· Enable the development of market system analysis capacity amongst project staffs and partners, through mentoring as well as formal training programs;
· Participate in regular team training activities to build own training skills, including monthly team meetings in person;
· Manage one Sustainability and Market Research Business Advisor based in Meti;
· Perform other duties as assigned by the Project Manager
· Education o Bachelor’s degree in business/economics, agriculture, or other relevant fields · Experience o At least five years of experience working in one or more of the following areas: economic and/or market analysis, pro-poor market system development, development economics or finance, agriculture business, or related field; o Experience in market system analysis and subsequent design and development of project interventions; o Demonstrated success in applying analytical rigor to different sectors they may be unfamiliar with and enthusiasm to learn about new sectors; o Experience in partnership development and management o Experience in partners relationship management that requires frequent communication o Commitment to advancing gender equity and green business solutions to poverty · Attributes and Skills o Strong quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills o Strong planning skills and experience working to strict time-guidelines; o Ability to translate business ideas into strategies ready to present to various project stakeholders; o Detail oriented , well-organized and structured in analytical thinking; o Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills, as well as negotiation skills; o Flexibility and ability to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances; o Creative problem solving skills, including a spirit of resourcefulness; o Excellent computer literacy, notably in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; o Fluency in written and spoken English and Amharic, readily able to author and present business presentations to, as well as support Project Manager in negotiating with stakeholders |