Value Chain Specialist at TechnoServe

About the Organization

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase, and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.  

Role Description:

 The Value Chain Specialist will play a critical role in the design and delivery of interventions within TechnoServe's leather and essential oils value chains. The role will involve overseeing and coordinating sector-specific activities, ensuring integration of supply chains, and fostering market linkages between MSMEs and anchor firms. For the Essential Oils value chain, the coordinator will drive farmer engagement, enhance processing capacities, facilitate certification pathways, and promote market linkages with key industry players. In the Leather value chain, the specialist will work closely with slaughterhouses, tanneries, artisans, and product manufacturers, supporting anchor firms and facilitating interventions such as Training of Trainers (TOT), implementing hide quality grading systems, supporting LWG certification, and driving production upgrades. By leading cross-functional teams and collaborating with key sector stakeholders, the Value Chain Specialist will ensure successful, sustainable interventions that enhance productivity, improve market access, and promote the growth of inclusive business models for MSMEs across both sectors.

Strategic Planning and Technical Leadership

• Lead the development of sector-specific strategies for the leather and essential oils value chains, addressing key challenges such as product quality, processing efficiency, and market access.
• Collaborate with the Program Manager to ensure interventions align with the program’s overall goals, ensuring responsiveness to the expressed needs of MSMEs and industry studies.
• Support the design and implementation of value chain diagnostics, ensuring a focus on improving productivity, market linkages, and financial readiness across both value chains.
• Implementation and Coordination
• Coordinate the delivery of technical assistance to anchor firms and MSMEs, including supporting the integration of smallholder farmers, facilitating certification pathways, and improving production processes.
• Facilitate the development and scaling of inclusive sourcing models, such as outgrower and aggregator structures, to strengthen supply chain consistency in both sectors.
• Collaborate with key sector actors to design and execute buyer engagement strategies, B2B matchmaking, and trade forums, ensuring increased market linkages and new business opportunities for MSMEs.

Capacity Building and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead the development and delivery of targeted training programs for MSMEs on quality control, production efficiency, business management, and financial readiness.
• Support ecosystem MSMEs in adopting improved production techniques, such as advanced tanning in leather or improved extraction methods in essential oils, through hands-on training and field demonstrations.
• Foster partnerships with anchor firms, government departments, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to drive systemic change and promote inclusive growth within the value chains.

Monitoring, Learning, and Reporting

• Collaborate with the M&E team to develop value chain-specific performance indicators, track progress, and assess the effectiveness of interventions.
• Support the Program Manager in preparing progress reports, ensuring the documentation of key milestones, success stories, and lessons learned.
• Assist in refining the intervention strategy based on ongoing field insights, market trends, and the evolving needs of MSMEs.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure that all activities adhere to donor requirements, TechnoServe policies, and ethical standards, maintaining robust records of performance and partnerships.
• Monitor sector-specific risks, such as market fluctuations, climate change impacts, and policy shifts, and propose mitigation strategies in collaboration with the Program Manager.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY