Land O’Lakes KFIE Innovation Specialist Job
Innovation Specialist, Kenya Feed the Future Innovation Engine (KFIE)
Land O’Lakes International Development Division has applied, since 1981, an integrated approach to international economic development that capitalizes on our company’s 90 years as a leading farm-to-market agribusiness.
We use our practical experience and in-depth knowledge to facilitate market-driven business solutions that generate economic growth, improve health and nutrition, and alleviate poverty.
The overarching goal of the KFIE is to harness innovation for cutting-edge results through private sector oriented strategies to generate significant measurable increases in household income and/or nutrition through efforts in selected agricultural value chains.
KFIE is a venture capital-like mechanism by which innovations that support food security and nutrition are proactively sought, incubated and scaled up for widespread impact, particularly across target populations within Feed the Future (FTF) focus regions in Kenya.
KFIE supports innovators with grant funding and technical assistance to grow their businesses.
The Position: The Agricultural Innovation Specialist is responsible for leading KFIE’s efforts to identify and evaluate promising innovations for support in the agriculture sector.
Once innovations are approved for support by USAID, the Agricultural Innovation Specialist, as part of the Portfolio Management team, provides on-going support to a portfolio of 5-10 innovations, serving as the innovators’ main point of contact and mobilizing the various support services KFIE provides, facilitating quality technical support service provision, verifying completion of milestones, and coaching innovators in the technical and business development aspects of their business.
Required
- Graduate degree in a related field or Bachelor’s Degree and 5 additional years of related experience.
- 7 years private sector (preferred) agricultural or similar experience.
- Demonstrated experience and success in supervising, coaching and developing private sector businesses.
- Business development experience.
- Excellent verbal, written communication skills in English and Kiswahili.
- Ability to summarize complex quantitative information from multiple sources and combine it with text to explain the underlying reality as clearly and unambiguously as possible.
- Capacity to turn out high quality written work under tight deadlines.
- Competency in use of Microsoft Office software – particularly Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
- Strong inter-personal skills, self-motivated and result-driven, with ability to effectively build and manage networks and relationships for program promotion and issues resolution.
- Highly developed conceptual, analytical and innovative problem-solving ability.
- Demonstrated awareness and knowledge of the local and regional economic and business climate as well as the Kenyan agricultural innovation and agribusiness landscape will be distinctly advantageous.
- Ability to coordinate, collaborate, negotiate and foster strategic partnerships with private sector firms, host government officials, NGOs, sub-grantees in implementing project activities.
- Proven work planning, financial management and budgeting skills
- Preferred
- Demonstrated track record in initiating new and innovative approaches.
- Experience in designing, implementing, and administering US Government (USG) performance-based grants.
- USAID project experience
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
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