Job Details

Description

Job Title: Senior Agribusiness Supply Chain Advisor

Grade: 8

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Reporting/Supervisor: Program Manager

Contract Duration: 7 months

About TechnoServe:

At TechnoServe, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better life. For over 50 years, we have empowered smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs with skills, connections, and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty. We leverage the power of markets and the private sector to create sustainable economic growth to benefit people and the planet. Our unique business solutions, local insight, and data-driven approach help drive lasting impact across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Program Overview:

The Inclusive Retail Market Access program, implemented by TechnoServe in partnership with AGRA, aims to strengthen inclusive horticultural sourcing in East Africa by engaging retailers and emerging suppliers in co-developing sourcing models that benefit smallholder farmers. The design and pilot phase in Kenya (August 2025 – February 2026) will involve research, co-creation, and implementation with retail and supplier partners to build sustainable sourcing partnerships and inform regional scale-up.

Job Summary:

The Senior Agribusiness Supply Chain Advisor will serve as the primary liaison with retail partners under the Inclusive Retail Market Access program. This position is responsible for co-creating and executing commercially viable, inclusive sourcing models that integrate emerging suppliers, including smallholder-linked producers, aggregators, and SMEs. The role combines technical know-how in agribusiness and sourcing systems with strong facilitation, relationship management, and program execution skills to support inclusive transformation in horticultural value chains

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

Retail Partner Engagement:

• Act as the main point of contact for retail partners throughout co-design and implementation phases.
• Facilitate retailer assessments to identify operational readiness and sourcing opportunities.
• Lead structured workshops and meetings to co-develop inclusive sourcing action plans.
• Support alignment of retailer priorities with program objectives and supplier capabilities

Inclusive Sourcing Model Development:

• Support the co-creation of sourcing frameworks tailored to different retail business models.
• Develop strategies to address systemic barriers including price transparency, supplier onboarding, and delivery logistics.
• Coordinate with suppliers and retailers to formalize pilot models through contracts and procurement planning.
• Monitor early performance indicators and adapt model components as needed.

Capacity Building for Suppliers:

• Facilitate delivery of targeted training and technical support for suppliers in areas like quality assurance and postharvest handling.
• Provide input on tools, templates, and standard operating procedures to institutionalize supplier-readiness practices.
• Support troubleshooting during onboarding and contract execution to ensure supplier compliance with retail standards.

Learning, Documentation, and Coordination:

• Contribute to development of knowledge briefs and business case documentation for retailer engagement.
• Document lessons learned and support scale-up recommendations based on implementation experience.
• Coordinate closely with internal program teams, technical advisors, and MEL specialists to align execution with overall strategy.

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in agribusiness, supply chain management, market systems, or inclusive business models, with a Master’s degree in Agribusiness, Business Administration, Development Studies, or a related field.
• Experience managing commercial relationships in food systems or horticulture markets. Successfully negotiated and managed long-term partnerships with key stakeholders across the food value chain, enhancing market access and profitability.
• Required Languages: Fluency in English and Kiswahili.
• Travel: Travel up to 30%.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in East Africa’s horticulture or retail food sectors. In-depth understanding of the dynamics and challenges within East Africa’s horticulture or retail food sectors, with demonstrated success in implementing strategic initiatives.
• Familiarity with donor-funded agriculture market development programs. Hands-on experience in managing or supporting donor-funded projects, with a strong grasp of compliance, reporting, and impact assessment requirements.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong relationship management and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Technical expertise in agribusiness development and formal market integration.
• Ability to co-create actionable sourcing strategies with commercial partners.
• Excellent communication and documentation abilities, including workshop facilitation.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

May supervise consultants or project associates during pilot implementation.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability, and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.