Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Ghana

Marketing and Value Chain Advisor

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Eligibility criteria:   Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Location:   Salaga, Bimbilla, Kpandai, Kpalbe, Wulensi

Start Date:   Exact timing will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

Duration:   3-6 months, in-country and online support

Language Requirement:   English (Mandatory)

Reporting to:   Country Program Officer

The Project – VOICE for Women and Girls

The VOICE for Women and Girls project is a seven-year initiative (2020 – 2027) aimed at strengthening the performance of developing country partner (DCP) organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 women and men from marginalised communities, in particular young women (target: 60% women and girls), in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Malawi with a focus on action areas of the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), namely:

• Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls, and
• Growth that Works for Everyone.

The Project responds to the needs identified by women and men of cooperatives and the entire members in the countries of operation and is designed to increase the capacities of individual producers and primary co-operatives to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth. Supporting institutions, including apex co-operatives, co-operative colleges, and government/regulatory institutions will also be engaged to increase the capacity and prioritization of vulnerable groups.

The Partner you will work with

SEND Ghana has previously implemented the ACCESS and Fostering project and in some initiatives including 4R-NSP in partnership with CDF with funding from GAC. SEND Ghana focuses on research and advocacy to increase good governance practices of accountability, transparency, equity and participation in pro-poor policies and social services as well as empowers resource poor women and men to expand their small enterprises to improve income and farmers to increase food and nutrition security.

What you will do – Activities and deliverables

Most of the famers don’t have access to proper information which will enable them to assess their business operations and exploit their comparative advantage. Farmers are not able to perform product and market analysis, they also lack the ability to identify the technical and financial resources that are available to them and how to access them. There is a disconnection between the famers and the value chain linkages in the district and even at the regional level that will enable them. Famers in the coops need services that are available, but they lack the knowledge of where to find it. There is the need to connect the famers to the timely provision of time sensitive services to support farm production.

The VOICE for women and children project aims to support the women to overcome the issues of production to be acle to have access to incomes that will make them play their role as members of their community. It must be said that there is inadequate use of simple technologies which make farmers to still rely on physical strength to farm and looking at the time women spent at home serving the families they are not able to attend to their farm and their economic circumstance continue to worsen.

There are 4 credit union co-ops spread in 5 districts with over 12 branches working with the VOICE for women and girls project. the focus is to help especially women in these districts and branches to gain the needed information that will enhance their agricultural activities that they are engaged in within the branches and communities where they live.

Objectives

Your role is to support the prima groups in the credit unions to build the needed farm services and products linkages to support their farm operation to enable then to timely complete important farm operations to facilitate efficient farm field activities. Identify information on the available services in the district and share with farmers and guide them to improve their understanding on the available services. You will lead the creation and nurturing of marketing strategy to sustain marketing operations. You will support the creation of structures which will enable the famers continue to manage their famer services need. Provide training to the CDfs and coordinate their downstream training at the coop level.

Deliverables

Co-op support

• The Marketing volunteer will be responsible for supporting cooperatives in the development and implementation of advertising campaigns and other marketing activities.
• Liaise with cooperative managers/boards to understand marketing and value chain needs
• Conducting promotional activities, identify, develop, and set up mediums through which farmers could obtain reliable and accurate information and monitor progress and success.
• Offer advice towards the development of specific marketing strategies, including market share, distribution channels and product mix
• Develop training materials on marketing and administer trainings to relevant local partner staff, cooperative members, leaders and coop managers to continue to provide improved and sustained marketing and value chain support to the co-ops
• Have exceptionally good understanding of proposal writing and development to be able to apply for financial support from the SIF fund to facilities
• Work with the co-op managers to create farm input support services linkages such as tractor services providers, agrochemical, small farm technologies and build linkages with the farmer and marketing.
• Work with the women in the coops to set up aggregators and link up with off takers to support development of active and reliable market systems
• Discuss with the CPO the best approach to develop the session plans, identify a training session plan development template that ensures better understanding of training steps for third party users.
• share knowledge with the partner to help to improve the technical understanding of co-op operations to provide innovative services to the coops. 

Project Management

• Document all program related information and share with the country Program officer
• Stay in constant communication with the CPO, partner’s focal person and the co-op managers to obtain the needed information regarding the co-ops
• prepare and submit weekly deliverables to the program officer and discuss what you require to complete those tasks
• complete monthly reports and times sheets and submit to the volunteer coordinator
• collect and compile relevant data requires by the project and assist with the field data collection whenever its required

Your qualifications

Education:

• Degree in agribusiness, value chain and marketing must have supported groups preferably coop on marketing and value chain activities 

Experience:

• Experience and knowledge in developing values chain and marketing activities for organization, experience and knowledge in farm operations and services.
• Formal training in one of the following: modern farming, agrobusiness, agricultural value chain, farm insurance, marketing, a must. Knowledge and skill in identifying market, building value chain linkages
• Work experience working within co-op on the areas of focus could be used to compensate for formal education in the fields listed above.
• Ability to break down simple technical information to their simplest form for audience who are less technical to understand and use
• Excellent capacity to analyze, develop recommendations and capture lessons learned
• Ability to travel to and live in remote locations where services are minimal 
• Ability to work autonomously, Must be able to work alone as well as with the local partner or with the BOD of the credit Union, be flexible and analytical
• Knowledge in community participation methodologies and adult learning methodologies in facilitating with understanding group learning/training sessions or focus groups. 

Support package

This is a voluntary assignment. CDF Canada supports volunteers through the provision of a comprehensive package designed to cover a modest and healthy lifestyle, while allowing for effectiveness in the placement:

• Monthly allowance.
• Return-trip international and/or domestic airfare.
• Visa-related costs (if needed).
• International health insurance.
• Vaccination and health-related costs (if needed).
• Interpreter and/or translator (if needed and depending on the position and duration of the assignment).
• Pre-departure support and orientation.
• Support and orientation during the assignment.
• Debriefing upon completion of the assignment.

E-volunteering

Depending on the nature of the placement, volunteers are encouraged to provide e-volunteering support to our local partners before or after their placement.

Engaging Canadians

CDF Canada provides technical and logistical support to young and experienced professionals through volunteer assignments to apply and acquire new skills and knowledge in international co-operative development. We ask each volunteer, regardless of the duration of their mandate, to share their experience during and/or at the end of their assignment either in the country of assignment or in Canada. The experience can be shared by providing stories of human interest and photographs that can be used for social media outreach; Participate in events/conferences or other public engagement activities to share their experience to motivate others.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and CV/resume, by applying directly on our recruitment webpage. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Successful candidates will be required to obtain a police-check from their local police or RCMP detachment. All applicants are thanked for their interest in CDF Canada; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.