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Job
Title:         S34D
Policy Coordinator

Organization: Catholic
Relief Services (CRS)

Duty Station: 
Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: S34D
Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Policy, Advocacy, and Strategy Advisor

About US:

Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) is an international non-profit organization which implements the
commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and
vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and
operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all
faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to
serving those in need.

About S34D Project:

CRS is implementing
an award under USAID’s Supporting Seed Systems for Development (S34D). The goal
of S34D is to enhance farmers’ access to a full range of seed choices and
options to maximize their responsive decision making and planning for
production. The activity seeks to improve functioning of national seed sector
in Feed the Future countries and in countries with resilience and emergency
seed security programs. By identifying and removing constraints and bottlenecks
within the seed systems, the goal is to increase the number of smallholder
farmers utilizing quality seeds, including high yielding and stress tolerant
commercial and staple crop varieties, in countries with significant Feed the
Future and/or emergency seed programming. The intention is to address seed
system constraints that limit the development and uptake of relevant
agricultural technologies within and beyond Feed the Future Zones of Influence,
by creating self-sustaining, functional seed systems and delivery channels,
using market-based approaches, as appropriate to the crop and context. The
activity will generate tools and approaches to ensure relevant information to
guide interventions that reach both the target beneficiaries and smallholder
farmers more broadly, and will effectively respond to emerging conditions,
especially drought, and mitigate its impacts through planning and smart
investments before, during, and after a shock.

Job Summary:  The S34D Policy Coordinator will support
coordination and facilitation of relevant policy dialogues under S34D. S/he
will report to S34D MELPAS (M&E, Learning, Policy, Advocacy, and Strategy)
Senior Technical Advisor. Seed systems play a pivotal role in agricultural
development, being one of the key input systems to increase agricultural
productivity, food security, nutrition, and income for smallholder famers. This
position will play an important role in informing, and therefore, shaping
strategic decision makings over the course of program implementation by working
closely with a range of international stakeholders and national seed policy
partners.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Supervise Consultants on literature review of seed policies – both
  at a global level and for S34D geographies. Focus on specific policies
  such as:
• Liberalizing seed quality options;
• Expanding market frontier for seed sales (by actors and venues);
• Free seed distribution policies, and;
• Extent of seed counterfeiting.
• Conduct institutional landscapes to understand different seed
  initiatives active in a country / region and help identify points for
  coordination, collaboration, and colocation;
• Identify data needs and develop options to generate and cultivate an
  evidence-base necessary to make informed decision-makings;
• Coordinate among S34D partners to ensure policy is integrated within
  their portfolios;
• Facilitate policy dialogues and discussions with S34D consortium
  partners, national partners, regional, and international partners;
• Work with consultants to supervise and develop seed policy road maps
  for S34D focus geographies;
• Lead facilitation process with S34D partners by informing them about
  findings from the seed policy road maps;
• Inform on-the-ground programmatic implementation through use of the
  information generated from seed policy road maps, ongoing policy
  dialogues, and stakeholder workshops;
• Co-lead with data management and analyses necessary for creating and
  managing the evidence-base;
• Coordinate with S34D Data Analyst in maintaining and updating the
  policy evidence-base
• Play a lead role in maintaining repository of knowledge base for
  anecdotal and qualitative evidence and stories that inform policy
  formulation and implementation;
• Provide technical assistance to S34D partners related to policy
  matters;
• Lead development of policy briefings and infographics for USAID and
  various stakeholders;
• Support implementation S34D Policy Learning Agenda and aide study
  designs;
• Together with the MELPAS Advisor, serve as the public face for S34D
  in policy-related fora;
• Liaise with national-based S34D policy central links to stimulate
  coordinated policy think- networks;

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The ideal candidate for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) S34D
  Policy Coordinator job should hold a Master’s degree in International
  development, Public economics, Agricultural Economics, Regulatory
  economics or any other related field
• At least five years of demonstrated experience in managing seed
  system programs – especially in seed policy domain. Program management experience
  will be a plus.
• Subject matter knowledge of informal and formal seed systems in
  developing nations preferred.
• At least three years demonstrated expertise in facilitation and
  coordination with an array of stakeholders is required
• Excellent communication skills – both verbal and written – are
  required.
• Knowledge of data management and data visualization tools skills are
  preferred.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English required;
  proficiency in French or other languages desired
• Perform with good humor and patience
• Navigate uncertainties and challenges with an open and optimistic
  mind
• Demonstrated ability to work in physically and mentally challenging
  conditions
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment in collaboration with
  multi-cultural, widely dispersed teams
• Independent thinking, and ensuring deliverables are met in a timely
  manner are necessary for the success of this program

Competencies

• Serves with Integrity;
• Models Stewardship;
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships;
• Promotes Learning.
• Ensures principled compliance with national seed policies and
  procedures;
• Proactively manages risks and uncertainties.

How to Apply:

All candidates
should Email a cover letter and CV only to ug_recruitment@crs.org. Large
files and/or scans of documents will lead to rejection of your application, in
the subject line of the email, copy and paste – S34D POLICY COORDINATOR only

Deadline: 21^st May 2019

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