Job Title: Lead Value Addition and Marketing EYE-C-Program
Organisation: aBi Development
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
About Organisation:
aBi Development Ltd focuses on increasing agricultural production & value addition by extending matching grants & Business Development Services (BDS) to agribusinesses, farmer organisations & intermediaries to enhance planning & management, production & business infrastructure, as well as upstream & downstream market linkages of producers & agribusinesses.
Job Summary: The Lead Value Addition and Marketing supports the Program Technical Head in implementing the Empowering Young Women Entrepreneurs in Agriculture Stimulated by Coffee (EYE-C) program. This role is responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling strategies that enhance economic empowerment through innovative work initiatives on value addition and market access. Key responsibilities include building sustainable market linkages, promoting entrepreneurship, improved coffee processing, branding, and market access. The role requires deep understanding of value addition and marketing of coffee and related value chains along with gender-responsive and youth-focused programming skills. The ideal candidate should have a proven track record working in the agricultural sector, preferably within a project setup with bias in product development.
Program Technical Head
Regional Officers – value addition and marketing workstream
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Strategy Development and Workstream Planning
- Lead the formulation and execution of value addition and marketing strategies that align with EYE-C program goals, youth employment objectives, and Uganda’s 20 million bags roadmap.
- Develop and implement a comprehensive product development and marketing strategy in the coffee and complementary value chains tailored to female youth-led enterprises.
- Undertake assessments to gain deep understanding of ecosystems that the program is seeking to develop and identify opportunities for leveraging beneficial change and create meaningful work for young women.
- Participate in and liaise with technical Teams advising on the choice of products with highest potential to create work for maximum impact at the value addition and marketing nodes of the coffee and complementary value chains.
- Seek strategic partnerships; build, manage, and coordinate, effective working relationships with all stakeholders engaged in coffee and complementary value chains.
- Clear strategy in place to create and promote female youth led innovative products in value addition and at marketing nodes.
- Increase in product quality scores or certifications (e.g. Quality-grade, organic, Fairtrade).
- A portfolio of impactful projects at the value addition and marketing stage of coffee and complementary value chains supporting young women transition into meaningful and decent work
- Product Innovation and Quality Enhancement
- Design and scale innovative, demand-driven products and by-products from coffee and complementary value chains with a focus on quality and job creation.
- Lead development of new coffee-based and complementary products with strong job creation potential.
- Support female youth in product formulation, packaging, and quality control.
- Facilitate access to training on quality assurance, product development, and processing standards.
- Provide technical backstopping during project implementation to foster continuous improvement and increase the likelihood of achieving program results.
- Number of new value-added products developed and tested. Number of supported enterprises achieve national/regional product certification.
- Documented increase in income and job opportunities for women engaged in product innovation.
- Marketing & Brand Visibility
- Lead the design and development of a robust market strategy to ensure uptake of developed products with strong competitive brand presence
- Develop and implement a market strategy focused on uptake of youth-led value-added products.
- Support youth enterprises to develop Unique Selling Propositions (USPs), brand identities, and traceable product narratives.
- Facilitate participation in trade fairs, exhibitions, B2B/B2C platforms, and digital campaigns.
- Guide acquisition of product certifications (e.g., ISO, S-Mark, organic, Fairtrade).
- Number of youth-led products showcased annually in trade or digital events.
- Number of brands attain national/international market
- certifications.
- Number of regional or international buyer relationships formalized annually.
- Access to Finance & Resource Mobilization
- Lead initiatives that expand access to appropriate financial services and mobilize resources to scale primary production and processing interventions.
- Coordinate with Financial Inclusion partners to connect MSMEs to working capital and trade finance.
- Ensure financial literacy and digital finance are integrated into all business support services.
- Identify and facilitate co-investment and grant opportunities for enterprise expansion.
- % of supported enterprises access financial services or credit lines. Number of co-financing or resource mobilization deals closed annually. Number of regional trainings or mentorships on finance for youth led MSMEs conducted.
- Cooperative and MSME Strengthening
- Build institutional capacity of women-led cooperatives and MSMEs to increase volumes, competitiveness, and sustainability.
- Increase participation and retention of young women in cooperatives.
- Liaise with Capacity Building service providers to close operational and business model gaps.
- Promote collective marketing, resource pooling, and governance improvement.
- Conduct pre/post assessments and routine follow-ups for supported businesses.
- Number of cooperatives supported to improve quality and volume of value-added products.
- % increase in cooperative membership by female youth. Number of MSMEs that meet eligibility for financing or trade facilitation.
- Capture success stories, learning briefs, and technical guidance notes.
- Participate in review meetings and innovation learning sessions.
- And any other duties as requested by the Program Technical Head
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Sustainability, or related field.
- Experience
- 7+ years of relevant thematic experience in value addition and marketing of value-added products, 2 years in sustainability initiatives.
- Strong understanding of rural development, youth engagement, and private sector dynamics.
- Strong understanding of inclusive language, accessibility standards, and environmental marketing.
- Experience with digital marketing tools and analytics platforms Experience with financial inclusion
- Technical Skills & Knowledge
- Marketing skills
- Value addition
- Safeguarding skills
How to Apply:
Please send your applications to [email protected] indicating the Position Title in the email subject line. All documents should be combined into a single PDF file, with the total size not exceeding 5MBs.
Deadline: 19th September 2025
NB: Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted. Canvassing will lead to disqualification.
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Level of Education: Bachelor Degree
Work Hours: 8
Experience in Months: 84