Delivery Advisor, Agribusiness

Job Introduction

The Government of Malawi is embarking on an ambitious agenda to transform the heavily agriculture-dependent economy away from a reliance on tobacco in order to develop an economy that can create jobs at scale and add value in country. Around 85 percent of Malawi’s population is estimated to live in rural areas and rely on rainfed agriculture for employment. Nine-tenths of rural households engage in subsistence farming, cultivating small and fragmented land held under uncertain customary tenure. As such the agro-led industrialisation of the economy is critical.

Malawi’s President is strengthening the capacity of his Government to implement his vision for development. A key part of this is accelerating agricultural reform, both through the development of alternative value chains to tobacco as well as by strengthening food security mechanisms. Strengthening the agriculture sector to allow for structured markets, for agro-industry and for small holder farmers and agribusinesses to prosper is essential. The intent is to develop robust value chains which can raise value addition, create jobs, improve net exports and significantly improve farmer incomes.

TBI is supporting the Government of Malawi to strengthen its delivery and implementation mechanisms, particularly in the Presidency. The project will support the roll of out of this delivery agenda, providing support and facilitation to key ministries and agencies.

We are recruiting a Delivery Advisor for Agribusiness to join this project and support the Government to implement its top agriculture priorities. This is an important role in the team and will report to the TBI Malawi Country Head while serving as our delivery advisor on agriculture supporting the Presidency and relevant senior Government officials (e.g. Ministers, Permanent Secretaries). The post holder will be supported by TBI’s Agri-Food Practice and will work very closely with our investment and private sector advisor.

This is an exciting role requiring an exceptional candidate with relevant expertise, deep networks with Government and/or industry in country or other peer countries.

Key Responsibilities

The Delivery Advisor, Agribusiness will be responsible for:

Government Relations

• Establishing and managing trusted relationships with key decision makers and implementers around the President’s agribusiness and agriculture delivery agenda
• Supporting the Government to strengthen communication and coordination, both among Government agencies and ministries, but also with development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders, with the aim of driving the infrastructure delivery agenda
• Coordinating closely, via the President’s Delivery Unit, with other areas of focus, such as investment and private sector development, human capital and digitization, in order to ensure a joined-up Government approach to implementation of the President’s overarching vision of development
• Doing the above while building the capacity of Government, where the opportunity exists for sustainable gains, for example mentoring and supporting of Government officials with high potential for development who are in the fore front of driving this agenda

Strategy, Planning and Execution

• Supporting the Government as needed so that major milestones in top priority agribusiness projects and reforms are delivered with minimal time delay
• Supporting the Government to address resource gaps for priority projects and reforms and help ensure timely application of existing resources
• Supporting in the packaging of agribusiness investment opportunities
• Supporting in public-private dialogue and collaboration with private sector in value chains with the greatest scope for driving economic transformation
• Providing independent and objective advice to the Government of Malawi on a range of key agribusiness and agriculture areas, using a pragmatic delivery lens, whilst recognising that policy decision-making and implementation of initiatives is the responsibility of the Government
• Exploring any opportunities with our technology for transformation team for transformative technologies to speed up the implementation of the Government’s agribusiness and agriculture agenda

One TBI

• Contributing to the success of the Malawi project, by supporting the Country Head, the Deputy Country Head and other team members and workstreams where necessary including contributing to prudent financial management individually and for the project, monitoring and evaluation of the project work and team building exercises (e.g. organising team briefings, outings, etc).
• The team will consist of experienced advisors providing embedded support at the Presidency and to key economic institutions of the Government to attract and scale up investment in priority sectors positioned to diversify the economy away from tobacco and to drive job creation and improved governance
• He/she will also be a member of TBI’s Agri-Food practice, through which they will gain from and contribute to the expertise of TBI’s teams across Africa and beyond

Person Specification

We are looking for outstanding individuals with a proven track record of leadership and delivery in the public or private sectors. We seek to create international and multi-disciplinary teams and are looking for individuals with a background in: public/civil services worldwide; strategy consulting; relevant industry experience; private equity and finance; and international development.

All candidates will be required to have:

• At least 5-10 years’ of experience in delivery, management, agriculture value chains, agribusiness, economics, Government, consultancy or similar, preferably in emerging markets especially in Africa and or similar contexts like Malawi
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, collaboration and communication skills
• Strong understanding of agriculture market systems
• Strong at adaptive management and a team player with an ability to develop and foster relationships with counterparts across a large organization
• Strong analytical and management skills, including sound knowledge of data analysis, strategic planning, and project management tools
• An ability to work independently, think strategically and translate strategies into tangible delivery plans
• Political savvy and an understanding of the needs of a senior Government officials, while being able to work and interact at the highest level of public life
• Ability to liaise with partner Governments, external bodies, organizations and key stakeholders to help deliver the Government’s agenda
• Willingness to travel, sometimes at short notice; and to go the extra mile when needed
• Experience of identifying and resolving project implementation bottlenecks
• Proven ability to mentor, coach, and build capacity of national counterparts
• Excellent writing, presentation skills and verbal communication skills in English
• A master’s degree in a related field
• Be open to exploring digital and tech solutions to support the implementation of the Governments’ infrastructure delivery agenda

About The Institute

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people  

We do this within two connected divisions: 

 Government Advisory 

Our Advisory Practice works directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It has both non-profit partners and a client base and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia. We are currently in a rapid expansion phase from c. 18 countries at present, to 30 by December 2022.

 Policy Futures 

Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas: 

• Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics; 
• Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and 
• Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world. 

As an organisation, the core beliefs we all embrace are: 

• Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork 
• Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity 
• Optimistic Changemaker: you’ll be focused on results 

TBI believes embracing diversity and inclusion make us a better place to work.  It’s our goal to reflect everyone in society and we actively welcome applications from individuals and groups who are under-represented in the workplace. We celebrate difference be it ethnicity, religion, age, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. We will only ever assess you on your abilities and fit for a role. We’re happy to discuss any adjustments you need to ensure a level playing field during recruitment and, if you\'re successful, discuss any adjustments you might need to thrive in your role.