Industrial Park Senior Specialist

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Ministry of Industries and commerce (MoIC)

Opportunity for Mobilizing Agribusiness Investments & Development (OMAID)

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background  

Recognizing that agriculture/agribusiness development is crucial for inclusive growth and job creation, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) is committed to a program of renewal and strategic long-term investments in this sector. To this end, the GoIRA is preparing a new project “Opportunity for Maximizing Agribusiness Investments and Development - OMAID” with support from the World Bank Group.

OMAID development objective is to enhance private sector participation in agricultural value-chains in Afghanistan. This objective is aligned with the Afghanistan Agribusiness Charter, adopted in November 2018 by the High Economic Council (HEC). The Charter presents a comprehensive and strategic plan (2019-2024) to enable the growth of agri-enterprises and promote greater opportunities for both self-employment and jobs in rural and urban areas. It focuses on investments in four strategic priorities: (i) Supportive policy and regulatory environment that can foster a competitive and sustainable upgrade of the agribusiness sector in Afghanistan; (ii) Innovative agri-spatial solutions (agri-food parks) to support enhanced productivity of Afghan smallholder farmers and competitiveness of agri-food enterprises in local and international markets; (iii) Access to finance to increase the availability of sustainable and appropriate financial services for agricultural value chain actors (farmers, intermediary agencies, traders, processors, and exporters); and (iv) Strengthening institutions for efficient service delivery.

OMAID investments focus on points (i) and (ii) and is designed as the “umbrella” for the effective coordination and implementation of the Agribusiness Charter. The project clusters its activities around two interrelated technical components: (i) Improving the enabling environment for agribusiness development; and (ii) Support to private investments through agri-spatial solutions. Besides, a third project component focuses on project coordination and monitoring and crisis prevention and management (see attached project document for a detailed description of the components/activities). OMAID will be implemented under the overall responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC).

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce is looking for a highly skilled individual for developing IAFPs under OMAID (Industrial Park Senior Specialist). The position is to be a full-time post for the whole project duration (5-years). The IP Senior Specialist is to be seated at the MoIC, General Directorate for Industrial Parks.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The IPs senior specialist will report to the Project Manager and will work also closely with the IPGD. He/she will be responsible for the following tasks:

• In consultation with the Project Manager and the IPGD, day-to-day management, coordination and supervision of activities related to the development of IAFP in the intended provinces.
• Working with the Project Manager and the IPGD, develop a flyer for each park, including a brief statement on the development vision: short, medium and long term (up to 15 years) and statement of the park's overall objective;
• Liaise with the existing core investors already in Afghanistan and ensure the day-to-day promotion of IAFPs and obtain information relevant to their interests to be included in their design and future operation and management.
• Review and suggest update existing IPs regulations as needed in line with best practices and the specific needs of industrial park development in the provinces covered under OMAID.  
• Ensure the implementation of IPs procedure at different stages (Design, Technical Studies, and Implementation) of OMAID.
• Collect data, information and statistics (availability of agri-food products of the intended provinces, no of active factories for agri-food products, new investments for agri-food products, demands available for IAFP, and necessary data and information) required for developing IAFPs.
• Contribute to the review of the feasibility studies for the parks to be developed under OMAID.
• Coordinate and review timelines & action plans of service/goods providers (third party contractors) for conducting required technical studies.
• Assess and supervise the implementation of IAFPs sub-projects.
• Develop and maintain relations with OMAID’s governmental & private sector stakeholders (IDLG, MUDL, Municipalities, ACCI, ACMI, ICC, and AWCCI) to ensure better performance of their respective responsibilities.
• Any other activity related to planning, implementation, management, monitoring of IAFPs, not specified within the above scope of services.

Experiences, Qualification /Skills and Responsibilities

This position requires technical breadth and depth to devise food industrial park solutions and carry-out dialogue with various stakeholders, a combination of integrative skills, strong operational experience, sensitivity to the political economy of the country, and strong communication skills. The candidate should have:

• Master degree with 5 years of relevant experience or Bachelor degree with 7 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in project planning, private sector development, implementation, and monitoring.
• Demonstrated ability to lead discussions at the highest policy levels.
• Demonstrated achievement of results – through building a culture that delivers high-quality products and services to clients.
• Demonstrated leadership in teamwork and inclusion to support collaboration and working across boundaries.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and quality assurance.
• Strong conceptual skills demonstrated by evidence of similar projects undertaken elsewhere.
• Complete fluency in the English language, including demonstrated excellent English report writing skills.

Skills:

• Ability to prepare plan for organization or department and responsibility of managing HR and technical field.
• Ability to prepared documents in the technical field and represent from it in related meeting.
• Ability of manage and liaison with outside of organization and project

Duration of assignment and Reporting Agreements:

The assignment is for 1-year renewable depending on satisfaction and performance. The Consultant will report to the Project Manager and will work closely with the General Directorate for Industrial Parks.

Submission guideline:

Please send your up-to-date CV with covering letter telling us why you are applying and how you met the required competencies before closing date, interested Afghan nationals should submit their applications in writing (clearly indicating on the subject line the title of the position and Vacancy title e.g. (IP Senior Specialist) to:  ipgd.moci@gmail.com