Senior Advisor, Agriculture and Food

Focus of the Role We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us. At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us. TBI is hiring a Senior Advisor, Agriculture and Food to respond to increasing demand from partner governments for assistance to deliver agriculture transformation agendas. Ensuring food systems can deliver nutritious, affordable food produced under a cost-efficient but sustainable approach is increasingly at the top of government priorities, as threats to global food systems continue to increase. Our work in agriculture correspondingly encompasses a holistic approach to the development of the sector with research, training and extension, agronomy, Agtech, investment and market development as core pillars. This post will contribute to TBI’s broader offer, solutions and partnerships pertaining to agriculture and food. The Senior Advisor, Agriculture and Food will report to the Senior Advisor, Global Lead, Agriculture and Food within GCS and support the evolution of our expanding offer, solutions, and partnerships. To successfully deliver your remit, you will need to work collaboratively across the Institute. You will work closely with, i) our Agri-Food Community of Practice (around 40 Advisors working on agriculture, embedded in government ministries), ii) staff in the Economic Prosperity team in GCS covering energy and climate, investment, trade and infrastructure and industrialisation which enhance a multisectoral approach to key challenges faced by senior political leaders, and iii) our global Tech and Public Policy Team, providing a unique opportunity to close the gap between progressive policy, thought leadership and hands-on implementation. The position is full-time and starts on the identification of a suitable candidate. It is essential you have a current Right to Work in the country applied to (Keny or the UK) We encourage early application as we reserve the right, if required, to close this role ahead of the date advertised. Key Responsibilities The TBI Agriculture and Food offer forms part of its Economic Prosperity team within Global Client Solutions. The goal of the Agriculture and Food offer is to support governments to translate their visions for agriculture transformation into reality, thereby driving broader economic transformation and agro-led industrialisation. Responsibilities for the role include: Advisory - supporting agriculture and food systems transformation Support governments to develop inclusive agricultural value chains and markets that can foster the agricultural and food transformation of the continent. Conduct value chain and market systems analysis. Support the Senior Advisor, Global Lead, Agriculture and Food in developing frameworks and tools for the delivery of agriculture transformation. Support product development of our agriculture and food offer. Develop the membership of the Agriculture and Food Community of Practice. Provide high impact advisory support to country teams to deliver impact projects (e.g., scoping, strategy support, analysis, technical advice, quality assurance, partnership connections, mentoring of advisors). Collaborate with members of the Economic Prosperity team to deliver multi-sectoral solutions. Provide quality assurance on advice given and topics related to agriculture, agro-processing and food. Support our engagement with continental and international stakeholders. Ensure transformational technology initiatives are streamlined into our agriculture and food work. Thought leadership Contribute to developing a robust and targeted thought leadership and policy influencing agenda on agriculture and food systems transformation. Publish action-oriented policy papers on agriculture and food. Develop strategic partnerships with research institutions and in positioning TBI as a thought leader on agriculture and food. Represent TBI at an international level to showcase our work and strengthen the voice of partner governments in the global arena. Contribution to TBI Contribute to wider TBI activities. Support the Senior Advisor, Global Lead, Agriculture and Food and the leads for other Economic Prosperity sectors (industrialisation, energy and climate, investment, trade and infrastructure) in strategy development and implementation and thought leadership. Person Specification To be successful in this role you will need to be closely aligned with the Institute’s outlook and mission and be entrepreneurial in your approach to your work. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following: Technical expertise Broad and comprehensive experience in agriculture delivery and implementation with governments in developing and/or emerging economies, either directly or via partners, on agriculture value addition and market systems development and/or on investment into agribusiness. Experience in industrial and economic policy is also valuable. Experience engaging the private sector to scale up investment in productive, job-creating sectors, such as through agriculture market systems approaches. Strong networks in the agriculture/international development space, including any of the following: country governments, donor organisations, agribusiness, NGOs, financial institutions, research institutes, in-country service providers, etc. Ability to deliver a challenging and complex agenda – particularly in helping governments design and implement agricultural and market systems policies and developing agriculture value chains. Experience across crops/commodities and agricultural subsectors (input supply, mechanisation, agricultural finance, trade, infrastructure, regulation, processing, sustainable sourcing, data systems, etc.) Experience working or consulting in a range of developing and emerging economies, sensitivity to a diverse range of cultural and regional norms, and ability to foster a positive spirit of collaboration. Personal qualities Ability to operate in a results-oriented, self-motivated, structured and resilient manner to identify priorities and opportunities, proactively develop solutions, and see projects and tasks through to conclusion. Confidence, experience, written and oral communication skills and credibility to operate at a senior advisory level in TBI and successfully build relationships at various levels of seniority within TBI and beyond. Ability to work in the face of a range of competing views and priorities in a highly fluid context, possessing highly developed communication, negotiation and analytical skills. Ability to navigate ambiguous environments, operate comfortably in a rapid growth environment, and manage up and beyond hierarchy. Other Comfortable speaking in public forums and representing the institute on the global stage. Who commits to business objectives and pulls out the stops to make sure they are always met. Comfortable to travel about 25- 30% of the time to global locations. Fluency in English is required; fluency in a second language widely spoken in developing/ emerging economies is an advantage. #LI-Hybrid