Innovation Project Manager

Innovation

Overview

Oversee innovation projects and support enterprise development in agriculture.

You have:

• Master’s degree in Agribusiness, Economics, Business/Innovation Management, Rural Development, Environmental Management and other related courses.
• Minimum of six (6) years of experience including at least (4) years in managing agricultural innovation or enterprise development programs.
• Demonstrated experience in private sector engagement, agribusiness incubation, poultry or livestock feed systems, circular economy, and livelihoods programming.
• Deep understanding of inclusive business models, youth employment ecosystems, and SME development.
• Strong project coordination and stakeholder facilitation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently in complex, multi-partner environments.
• Familiarity with gender mainstreaming and climate-smart agricultural practices.
• Experience working with BSF or HQCP technologies or similar alternative feed innovations.
• Familiarity with tools and frameworks for scaling innovations.
• Knowledge of Nigeria’s agricultural market dynamics.

Position: Innovation Project Manager

Contract: 2-year renewable contract Location: Abuja

Closing Date: 18 August 2025

DUTIES:

Innovation Coordination and deployment

• Oversee the end-to-end set-up and deployment of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) and High-Quality Cassava Peel (HQCP)-based feed innovations in Delta and Ekiti States.
• Facilitate adaptive testing of business models, integrating circular economy principles, regenerative agriculture and gender-inclusive approaches.
• Manage innovation demonstration sites in collaboration with hub/spoke stakeholders.

Enterprise Development and Job Creation

• Identify and support women and youth-led enterprises in adopting and commercializing BSF/HQCP innovations.

• Design enterprise support packages (technical assistance, market linkage, financing referrals) for feed entrepreneurs.

• Facilitate access to incubation, co-creation, and mentorship platforms.

Market Systems and Private Sector Engagement

• Engage processors, aggregators, feed millers, and off-takers to stimulate demand and create viable value chain linkages.
• Facilitate the development of public-private partnerships to embed alternative feeds into the mainstream poultry feed market.
• Support development of contract farming or inclusive distribution

Capacity Building and Inclusion

• Collaborate with training partners to develop curriculum modules on feed innovation entrepreneurship.
• Promote climate-smart practices, environmental sustainability, and safe production guidelines.
• Ensure the participation of marginalized groups (women, youth, and persons with disabilities) in pilot interventions.

Monitoring, Learning and Scaling Readiness

• Contribute to learning agenda development, outcome mapping, and innovation uptake
• Document lessons, case studies, and success stories to inform adaptive scaling pathways.

Perform any other job-related tasks as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements

QUALIFICATION:

Master’s degree in Agribusiness, Economics, Business/Innovation Management, Rural Development, Environmental Management and other related courses. The ideal candidate must have a minimum of six (6) years’ experience including at least (4) years in managing agricultural innovation or enterprise development programs. The candidate must demonstrate experience in private sector engagement, agribusiness incubation, poultry or livestock feed systems, circular economy, and livelihoods programming.

COMPETENCIES:

The ideal candidate must:

• Have deep understanding of inclusive business models, youth employment ecosystems, and SME development.
• Have strong project coordination and stakeholder facilitation skills.
• Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Have the ability to work independently in complex, multi-partner environments.
• Be familiar with gender mainstreaming and climate-smart agricultural practices.
• Be experienced working with BSF or HQCP technologies or similar alternative feed innovations.
• Be familiar with tools and frameworks for scaling innovations.
• Have knowledge of Nigeria’s agricultural market dynamics.

Benefits

REMUNERATION:

We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: cgiar.org