New vacancies YEP programmes

There are six new Young Expert Programmes (YEP) job opportunities available. Main goal of the YEP Programmes, consisting of YEP Agrofood and YEP Water, is to offer young Dutch and local professionals the opportunity to take their first steps in an international environment. The current vacancies, of which four in YEP Agrofood, in Myanmar, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Kenya, are open for Dutch nationals only.

Application for the new YEP-positions is open until March 29, 2017. Applicants need to submit their CV and a cover letter, which should explain their reasons to apply for the position, as well as their motivation for joining YEP. After the initial selection, candidates will be invited to the speeddate session in the morning of April 7, 2017. When the process is completed, selected candidates will be suggested to companies for a specific project. Those who are selected in this round, are required to attend the training week from May 29 till June 16, 2017.

If there is no match, candidates will be added to the pool of potential young professionals, which means they have passed the selection process and might be suggested for future project proposals.

Please find below the current vacancies for which candidates can apply. More specific job details and information on the application and selection procedure are available at the YEP website.

YEP AGROFOOD POSITION IMPACT TERRA – Agricultural Project Manager

Country: Myanmar
Project title: Retailer program for enhancing quality agricultural inputs to farmers through the Golden Paddy mobile platform in South East Asia
Duration: 2 years

Background
Impact Terra is a technology start-up that is focused on (mobile) technology for agriculture. It is a social enterprise that builds and deploys products such as mobile apps that support stakeholders on, among others, building capabilities of farmers and agribusiness, tracking and tracing activities across the value chain and certifying processes and outputs, and enabling data-driven decision making of value chain actors.

YEP WATER POSITION MDF Training & Consultancy BV, Trainer/Consultant

Country: Myanmar
Project title: Capacity strengthening and skills development in the private, public and civil society’s water and agricultural sector.
Duration: 2 years

Background
Since the democratic and successful elections in November 2015, Myanmar is back on the international map. After two years of informal activities by MDF in Myanmar, MDF now has a fully-fledged office in Myanmar since September 2016. MDF Myanmar is now very active with training, consultancies and support to the agro, food security and other sectors.
Myanmar is still receiving much support from international multi- and bilateral partners, including the Netherlands government, to catch up and be on par with other South Asian countries. The food security, agriculture and water sectors (in addition to health and education) feature high on the development agenda, with large grants and loans being allocated to improve sub-sectors like integrated water resource management (IWRM), water infrastructure, and educational capacity building in water/agricultural academies and universities. The Netherlands government, represented by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Agricultural Council are currently engaged in several sectors, including water resource management education, horticulture, seeds, dairy etc.
In addition to the Netherlands-supported initiatives, there are many other international organizations involved in financing or supporting water and agricultural sectors. For example: GIZ, UN agencies (ILO, FAO, WFP, UNESCO), SDC, World Bank, EU and the 300 million US$ Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT).

YEP AGROFOOD POSITION – Knowledge Technology and Innovation (KTI) Group of Wageningen University and Research (WUR) Aflasafe Scaling Expert

Country: Nigeria
Project title: Aflasafe Scaling Expert
Duration: 2 years

Background
Wageningen University & Research acts upon Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles. They are expressed in the WUR mission, ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life,’ and in our ambition to take a leading role in the area of sustainable operational management. In short, Wageningen University & Research stands for sustainability and CRS. IITA is a non-for-profit international research organisation and forms part of the CGIAR; a consortium of 15 agricultural research organisations. WUR and IITA comply with all international environmental, labour rights, human rights & ethics, and fair business practices standards. Both institutes act upon principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and undergo regular financial audits and have a credible reputation in the international agricultural research for development sector. As IITA has its Headquarters in Nigeria, and has around 20 research stations all across Africa, it is well aware of the security situation in each of the countries. IITA conducts regular risk assessments which enables the organisation to prevent, anticipate and address risks adequately.

YEP AGROFOOD POSITION COCOANECT BV – Liaison Officer Sustainability

Country: Ivory Coast
Project title: Sustainable Cocoa Farming in West Africa
Duration: 2 years

Background
Sustainability is a key pillar of Cocoanect BV. We source our sustainable beans mainly from origins in West Africa. Together with smallholder farmers, exporters, and other partners we build dedicated supply chains to improve the daily lives of our farmers.
Our Cocoanect Generation- and Chain guidelines cover a broad range of topics including biodiversity gender, climate change, and child labour. At the base we ensure that our farmers receive international sustainable training packages of UTZ Certified, Rainforest Alliance, or Fairtrade international, and on top of that we build partnerships with external experts for so-called cert+ activities to increase our impact.

YEP AGROFOOD POSITION Tropenbos International, Post-Doctoral Fellow – Impact Assessment

Country: Kenya
Project title: The inclusive and sustainable development contributions of smallholder-inclusive business models and financing scheme
Duration: 2 years

Background
The CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) aims to enhance the management and use of forests, agroforestry and tree genetic resources across the landscape from forests to farms. CIFOR leads FTA in partnership with Bioversity International, CATIE, CIRAD, INBAR, Tropenbos International and the World Agroforestry Centre, see: http://foreststreesagroforestry.org/

YEP WATER POSITION Stichting WE Consult Africa – Hydrologist

Country: Uganda
Project title: Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Improved Hygiene and Sanitation in Uganda
Duration: 2 years

Background
Water, Environment and Geo Services Ltd. was founded and registered in Uganda on 7 January 1997. In 2003 Water, Environment and Geo Services Ltd became member of the WE Group. Since then the group continued marketing WE Consult for its activities in the water and engineering sector in Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi and Southern Sudan.

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The YEP Programmes are carried out jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. Young Dutch and local professionals are employed through Dutch organizations in a number of eligible countries. The programmes aim to rejuvenate the Agrofood and Water sectors and ensure the continued availability of expertise for these sectors.