Expert principal en stratégies régionales de mise à niveau des chaînes de valeur
Organizational Context
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization, and environmental sustainability. UNIDO's mission is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Member States, aligning with SDG-9 and the 2030 Agenda. The Medium-Term Programme Framework (MTPF) 2026-2029 guides UNIDO's strategic priorities, including fair and sustainable supply chains, innovation for food security, renewable energy, and climate action. Cross-cutting priorities involve policy advice, skills development, digitalization, gender equality, youth support, circular economy, and private sector investment. UNIDO operates through technical cooperation, research and policy advisory, normative functions, and partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer. The Directorate of Innovation for SDGs and Economic Transformation (IET) focuses on innovative services in agro-industry, sustainability standards, and climate-relevant technologies, while also developing innovative cooperation concepts and partnerships. The post is within the Rural Development, Agribusiness and Industrial Parks Unit (IET/AGR/RAP), which aims to improve rural livelihoods through agro-industrial development, infrastructure, and employment. The unit provides technical cooperation to develop businesses and entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector, supporting activities like planning, technology adoption, investment, product improvement, quality compliance, and market access. It also promotes infrastructure development for transport and processing, including sustainable agro-industrial park development. The Programme for Trade Competitiveness and Market Access in Africa (ATCMA), funded by the EU, aims to sustainably increase intra-African trade and EU-Africa trade. It has a continental component and five regional components across sub-Saharan Africa. The programme addresses market access challenges for selected value chains, focusing on identifying and reducing market access barriers, strengthening quality compliance and standards, facilitating value chain review mechanisms, enhancing value addition and diversification, and boosting SME capacities and export opportunities. UNIDO is responsible for products related to quality compliance and value addition, while ITC handles market access barriers, value chain review, and SME capacities. The ATCMA programme ensures coherence between continental and sub-regional components. Within the ECCAS component, the programme promotes structural transformation of ECCAS economies in priority value chains (PVCs) through regional plans and roadmaps, and support to regional and national institutions for value addition and diversification. This recruitment is for developing regional strategic plans and roadmaps for selected PVCs, based on in-depth analysis of industries and stakeholder consultations. These plans will identify critical bottlenecks and areas for improvement, covering infrastructure needs, regulations, policies, financing, investment opportunities, market access, smallholder participation, digital transformation, environment, and gender. The plans aim to provide concrete pathways for PVC improvement at national, regional, and continental levels to reduce post-harvest losses, improve market prices, enhance competitiveness, and increase investment.
Job Purpose
To lead the development of regional upgrading strategies for priority value chains (cocoa, timber, cassava) within the ECCAS component of the ATCMA Programme, transforming analytical work into implementation-focused regional strategies that identify policy, institutional, technical, and investment interventions to enhance regional competitiveness, value addition, and industrial transformation.
Responsibilities
Lead the development of regional upgrading strategies for priority value chains (cocoa, timber, cassava) under the ATCMA Programme's ECCAS component. Transform existing analytical work into implementation-focused regional strategies, identifying necessary policy, institutional, technical, and investment interventions. Ensure methodological coherence across value chains and integrate technical contributions from sector specialists into a cohesive set of regional upgrading strategies. Provide technical guidance, coordinate, and consolidate inputs from sector experts to ensure the consistency of regional upgrading strategies. Key activities include developing a common methodology, analytical framework, and work plan; conducting strategic assessments of industrial capabilities, upgrading potential, regional integration, and investment needs; analyzing cross-cutting issues (skills, quality infrastructure, standards, innovation, technology adoption, investment promotion, environmental sustainability, gender); evaluating differentiated starting points and positioning of ECCAS Member States within each PVC; developing comprehensive regional upgrading strategies with sector-specific visions, strategic objectives, and priority actions; identifying appropriate upgrading pathways; formulating recommendations on policies, institutional development, industrial upgrading, investment promotion, technology, skills development, and regional cooperation; defining strategic investment priorities; developing a phased implementation roadmap; identifying indicative financing options; developing an implementation-focused monitoring framework; and identifying risks and mitigation measures. Conduct stakeholder consultations and finalize regional upgrading strategies.
Work Experience
At least ten years of international professional experience in industrial development, value chain development, agro-industrialization, or regional economic integration is required. Proven experience in developing value chain strategies, industrial upgrading strategies, or sectoral development strategies in developing countries, including experience with regional value chain competitiveness, industrial policy, agro-industrial development, and investment promotion, is required. Professional experience with Regional Economic Communities (RECs), governments, or international development organizations in Africa is highly desirable. Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and integrate technical contributions into coherent strategic documents is desirable. Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations and developing consensus-based regional strategies is an asset. Excellent analytical and writing skills, as well as strong consultation and stakeholder engagement abilities, are required.
Skills
Strategic planning, value chain analysis, industrial development, agro-industrialization, regional economic integration, policy analysis, investment promotion, stakeholder engagement, project management, report writing, team leadership, analytical thinking, problem-solving, innovation.