Rwanda: Airfreight Competitiveness Expert

Crown Agents USA, Inc. (CA-USA) is seeking a Short-Term Airfreight Competitiveness Consultant for the USAID/Rwanda Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth Project (PSDAG) based in Kigali, Rwanda.

Our Business

Crown Agents is an international development company employing over 600 personnel worldwide with a presence in more than 40 countries, subsidiaries in 11 countries, and permanent staff working on the ground in 22 corporate offices in Africa, Asia Latin America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Crown Agents provides direct assistance, management consulting, and human and institutional development for public and private sector clients in customs and trade facilitation, public financial management, procurement, logistics, and health systems strengthening.

Crown Agents USA (CA-USA), the U.S. incorporated subsidiary of Crown Agents, provides direct technical assistance, capacity development, and procurement services to stimulate economic growth, establish good governance, and improve health outcomes across the developing world. Since its incorporation in the United States in 1998, CA-USA has provided technical assistance services and support to U.S. Government agencies and international organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), Department of State (DOS), and the Gates Foundation.

Project Description

The USAID/Rwanda Private Sector Driven Agricultural Growth Project (PSDAG) is a five-year Feed the Future (FtF) activity implemented by ENGILITY Corporation/IRG. The project was created in line with Government of Rwanda (GoR) targets and aims to develop a strategic partnership between the Rwandan public and private sectors to improve investment mobilization and create economic opportunity for smallholder farmers through increased value chain market integration.

Role & Responsibilities

The Airfreight Competitiveness Expert will develop a probable and practical business model for export commodity aggregation services. The business model is expected to show how locally produced commodities that are exported by air can be aggregated from the various production/processing points to a centralized place ready for export. This will involve a careful analysis of the export commodities, including the possibility of combining different commodities in the same “batch” to be airlifted if headed to the same destination. The overall goal is to address the constraint of low volumes for export from Rwanda to the various export destinations to ultimately improve air freight prices and improve competitiveness.

Specific Responsibilities

• Develop a brief inception report that will detail work plan and methodology, the timeline, interviewee list, report review list, draft and final reports.
• Conduct desk review of documents related to how the current volumes exported from Rwanda affect the country’s airfreight competitiveness.
• Research best practices for how neighboring countries, such as Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda have overcome similar constraints. Consultant may travel to these countries if deemed necessary, to gather information from key stakeholders in those areas.
• Conduct key informant discussions with relevant entities involved in the airfreight business including airlines, exporters, those who produce for exports, bulk handlers, transporters, and other key players along the various commodity value chains. Other useful information on the subject could also be obtained from MINICOM, MINAGRI, NAEB, Trade Mark and other relevant organizations.
• Assess the actual and potential export products, destinations, private sector partners including exporters and freight forwarders, and recommend their roles in piloting the commodity aggregation.
• Then map the processes involved in exporting the various agricultural commodities from production till they reach their export destinations.
• Evaluate the physical infrastructure from farm to the market that is supportive of commodity aggregation and export for fresh and processed products and make recommendations for improvement.
• Develop a business model for the provision of services to aggregate export commodities and if appropriate, recommend how NAEB and PSDAG can collaborate in piloting the aggregation model.
• Assess the current status of MINICOM’s trade hubs and how they can be integrated with the proposed aggregation model.
• Prepare interim and draft reports for presentation to stakeholders for validation.
• Finalize the draft report based on inputs received from the validation meetings and submit final report to PSDAG.

Qualifications

• Post Graduate (Masters or PhD) qualification in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agriculture or Agribusiness, Public Finance, Public Sector Management or other related field;
• Previous experience advising on airfreight competitiveness for African countries
• Not less than 5 years’ experience in agricultural development, strategy and business plan development, and or project / policy implementation;
• Familiarity with agribusiness investment environment in Rwanda preferred;
• Prior experience in working with USAID projects will be an added advantage.
• Fluency in English required; Knowledge of French and Kinyarwanda a plus.

Application Process

To apply to this position, please email your CV to careers@crownagents.com, including your name, along with “14-23V Airfreight Competitiveness Expert”, in the subject line. Visit our website at www.crownagentsusa.com for more information about our company. No phone calls, faxes or walk-ins please. Crown Agents USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and affords equal opportunity to all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other status protected under local, state or federal laws.

Crown Agents USA will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with qualified disabilities in accordance with the ADA. If you require a reasonable accommodation for our application process, please contact our Recruiting department directly. Requests will be kept confidential and shared strictly on a need-to-know basis only.