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Job Category  Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Job Subcategory  Economic and Prosperity

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

The post-holder will work within a multidisciplinary team comprising of economists, infrastructure, energy, trade, investment and climate specialists to take forward the UK government’s private sector development work in Zambia.

Green Growth and investment are UK priorities in Zambia.  In 2021, the UK and Zambia signed a Green Growth Compact, which provides a model for our economic partnership, and demonstrates the UK and Zambia commitment to work together to boost UK investment and trade with Zambia, to create jobs, growth and poverty reduction. The Compact includes ambitions to: boost UK investment in Zambia by at least £2.5 billion; to increase by £500m the total value of UK Government/private co-funded investments and finance facilities; and to boost finance for SMEs by £150m. Other targets included increasing bilateral trade by 100% and increasing by 20% the number of Zambian businesses/products trading regionally and to the UK.  The UK also provides technical assistance for green growth, including expert advice on climate compatible growth.

Our advisers work on a range of tasks which can vary significantly from day-to-day. Your work will touch the range of issues covered in the Green Growth Compact and might, for instance, include drafting a short, rapid analysis of agriculture markets in Zambia and barriers to private sector participation, or challenging our programme delivery partners to ensure they are delivering value for money in how they use consultancy support, or collaborating with external stakeholders to explore new ways of promoting financial or market access for SMEs.  The technical competency framework for Private Sector Development (PSD) Advisers, which is available alongside this job description provides more guidance for PSD Advisers.

What will the jobholder be expected to achieve:

Provide technical advice to strengthen the UK’s growth and investment programmes in Zambia, including:

• Help the British High Commission identify, generate and utilise the best evidence and knowledge on private sector development to improve the effectiveness and impact of the green growth and investment programmes on poverty reduction.
• Work with programme managers to oversee the implementation and monitoring of selected programmes within the portfolio, particularly in areas such as the role of the private sector in food and agriculture markets, green finance, and aspects of business policy reform . The list of programmes that the adviser will lead/engage on may change over time as the portfolio and business needs evolve, but sustainable agribusiness is likely to remain a focus. FCDO operates a model where advisers typically lead on the provision of technical advice in their area of specialism (in this case private sector development), whilst programme managers lead on the commercial, financial and contractual aspects of the programmes. They are however expected to work closely together and share a responsibility for robust risk management.
• Some of the programmes the adviser will lead on may be programmes being designed or managed at FCDO headquarters in the UK. The adviser will need to develop and maintain relationships with both local stakeholders and headquarters to ensure those programmes make a strategic contribution to deliver or expand the ambitions of the Green Growth
• Compact, and to identify and maximise synergies between these programmes and programmes managed locally.
• Draw on the expertise of other thematic specialists within the office where relevant to ensure the programmes’ maximum impact and to facilitate collaboration among programmes.
• Develop strong relationships with implementers and external stakeholders in areas of responsibility.

Build relationships with key external stakeholders, expanding networks and understanding of the context, and delivering advice or support to support UK and Zambian objectives related to private sector development:

• Building relationships of influence with key players, using and expanding your network to influence positive change.
• Developing and sharing knowledge on the context, opportunities, and constraints.
• Implementing engagement plans that contribute to BHC objectives related to private sector development, identifying what works/ doesn’t work, and adapting your approach.

Provide other strategic and corporate support:

• Respond to other requests of senior management as and when required in accordance with wider business needs, including strategy development and monitoring or risk assessments.
• Give back 10% of advisory time to the rest of the FCDO global network to facilitate shared learning. This may include participation in programme reviews at headquarters or in other country offices or peer-review of business cases from other parts of the network.
• Contribute to making the British High Commission in Zambia a great place to work by supporting cross-mission initiatives.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

This position is likely to manage up to 2 staff and support the management of an £85 million programme.

• Essential qualifications, skills and experience  A strong undergraduate degree in Business, Economics, International Development or a related field
• A master’s degree in business, economics, international development or a related field
• At least 5 years of work experience in a relevant field
• At least 3 years of working in or with the private sector in Zambia
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative
• Experience supporting SME development in Zambia
• Experience managing people, budgets and programmes
• Appetite and ability to establish strong relationships (including building and expanding informal networks) with a variety of senior stakeholders from across the private sector and government.
• Track record of collaboration and team work
• Willingness to embrace FCDO programme management requirements, including risk management and safeguarding.
• Market systems and business fundamentals knowledge -this is the core technical competency for Private Sector Development (PSD) Advisers in FCDO (see PSD Technical
• Competency Framework for FCDO / https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-technical-competency-frameworks)

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Understanding / experience of key sectoral markets in Zambia such as agriculture/agribusiness
• Understanding of investment and finance, green growth and innovation, as per the PSD Technical Competency Framework for FCDO.
• Experience working in an international organisation
• Experience working on international development

Required behaviours

Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

Application deadline  18 September 2023