Market Systems Officer

Job description

Impuls Africa is a Zambian-registered company that specializes in delivering agricultural consultancy and extension services in the SADC region. Owned by a cooperative of over 100 farmers and a seasoned agri-entrepreneur in Zambia, the Impuls team brings more than 75 years of combined expertise in agriculture and livestock services. Impuls has a strong track record of successfully developing and implementing large-scale projects in agriculture, livestock, agroforestry, apiculture, and horticulture value chains. We specialize in providing services to both donors and the private sector, offering everything from one-off consulting assignments to long-term project implementation and management. Our primary focus is on agricultural consulting, in which we excel at delivering a diverse range of short- and long-term assignments. Our services include needs assessments, market assessments, facilitation of market linkages, value chain assessments and development, feasibility studies, capacity assessments, training and development, strategy development, as well as monitoring and quality assurance measures.

Market Systems Officer

Role Overview

The Market Systems Officer will be responsible for identifying and addressing market constraints, developing innovative strategies for market integration, and facilitating business linkages between smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and formal (and informal) market players.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the design and implementation of market systems development (MSD) programs, ensuring alignment with resilience-focused interventions and adaptive management approaches. Experience in fragile and conflict-affected states is highly desirable.
Analyze and map relevant market systems, identifying key actors such as producers, traders, financial service providers (MFIs, banks, insurers), input suppliers, intermediaries, and off-takers, while understanding both formal and informal governance structures.
Develop and execute market-driven strategies that enhance the participation of smallholder farmers, MSMEs, and agribusinesses in competitive and resilient value chains.
Strengthen private sector engagement by coaching and mentoring businesses to identify growth opportunities, improve service delivery, and enhance competitiveness in local, regional, and international markets.
Facilitate access to financial services for agribusinesses and smallholder farmers by collaborating with banks, microfinance institutions, and insurance providers to develop inclusive financial products.
Lead the development of climate-smart and resilience-focused rural development programs, integrating sustainable livelihoods, food security, and adaptation strategies into market-based solutions.
Assess and diagnose constraints in local economies, designing and implementing practical, pro-poor market interventions that drive inclusive economic growth across various value chains.
· Support the development of consortia that bring together producers, input suppliers, aggregators, and buyers to create a streamlined and efficient value chain.

· Organize Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings and Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) to enable direct engagement between producers and market off-takers.

· Develop comprehensive market profiles for the targeted value chains, including formal and informal market opportunities.

· Assist in tracking the progress of market access activities, ensuring that interventions meet project goals and contribute to improved market engagement for farmers.

Organize training sessions on market access, negotiation, and value chain integration for project staff and farmer organizations.
Equip farmers with the skills and knowledge needed to meet market entry requirements, focusing on quality control, production standards, and climate-smart agricultural practices.
Ensure effective program planning, execution, and evaluation, integrating monitoring, learning, and adaptive management principles to optimize impact and sustainability.

Qualifications & Experience

Minimum of (7) years of professional experience managing and implementing complex development programs in economic growth, market systems facilitations, private-sector development, livelihood programs, rural developments, agribusiness, financial services and/or urban economic empowerment.
Good understanding of Market System Development (Making markets for the poor M4P) approach and facilitation, including coaching, relationship building, communicating, and being open and willing to work on new initiatives.
Extensive knowledge of local economic development, particularly market systems development (MSD/M4P), value chain development, private sector development and entrepreneurship in the international development context
Track record in successful business development/fundraising FCDO, European Commission, Private Sector Foundations (e.g. Mastercard or Ford Foundation)
Demonstrated program design, monitoring, and evaluation skills, including designing pathways to sustainable impact at scale.
All qualified and interested candidates should send their cover letter and an updated CV with at least three traceable references to the e-mail address below.