Marketing Specialist (Call for CVs - Subject to Donor Approval)

Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA) is a non-governmental, non-profitable, and non-political Afghan NGO, working since 1987 mainly in agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure sectors in more vulnerable areas of the country. CHA is working through the implementation of Emergency, rehabilitation, and development projects for emergency aid for war, famine, and natural disaster-affected families in the field, to assist with the rehabilitation of rural and urban life, and to work with communities for sustainable development in Afghanistan.

Core Commitments and Expectations from Candidates:

CHA is dedicated to creating an environment where all staff members are committed to our core values and principles. We believe that our employees play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and excellence of our organization. Therefore, we have outlined the following core commitments and expectations that all candidates must adhere to:

1. Adherence to CHA's Policies and Procedures: All candidates must adhere to CHA's policies and procedures, these guidelines are designed to ensure a safe, fair, and efficient working environment. Compliance with these policies is fundamental to maintaining the standards and quality of our operation
2. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA): CHA has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and abuse. All candidates, employees, associates, and partners must comply with the PSEA policy.
3. Ethical Conduct and Integrity: Candidates are expected to maintain high standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all their professional dealings. This includes avoiding conflicts of interest, maintaining confidentiality, and adhering to anti-fraud and anti-corruption guidelines​​.
4. Commitment to Non-Discrimination and Diversity: CHA is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. Candidates must respect and promote diversity and non-discrimination based on race, gender, age, or any other protected characteristic​​.
5. Child Protection: Candidates must adhere to the Child Protection Policy, ensuring the safety and well-being of children in all CHA activities.
6. Environmental and Social Safeguards: Candidate must follow CHA's Environmental and Social Safeguard Policy to minimize environmental impact and ensure sustainable practices in all projects and operations​​.
7. Confidentiality and Data Protection: Candidates are required to maintain the confidentiality of all CHA data and information.

All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. To ensure compliance, candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks. These checks will include the verification of academic credentials and employment history. Selected candidates may also be required to provide additional information to facilitate these checks.

By joining CHA, candidates commit to these core values and contribute to our mission of providing humanitarian assistance with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. We look forward to welcoming dedicated individuals who share our commitment to making a positive impact.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in marketing, market development, agribusiness, value chain development, business development, or private-sector engagement.

• Demonstrated experience in conducting market assessments, market research, market analysis, and identifying business and market opportunities.

• Proven experience in establishing and strengthening market linkages between producers, MSMEs, processors, traders, exporters, and buyers.

• Experience working with agricultural value chains, preferably in horticulture, including apples, grapes, pomegranates, saffron, or other high-value agricultural products.

• Experience supporting MSMEs, producer groups, cooperatives, and business associations in developing marketing strategies and expanding market access.

• Practical experience in facilitating B2B meetings, trade fairs, business networking events, buyer-seller meetings, and commercial partnerships.

• Experience in export promotion, market expansion, product branding, packaging, quality standards, and market positioning.

• Experience providing technical assistance, business advisory services, and capacity-building training to private-sector actors.

• Experience working with development projects, international organizations, NGOs, or private-sector development programmes in Afghanistan will be an advantage.

• Experience supporting women-led businesses and promoting women's economic participation in agricultural value chains will be an added advantage. Technical Skills and Competencies

• Strong knowledge of market research methodologies, market assessment, and demand analysis.

• Good understanding of agricultural value chains, agribusiness development, and commercial market systems.

• Strong skills in developing marketing strategies, business plans, and market expansion approaches.

• Knowledge of domestic, regional, and international agricultural trade and export requirements.

• Understanding of product branding, packaging, grading, labelling, certification, and value addition.

• Ability to identify potential buyers, develop business relationships, and facilitate commercial partnerships.

• Strong analytical, negotiation, networking, and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent report writing, presentation, and communication skills.

• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

• Ability to work independently, manage multiple assignments, and deliver results within agreed timelines.

• Ability and willingness to travel to project implementation areas and engage directly with private-sector stakeholders and value chain actors. Language Requirements

• Fluency in Dari and/or Pashto.

• Good working proficiency in English, particularly in technical writing, reporting, and communication.

• Knowledge of additional regional languages will be an advantage. Key Expected Deliverables The Marketing Specialist will be expected to contribute to the following key deliverables during project implementation:

• Market assessment reports covering the targeted agricultural value chains.

• Market intelligence reports identifying domestic, regional, and international market opportunities.

• Market-oriented strategies and marketing plans for supported Value Chain Groups and MSMEs.

• Database of potential buyers, traders, processors, exporters, and other relevant market stakeholders.

• Established and documented business linkages and commercial partnerships between value chain actors and potential buyers.

• Training materials and reports on marketing, market access, branding, packaging, and business development.

• Documentation of B2B meetings, trade fairs, exhibitions, buyer-seller meetings, and other market linkage activities.

• Technical assessments and recommendations for market-related matching grant investments.

• Periodic reports on market access improvements, sales performance, business opportunities, and commercial sustainability.

• Case studies and success stories demonstrating improved market linkages and business performance

• Conduct market assessments and value chain analyses for apples, grapes, pomegranates, and saffron.
• Identify domestic, regional, and international market opportunities for the selected agricultural products.
• Collect and analyse market information, including prices, demand, supply, consumer preferences, and market trends.
• Identify market constraints and opportunities related to product quality, packaging, storage, branding, and distribution.
• Develop and support the implementation of market-oriented strategies for agricultural Value Chain Groups (VCGs) and MSMEs.
• Facilitate business linkages between farmers, VCGs, MSMEs, processors, traders, exporters, and potential buyers.
• Establish and maintain a database of potential buyers, traders, exporters, and private-sector stakeholders.
• Organise and facilitate business-to-business (B2B) meetings, networking events, and buyer–seller forums.
• Support VCGs and MSMEs in developing effective marketing and business development plans.
• Provide technical guidance on product positioning, pricing, branding, packaging, and promotion.
• Facilitate access to domestic, regional, and international markets for targeted agricultural products.
• Support producers and MSMEs in meeting market requirements, product quality standards, and certification requirements, including Global GAP, organic, and fair-trade certifications where applicable.
• Facilitate linkages with relevant certification bodies, service providers, and technical institutions.
• Identify opportunities for value addition through sorting, grading, processing, packaging, and improved product presentation.
• Support market-oriented investments in sorting, processing, packaging, and cold-storage facilities.
• Identify opportunities for the use of digital B2B platforms and product traceability systems.
• Support VCGs and MSMEs in understanding export requirements, procedures, documentation, and logistics.
• Identify potential export markets and opportunities in GCC countries, Türkiye, India, and other relevant markets.
• Facilitate participation of VCGs and MSMEs in national and international trade fairs, exhibitions, trade missions, and business events.
• Support the exploration and facilitation of regional trade-hub warehousing and export preparation facilities.
• Identify opportunities for improving transportation, logistics, and air-freight arrangements for high-value agricultural products.
• Provide training and capacity-building support to VCGs and MSMEs on market assessment, marketing, negotiation, pricing, and customer relations.
• Promote collective marketing and commercial cooperation among producers and Value Chain Groups.
• Support women-led VCGs and MSMEs in strengthening their business capacities and accessing market opportunities.
• Assess the market potential and commercial viability of proposed matching grant and business investment applications.
• Provide technical recommendations on market-related investments, including branding, packaging, certification, processing, storage, and market expansion.
• Coordinate closely with the Project Manager, Horticulture Specialist, Value Chain Group Specialist, government institutions, private-sector actors, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Monitor market access, buyer linkages, sales performance, and business development results of supported VCGs and MSMEs.
• Prepare market assessment reports, marketing plans, progress updates, success stories, and other required technical documentation. • Identify market-related risks and recommend practical mitigation measures to ensure sustainable commercial relationships and improved market performance.

Interested and qualified candidates should send us their information using the link below.

https://cha-net.org/jobs/application-form/marketing-specialist-call-for-cvs-subject-to-donor-approval-6aec056212abe00014930560

for more information please contact to this number: 0729128549