Agriterra Agribusiness Team Vacancy: Financial Business Advisor - Indonesian

Vacancy for Financial Business advisor 

for the Agriterra Agribusiness Team

Agriterra supports farmers' organisations in fighting poverty, with advice from experts from the Dutch agricultural sector and with finance from the Dutch government. Our opinion is that strong farmers' organisations lead to more democracy, economic growth and a better distribution of income. We focus on economic development and work closely together with the Dutch agribusiness.

Direct support to agribusiness

The Agribusiness team supports farmers' organisations in increasing their market power. They often lack solid business plans and entrepreneurial skills. Agriterra offers services to these companies in order to improve this. Connections between cooperatives and other kinds of agribusinesses and the financial sector are made.

At Agriterra, the term 'agribusiness' means a company where the involved farmers have control either directly or indirectly. This control comes either because it is a membership organisation with farmers as members or because agricultural organisations hold the shares and participations.

Agribusinesses - usually cooperatives - lend their services to primary agriculture. They become clients of our team because they need knowledge, skills, contacts and/or other capacities to plan and realize their growth ambitions. A strong, competitive market position is therefore the aim to which team agribusiness makes its contribution.

This contribution mainly consists of advice and technical aid in the field of entrepreneurship, business planning, financial management and day-to-day management. This way, companies become bankable: ripe for investment. A further step is that agribusiness advisors with Agriterra, working in the region, approach investors and banks in order to ensure the success of the investment plans.

Vacancy

The current open vacancy is to support and advise farmer-led agribusinesses (farmers’ cooperatives and farmers-owned/led companies, called clients) in the area of sound operational management. The advisor analyses the client’s management performance and uses this analysis to contribute actively to developing steps for financial management improvement and for assisting the client in development and implementation of a sound business strategy and a bankable investment plan. Furthermore the advisor monitors the client’s financial and commercial development on a monthly basis.

Focus areas 

• Advice in Accounting and Financial Management, support to achieve good working bookkeeping system and positive audit 
• Advice in Accounting and Financial Management towards a bankable client’s business plan 
• Business Development Service for profitable commercial activities of the clients 
• Advice in transparent and business-geared Governance of member-based clients (farmers’ cooperatives and companies) aiming at increased internal capitalisation

Activities 

• Screen the business operations of clients with focus on their financial health and potential. 
• Advise clients on better commercial achievements, assess the annual accounts and accompanying audit report and support clients during processes leading to eligibility for investment in their company, including strengthening the company’s financial management. 
• Keep track scrupulously of the progress of the clients’ financial and commercial development and monitors the risks on monthly basis. 
• Assist during the preparation and realisation of advisory missions, based on the clients’ requests for advice. 
• Guide and coach employees and managers of the farmer-led company on financial matters. 
• Support and check on activity plans, budgets and timely reporting on project results. 
• Establish an up-to-date information system on clients for review and evaluation of results and contribute to knowledge management within Agriterra

Expected results 

• Result-driven agribusiness advice featuring tailor-made financial support that fulfils Agriterra agribusiness team’s specific aims while at the same time meeting the demand of the clients. 
• Advice on improvement of  the clients’ (agribusiness) internal organisation, position on the market and growth ambition. 
• Increase number of companies in Agriterra’s portfolio having access to loan capital and/or financial services. 
• Client satisfaction, as well as satisfied parties in the business sector, investors, financial institutions, development organisations, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and all departments of Agriterra, including AgriPool.

Working and intellectual levels, education

As a minimum, the agribusiness advisor will hold a bachelor degree in accounting or the like.

Knowledge, experience and skills 

• At least four years experience in a comparable position in Indonesia 
• Expertise through education and work experience in agribusiness and private sector development 
• Expertise in financial management 
• Good awareness of developments, annual reporting and accountability in financial affairs 
• Strongly developed analytical abilities and commercial insight 
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills 
• A robust personality combined with the ability to work independently 
• Demonstrable experience in client-friendly and result-oriented service provision 
• Knowledge of and ability to use training and communication techniques effectively 
• Good command of two of the following languages: Bahasa Indonesia and English

Performance evaluation

The advisor will work under supervision of Mr. Cees van Rij, Manager team Agribusiness in the Netherlands, and he/she will support and work closely with the Agriterra Business advisor in Indonesia, Ms Agnes Janszen. Evaluation of the performance of the advisor will be done after every client intervention in order to establish areas of further development. A final evaluation will be done at the end of the contract period.

General conditions 

• After a successful assignment (of maximum two weeks), Agriterra will contract the expert for the period of half year, renewable at satisfactory performance. The advisor will be contracted via Veco-Indonesia with whom Agriterra has a collaboration agreement. 
• The duty station is Java (e.g. Jakarta, Yogjakarta, other) with frequent (air) travels to the clients locations (mainly Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra). (guiding time distribution: 1-2 weeks/month at home office, 2-3 weeks/month at clients).
• The advisor will be provided with a laptop computer and access to Agriterra’s ICT network and systems. The laptop computer will remain property of Agriterra and will be returned after contract closure. 
• The costs incurred for communication, transport and accommodation during travels to clients will be reimbursed upon production of receipts.

Please send your application letter and CV to Ms Agnes Janszen, janszen@agriterra.org, before 31 July 2015. Agriterra keeps the right not to inform applicants about the status of their application.

Acquisition to this vacancy is not appreciated.