Senior Job Creation and Industrial Economist
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
AGRA and its Work to Transform Agriculture
AGRA is an African-led institution that actively supports the drive towards inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We do this by empowering the continent’s 33 million small-farming households to transform their agriculture from a struggle to survive to profitable businesses. The continent’s farmers regularly face challenges, and we aspire to provide uniquely African solutions that respond to their agricultural and environmental challenges, leading to increased harvests for reduced hunger and more income.
Working in alignment with the development priorities of our focus countries, we enable farmers to access improved and high-yielding seeds, gain knowledge on sustainable farming, and linkages to profitable markets. In our work, we aspire to build the alliances, partnerships, and networks required to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. We work with our partners to create an equitable youth-friendly environment that harnesses the youth dividend on the continent to drive growth and facilitate open employment opportunities for young women and men. We achieve our key objectives through a focus on the following four areas of intervention:
- Policy and state capability – We support governments in creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in agricultural transformation.
- Seed systems – We trigger higher productivity by increasing the availability and access to improved seeds by farmers allowing them to increase their harvests for food security and better incomes.
- Sustainable farming – We support farmers in building resilient farming systems for sustained high yields through interventions such as mechanization and irrigation.
- Inclusive markets and trade – We work to increase the linkages between farmers, and other market actors for a positive, sustained cycle of commercialization and reinvestment.
- Youth, Gender, and Inclusiveness – We enable women and youth to contribute to and benefit from agriculture for their economic empowerment.
AGRA is implementing Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) within its network and seeks to recruit a qualified Senior Job Creation and Industrial Economist.
The Position
Senior Job Creation and Industrial Economist
The Senior Job Creation and Industrial Economist will join a team of analysts to provide macroeconomic and microeconomic analysis to support strategic planning and decision-making for the organization’s investments for agro-industrialization and economic growth. He/she will provide analytics on social, political, and other factors that affect the economies of AGRA-supported countries.
The Senior Job Creation and Industrial Economist will be responsible for leading economic analysis to inform strategic decision making and policy development related to job creation, entrepreneurship, and agro-industrialization. He/she will apply economic analysis to understand decision-making processes and investments in relation to job creation, entrepreneurship, and agro industrialization. This role will involve evaluating economic trends, assessing the impact of AGRA’s investments, and providing actionable insights to guide AGRAs strategy and future investments to impact AGRA countries. Additionally, working hand in hand with a team of analysts, the Senior Job Creation and Industrial Economist will support AGRA programs and Directorates to identify employment opportunities in agricultural value chains, develop tools and models for youth employment and labor market analysis, including models on how countries can better absorb rural and urban job seekers in IAT and national development. She/he will lead AGRA’s capacity building efforts for key stakeholders on youth employment and institutional and regulatory constraints to youth and womens successful engagement in agribusinesses and contribute towards a comprehensive policy strategy.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Conduct comprehensive economic analyses to evaluate the impact of AGRA’s investments related to job creation for the youth, entrepreneurship, and agro-industrialization.
- Conduct in-depth research and analysis of the labor market within the agriculture and food systems sectors. This includes studying seasonal labor trends, the impact of agricultural policies, and workforce demographics.
- Support development of policies and regulatory reforms that promote youth and women agribusinesses, including the domestication and effective implementation of the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS).
- Analyze labor dynamics within key value chains and identify job opportunities for youth and women.
- Assess the economic impact of existing AGRA investments, including cost-benefit analyses and economic impact assessments.
- Oversee the collection, management, and analysis of economic data relevant to youth jobs, entrepreneurship, and agro industrialization.
- Communicate complex economic concepts and findings clearly and effectively to non-specialist audiences, including senior management and external stakeholders.
- Development of tools and models for youth unemployment and labour market analysis, including a model for assessing the impact on youth in work from ecosystem strengthening measures.
- Collaborate with AGRA BLs and government stakeholders to provide evidence-based recommendations and support policy development.
- Implement frameworks, metrics, indicators, and tools for tracking youth and women job opportunities in agricultural value chains.
- Identify training needs for mandated institutions, youth groups, and other entities involved in youth and women employment in agrifood systems.
- Examine the impact of international trade agreements and trade initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on youth and women employment opportunities in the agri-food systems sector. Advise on strategies to adapt to changing trade dynamics.
- Environmental and Labor Sustainability: Assess the environmental impact of labour practices in agriculture and recommend sustainable labour practices that align with environmental goals.
- Policy Advocacy in Agriculture: Advocate for labour-related policies that address the unique needs and challenges of the agriculture and food systems sector. Collaborate with industry associations and government agencies.
Key Qualifications and Experience Required:
- A master’s degree in industrial or labour economics, development economics, or related discipline with demonstrated expertise in labor economics, agro-industrialization, Industrial Economics, Applied Economics, or related field with significant statistics element. A PhD in the field will be an added advantage.
- A minimum of 5 years’ experience in industrial economics, labor economics, or related fields.
- In-depth knowledge of labor workforce development and systems strengthening.
- Ability to produce high-quality technical documents on various issues of agrifood systems work opportunities, and job impacts.
- Demonstrated experience in analyzing complex labor market microdata and macrodata (at continental level) using advanced quantitative models in analyzing labor policies.
- Ability to communicate clearly, taking into consideration a working environment which is multi- disciplinary, multi-cultural, and international.
- Excellent interpersonal and analytical skills.
- Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously, often under tight deadlines.
- Demonstrated experience working with international development organizations on economic analysis and research.
- Demonstrated experience in modeling job creation and income opportunities in rural Africa.
- Strong knowledge of industrial economics and the economics of private sector development.
- Strong background in quantitative research methods, econometric modeling, and data analysis.
- Proficiency in econometric analysis software (e.g., Stata, R) and experience in data management and analysis.
- Understanding of labour markets, economic transformation and industrial, industrial competition, and political economy economics.
- Knowledge of green jobs creation and related policy frameworks.
- Familiarity with economic modeling and forecasting techniques.
- Experience advising governments, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and other types of organizations preferred.
- Demonstrated understanding and familiarity with Africa’s policy and political economy landscape, including policy issues related to poverty, economic growth, food security, and agricultural or rural development.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical information
clearly and concisely.
If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, please apply for this vacancy by clicking the link below:
https://ekjd.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX/jobs
Applications must be received on or before 19th February 2026. Due to the large volumes of applications we
usually receive, we will only be able to contact those candidates who are shortlisted.
For more information on the AGRA, visit www.agra.org.
AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer