Consultant jobs in South Africa

We are looking for you if you are a sharp-thinking team player who wants to make a positive difference in the world and at work. You’re willing to take on new challenges and keep learning. Our new colleague is able to work independently on different projects from beginning to end. You are results-oriented and hands-on. You enjoy working in a team of sharp professionals with different backgrounds. You enjoy the multi-cultural setting where 5 nationalities can be in a Zoom call as well as business travel.

This role is best suited to someone with strong analytical skills, a person who is data-driven and who tackles projects with energy and a positive spirit. Someone who wants to make a meaningful impact on the lives of farmers across Africa with practical business oriented solutions.

Ideally, you would find the fine details fascinating, but use this to help us create an insightful picture for our clients. One of our favourite questions is, “so what?”

People skills matter. This is a job for someone personable, with a good sense of humour.

• A Master’s degree in agronomy, crop sciences, animal sciences, Agricultural Economics, Sustainable food systems, Supply chain management or related.
• A Bachelor degree combined with an MBA is also acceptable
• We are also interested in you if you have a degree in Economics, Business, Marketing or Finance with experience in Agriculture or the food sector, for example import of agricultural products,
• A strong sense of agri-business and how to use technical knowledge to help farmers and businesses in Africa
• A hands-on approach & a love of getting things done on time and in full
• Capability in project management
• Good Emotional Intelligence
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience for the consultant role
• Experience in consultancy is an advantage, but we are very open to applicants who have worked in a variety of roles in the agricultural sector or for example supply chain management in the FMCG sector
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in both English & French
• Ability to work in French. Native French speakers have an advantage, but we are very open to people who learned French as a second language and have functional spoken French. Most of our reports are in English, so being able to write long French reports is not required.
• Good numeracy : being able to work with numbers, spreadsheets etc.

Sense is a dynamic economic development consultancy working to solve the gritty development challenges faced by agri-business in Africa. The accelerating shift from aid to trade in global policy means that we’re on the cutting edge of development thinking. We have offices in Ireland, South Africa and Burkina Faso.

As a result, we work with an increasing number of major donors in the development sector. Some of our clients are The World Bank-IFC, GIZ (German Development Corporation), The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CBI, USAID, Teagasc, Sustainable Food Systems Ireland, COLEAD, etc.

Each year we tackle surprising challenges in a wide number of food supply chains such as fruits, nuts, livestock & dairy, spices and herbal botanicals, cereals and forestry. Our projects vary from helping organisations to decide on which value chains to focus their development program, calculating whether the business models they promote our profitable, to developing new agri-processing equipment.

We’re known for sharp thinking, fact based insights, practical solutions and getting things done. So, a Sense consultant is curious, inventive, has grit and is …well likeable. This is ultimately about people after all.

Sense offers a dynamic, international environment with lots of scope for personal and professional development. Each member of our team is valued for their skills, perspectives and the contribution we believe they can make. This is a challenging environment that asks a lot of us. But we offer an environment that enables us to grow and learn together. And all the while you’ll be playing your part in bringing about meaningful, lasting change in Africa.

• This is a full-time position (40 hours per week)
• It includes regular regional and international travel
• It can be based in Ireland, South Africa or partly remote
• Salary : Market-related and based on experience
• Fun, learning rich environment
• An international team
• A flexible, high-performing team
• Communal lunches for sharing, learning and fun
• A talent development program that supports ongoing learning
• Mentorship to support growth and development
• Start date : 1 November 2023

You will play a pivotal role in bringing insightful solutions to farming and agri-processing across Africa. The role includes field missions to assess current farming and agri-processing techniques, business plan development & coaching, development and design of training and extension programs and so much more.

• Project implementation : You will oversee a variety of projects such as value chain analysis, business case development for agri-processing, farm system and agri-processing benchmarking, design of agronomic and agri-processing training and manuals, etc.
• Enterprise development and capacity building : Assess and develop business cases, market research, business modelling, business plans, coaching of entrepreneurs, sector roundtables in the farming, agri-processing and related services etc.
• Studies : You will be responsible for quantitative and qualitative studies with farmers, processors and buyers, desk & field research, analysis and reporting, business modelling, client workshops, etc.
• Global linkages : Engage with the private sector and other stakeholders in importing countries to conduct market research, lead investment promotion and sourcing missions, roundtables, etc.
• Training and development : Develop and lead training programs linked to agronomy and agribusiness. This includes building relationships with learning centres and technical experts & then working to make this accessible.