Value Chains and Markets Specialist (Consultancy)

Location: Mombasa, Kenya, with regular travel to field sites

Closing date for applications: 26th March 2024

Start date: As soon as possible

Contract status: Consultancy

Contract duration: 6 months

Remuneration: Competitive based on experience

We rebuild tropical fisheries with coastal communities

Blue Ventures is a marine conservation organization that puts people first. We support coastal fishers in remote and rural communities to rebuild fisheries, restore ocean life and build lasting pathways to prosperity. Our work began two decades ago in Madagascar’s remote coastal communities and is growing globally.

Across a dozen countries, we’re partnering with traditional fishers and community organizations to design, scale, strengthen and sustain fisheries management and conservation at the community level. We bring partners together in networks to advocate for reform, and share tools and best practices to support fishing communities across the globe.

Summary project description

We are currently recruiting a consultant to support our partners in developing and implementing improved value-addition measures for key fisheries. Reporting to the Regional Partner Support Coordinator, this is a remote consultancy based in Kenya, with regular travel to field sites.

This work will focus on identifying potential marine resource value chains (e.g., mangrove products, octopus, shellfish, lobster, and sardines) that are relevant and offer opportunities to the communities our partners work with. This work will involve the viability assessment, mapping, and selection of value chains, the identification of stakeholders, the implementation of value chain roadmaps, with a particular focus on the role and empowerment of women in these value chains, the identification of revenue collection opportunities for management linked to the identified value chains, and training and monitoring on correct and regular documentation of income and expenditure.

Background

Blue Ventures (BV) has updated its organisational strategy. This new model is built around working with local institutions that fully represent fishers to deliver secure tenure, effective community-based management, accessible grants, savings, and loans, and an equitable return on fishing.

The primary means to achieve better returns on fishing within the strategy is reducing post-harvest losses. These losses could be physical, quality, nutritional, or market, and achieving improvements for small-scale fishers across these categories implies developing community-supported fisheries, maintaining product quality, and increasing value chain transparency through data-driven livelihood upgrades. By reducing post-harvest losses, aquatic foods harvested by small-scale fishers will continue to produce accessible, affordable, and nutritious foods.

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