Waste to Value (Circular Economy) Manager at TechnoServe

Job Summary


The Waste-to-Value (Circular Economy) Manager will lead the implementation of circular economy initiatives, focusing on transforming food processing waste into valuable products to create economic opportunities for young entrepreneurs, with particular attention to women and persons with disabilities (PWD). This role includes establishing waste-to-value hubs, negotiating supply agreements, promoting regenerative practices, and ensuring sustainability models align with climate-smart approaches.
The manager will collaborate with processors, communities, and partners to minimize food loss, maximize value addition, and foster inclusive business models in targeted value chains such as soybean, sesame, tomato, and ginger. This position requires deep expertise in circular economy principles, strong negotiation skills, and a demonstrated commitment to gender equity and disability inclusion. The ideal candidate will have proven experience establishing supply agreements, implementing waste valorization projects, and working with marginalized communities.


Primary Functions & Responsibilities

W2V Strategy Design & Partnership Development


Strategic Rollout: Lead the design and implementation of gender-inclusive W2V strategies, prioritizing waste streams (e.g., black soldier fly production, composting, bio-fertilizers) with the highest market potential.
Partner Attraction: Proactively identify and attract private sector partners, investors, and technology providers to the W2V ecosystem.
Inclusion: Ensure the meaningful participation and leadership of youth, women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) across all waste-to-value and circular economy initiatives.


Supply Agreement Negotiation


Formalization: Negotiate and secure formal waste supply agreements with cooperative, medium, and large-scale processors to move from informal collection to structured supply chains.
Incentive Structures: Create and pitch incentive structures that encourage processors to formalize waste supply relationships with project-supported entrepreneurs.
Inclusive Enterprise Support
Barrier Reduction: Develop and pilot innovative approaches to reduce entry barriers for women and PWDs, focusing on pooled resources and local aggregation to minimize travel and intermediary exploitation.
Financial Facilitation: Link W2V entrepreneurs with financial institutions, seed grants, and microcredit to support business formalization and growth.
Market Linkage & Offtake Development
Offtake Brokering: Identify and secure purchase orders with industrial buyers (e.g., feed manufacturers, seasoning companies) to demonstrate the commercial viability of waste-derived products.
Market Intelligence: Develop systems to help entrepreneurs understand industrial demand, pricing trends, and quality specifications.


Community Engagement & Safeguarding


Social License: Work with traditional/religious leaders and community groups to build support for women's economic empowerment and address cultural restrictions.
Income Control: Ensure women maintain control over their earnings through direct mobile money payments and targeted safeguarding measures.
Disability Inclusion: Collaborate with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to identify and recruit PWDs for leadership roles within the W2V value chain.


Qualifications

Education:


Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science, Agribusiness, Circular Economy, or related field (7+ years experience) OR Master's Degree (5+ years experience).


Experience:


Proven track record in waste management, circular economy projects, or agricultural value chain development.
Experience in negotiating commercial agreements and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships (Private Sector, Government, and Communities).
Demonstrated commitment to economic empowerment for women and PWDs.


Preferred Qualifications


Experience working in Nigeria's food processing sector, particularly with soybean, sesame, tomato, or ginger value chains
Prior work with donor-funded programs focusing on youth, women, and PWD inclusion
Knowledge of climate-smart technologies and regenerative business practices in agricultural contexts
Experience with market systems development approaches and facilitative programming
Familiarity with Nigeria's regulatory environment for waste management and food processing
Track record of securing commercial offtake agreements for waste-derived products


Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:


Technical: Strong expertise in circular economy principles and waste-to-value business models.
Negotiation: Exceptional ability to broker deals between small-scale entrepreneurs and large industrial processors/buyers.
Analysis: Ability to develop financially viable business plans and conduct Return on Investment (ROI) analyses.
Language: English (Fluent); local languages (Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo) highly advantageous.