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Curriculum vitae

Name	Dr. Ralf Zimmermann, PMP
Year of birth	1966
Languages	German: Mother tongue English: Fluent Spanish: Fair command
Computer literacy	SAS and SPSS (advanced models), ArcGIS, ProjectLibre, MS Windows and MS Office, CorelDraw, html

Professional Experience
Overview	17 years of experience as an agronomist (PMI certified)	- 9 years as a manager of projects of applied and pure agricultural research. - 5 years as quality management representative for an ISO 9001:2000 system. - 7 years as consultant for the management and marketing of agricultural and natural resources in rural development. - 1 year as scientific employee and employee for statistics at public educational and research institutions.
01/02/2014 -	Team Leader at AFC Consultants International GmbH in Sierra Leone	Employment Promotion Program (GIZ). I am responsible for the implementation of the working area cocoa and coffee. Main task is the rehabilitation/rejuvenation of abandoned cocoa and coffee plantation. This is accompanied by capacity building of the beneficiaries and addressing weaknesses of the cocoa and coffee value chain. Existing producing, manufacturing and supplying rural companies will be further developed through technical support and business consultancy. The aim is to resolve identified gaps in the value chain through the development of appropriate business plans and providing start-up assistance to new ventures. Moreover, the national networking and communication of market participants will be improved and promising cooperation in public-private partnerships is initiated..
16/10/2013 - 31/12/2013	Technical Short Term Advisor at GIZ GmbH in Ghana	Market Oriented Agricultural Program (MOAP). I strengthened the Agricultural Public Private Dialog Forum (APPDF) through organizational development of the responsible Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) to enhance agricultural progress.
21/09/2013 - 10/10/2013	Consultant at NORC at the University of Chicago in Namibia	I did the midline evaluation of the Indigenous Natural Product (INP) component of the agricultural Millennium Challenge Account of Namibia (MCA-N). The main indigenous products are devils claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), blue sour plum (Ximenia americana), marula (Sclerocarya birrea) and oak-leaved corkwood (Commiphora wildii).
15/11/2008 - 31/08/2013	Technical consultant at GIZ GmbH in Botswana	- Co-financed program. I initiated, created and managed three small and medium enterprises. I also set up the respective business and financial plans. The businesses are natural resource based (timber, venison, ecotourism and harvesting / processing of wild fruits) and provide employment for more than 150 permanent and temporary staff. In this context I secured more than 220000 US$ in grants. Furthermore, I evaluated and optimized several CBNRM projects (community based natural resource management) on behalf of the national CBNRM coordinator. In order to enhance the management of natural resources I developed studies on commodities and provided input for legislative guidelines, regulations and acts in the forest and tourism sector that influenced the adopted laws. I as well carried out medicinal and food plant cultivation projects in order to improve the resource base of the respective wild species. Moreover, I successfully strengthened the capacity of the Botswana forest service to carry out their core mandate through various technical supports like organizational consultation, creating access-based databases for wildfires and natural resources management as well as trainings on project and quality management, TOR development and directing of consultants and a wide variety of well received technical and scientific publications.
01/06/2007 - 14/11/2008	Freelance consultant in the IAK/GTZ project "Regional Economic Promotion" in Mongolia	- Management of natural resources (trainings on organization building, conservation, cultivation, collection and processing). - Promotion of the economic sector that is natural resource based (business plans, organizational development, feasibility studies, value chain analysis). - Quality management (ISO, ISSC-MAP, HACCP, GACP, EC Öko-VO).
01/06/1998 - 31/05/2007	Agro Project Manager and Quality Assurance Manager at PHARMAPLANT GmbH.	- Successful management of approximately 20 private and state funded projects on medicinal and aromatic (research on eco-physiology of secondary metabolites from pre- through post-harvest [fresh produce, dried produce and cool chain]). - Advising national and international small- to large-scale crop farms on integrated and ecological production (GlobalGAP, GACP, EC Öko-VO, ISSC-MAP, HACCP, Codex Alimentarius, ..). - Creation, successful initial and renewed certification and management of an ISO 9001:2000 system.
01/01/1998 - 31/05/1998	Scientific assistant at the Institute for Fruit and Vegetable Growing (Dept.: International Plant Cultivation) of the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelm University of Bonn.	Data processing of agricultural/horticultural trials and publishing. Web-layout, introductory course in SAS for students.
15/10/1997 - 31/05/1998	Employee (Statistician) of the Agricultural Analysis and Research Institution (LUFA) Augustenberg in Karlsruhe.	Working with SAS (macro programming) in a Windows environment, statistical evaluation of land-use environment connections for the Ministry, co-publishing of the nitrate control report of the Federal State. Intranet publishing.
04/11/1985 - 30/06/1987	Civilian Servant (alternative civilian service) at the Paritätisches Bildungswerk eV.	Individual home support of heavily disabled persons.

International Working Experience
	see projects and assignments	Botswana, Mongolia, Jordan, Indonesia, Tansania, England, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Namibia, Sierra Leone

Education
01/02/1999 - 02/03/2004	Doctorate at the University of Kassel	Title: Study of the effect of nitrogen and sulphur fertilization and of usage intensity on the yield and active agent content of Butterbur (Petasites hybridus L.). Degree: Dr. agr. (PhD)
16/04/1994 - 04/11/1996	Study of Ecological Environmental Conservation at the University of Kassel	Subjects: Environmental law, environmental economy, landscape and environmental planning, waste management, ecology, ecological chemistry, recultivation, limnology/hydrology. Selected studies: Internalisation of external costs, planning an organic waste composting plant, competition between millet and peas in mixed cropping systems. Degree: Dipl.-Ing. Ökologische Umweltsicherung (M.Sc. in Environmental Conservation)
01/10/1987 - 09/12/1993	Study of International Agriculture at the University of Kassel. Major: plant cultivation (scientific basics)	Additional subjects: irrigation and land survey, social-economy, plant protection, plant physiology, agricultural trials, range management, plant breeding. Selected studies: Partitioning of assimilates in sorghum and millet (leave stripping), N-efficiency of tropical pasture legumes. Degree: Dipl.-Ing. agr. (M.Sc. in International Agriculture)
04/08/1983 - 20/06/1985	Technical secondary school (Agriculture).	Selected topics: Agricultural basics, agricultural practise. Degree: Advanced technical college certificate

Trainings
06/09/2012 - 15/01/2013	College SA (SETA accredited)	Advanced Project Management leading to PMP Certification | 250h
19/11/2012 - 22/11/2012	Esri South Africa (SAQA accredited)	ArcGIS essential workflows | 32h
15/08/2012 - 05/09/2012	College SA (SETA accredited)	Basic Project Management | 45h
01/11/2006 - 30/11/2006	Centro Lingüístico "La Union" en Guatemala	Spanish course
12/11/2003	Forschungsvereinigung der Arzneimittel-Hersteller e.V. (Research association of medicinal products manufacturer FAH)	Good Agricultural and Collection Practice
13/04/2000	TÜ Technische Überwachung Arnstadt Thüringen GmbH (TÜ Technical Surveillance Arnstadt Thuringia ltd)	Team Management
05/04/2000 - 07/048/2000	TÜ Technische Überwachung Arnstadt Thüringen GmbH (TÜ Technical Surveillance Arnstadt Thuringia ltd)	Internal System Auditor

Internships
01/08/1994 - 30/10/1994	rekunaLandscape Planning and Shaping Company	""Expansion Application: Greywacke Quarry/Compensation Measurements" in accordance with Federal German regulations (service contract)
01/07/1987 - 30/06/1988	Farm in Germany (Proll/Guxhagen)	Alignment: 65-ha farm with pig fattening (500 / year) and bull fattening (10 / year).
04/08/1983 - 20/06/1984	2 farms in Germany (Döhrer/Frielendorf, Happel/Ransbach)	Alignment: 50-ha farm with pig fattening and piglet production, 50 ha farm with dairy cattle (20)