Program Director, Regenerative Agriculture Program

Everyone deserves the chance to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in harnessing the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities we work in are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are key to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics, and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. Without resources to combat threats such as unpredictable weather patterns, worsening natural disasters, and crop and livestock diseases, these small-scale producers face lower incomes and higher risks as they struggle to make a decent living.

TechnoServe is rising to this challenge with a bold commitment to help create a people, nature, and climate positive world. Our Regenerate 30 initiative launched at COP27 aims to achieve the following impacts by 2030: 30 million people with increased resilience, 30 million tons of CO2e reduced or sequestered, 30 million hectares of land under sustainable management or enhanced conservation, and $300 million in private sector investment. The initiative will deliver over $1 billion in financial benefits to smallholder farmers and businesses. Innovating with corporate partners to transform their global supply chains across their entire sourcing footprint as they work toward net zero commitments is critical to achieving our Regenerate 30 vision.

Program overview:

The donor has committed as a company to protecting and regenerating 1.5 million hectares of land, forests and oceans by 2030 and has partnered with TechnoServe to implement the Regenerative Agriculture program, which inspires and supports farmers and agribusinesses to join the journey towards regenerative production systems.

This global program, funded until 2027, is an opportunity to partner with a leading company to demonstrate that there is a future for better, low-carbon, biodiverse, and profitable approaches to agriculture. The program will work with the donor’s suppliers in different countries and food ingredients and will meaningfully contribute to TechnoServe’s Regenerate 30 impact goals. This requires working with the world’s leading regenerative technology experts and practitioners in farming communities around the world to support them in driving bottom-up change based on local context. The program has a global reach that creates a unique opportunity to benchmark new regenerative agriculture practices and share insights and lessons learned across contexts.

Job Summary:

TechnoServe is looking for a Program Director to lead our partnership with the donor to drive the transition to regenerative agricultural models in countries and commodities in their sourcing footprint. The Program Director will oversee the implementation of the program, ensuring impact goals are met and alignment with donor global priorities, suppliers and the business case.

Primary Functions and Responsibilities:

• Lead the overall implementation and management of the program from start to finish
• Providing strategic guidance, leadership, management and overall technical oversight of the programme, with an unwavering commitment to delivering results through partnership
• Managing the implementation of the programme, including designing the work plan and ensuring the successful implementation of programme activities.
• Recruiting, leading, managing and supervising implementation teams in different countries, including implementation partners, technical organizations and service providers
• Promoting collaboration, learning and adaptive management to inform decision-making, communicate with stakeholders and create impact
• Acting as a point of contact and driving shared vision and strategy between the donor, farmers and agricultural companies and other key partners
• Maintaining strong relationships with donor suppliers, providing strategic influence to ensure collaboration and ownership
• Ensure that program results and deliveries are completed on time, within budget and in accordance with donor and TechnoServe requirements
• Ensure that all budgets and expenditures are executed in accordance with both donor and TechnoServe policies and regulations
• Managing contracts, subcontracts, procurement and payment processes in accordance with organizational policies and donor requirements.
• Identifying potential co-financing donors and maintaining donor relationships

Basic requirements:

• A Master’s degree or equivalent in business administration, international development, economics, agricultural economics or relevant field with seven years’ experience in a senior management position in commercial agriculture, agribusiness development, agribusiness consulting or agricultural program implementation. Or 10 years’ experience with a Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience overseeing operational, financial and technical areas of complex or multi-country programs, including hiring, training and supervising local staff and partners, work planning and financial management including budgeting and procurement
• Experience in influencing senior management of corporate, financial or investment institutions to achieve results

Desired qualifications:

• Knowledge of regenerative agriculture, the food industry and experience in managing agricultural transformations
• Experience in management or strategy consulting (i.e. experience advising private companies)
• Experience in contract management, procurement and compliance with donor regulations and requirements.
• Experience working in complex and challenging environments
• Experience in setting up systems and overseeing program start-ups under limited time and budget constraints, as well as program closeout

Required languages: Excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills, including fluency in Spanish and English. Fluent Portuguese is highly desirable.

Travel: International travel up to 30%.

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with evidence of the ability to lead diverse teams and deliver results
• Demonstrable ability to coordinate and collaborate with a wide range of organizations (private sector, government, NGOs)
• Demonstrable experience working with senior management teams of medium and large agricultural companies
• Ability to clearly communicate high-level strategy to internal and external stakeholders, while driving the execution of a work plan and achievement of short-term milestones.
• Ability to effectively motivate and manage teams in a multicultural environment
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and manage multiple tasks and activities simultaneously
• Ability to develop well-written, coherent analyses and reports
• Ability to use adaptive management principles to make strategic, data-driven decisions in the face of uncertainty and complexity

Supervisory responsibilities – A team of two mid-level employees at central management level and all implementation teams in all countries as the portfolio grows. Experience in leading multidisciplinary teams is desirable.

This is a remote position in the Latin America/Caribbean region. Candidates must have a work permit in the country from which they are applying. Application materials must be submitted in English for further consideration.

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

We are committed to diversity and are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability or other protected class.

We are also proud to be committed to protecting staff, partners and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation. All final candidates are thoroughly screened using stringent background and reference checks.

If you have a disability that prevents you from using our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or call +1 202 785 4515.

Originally posted on Himalaya