Project Director (Re-advertised) NGO Jobs – TechnoServe
Job Title: Project Director; RE-ADVERTISED
Organisation: TechnoServe
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
Program Name: The Horticulture Market Acceleration Platform (HortiMAP)
Funding Source: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN)
Reports to: Country Director
About US:
TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A nonprofit organization operating in 29 countries, we work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities. Founded over 50 years ago, TechnoServe has been named the #1 nonprofit for fighting poverty by the ImpactMatters charity ratings agency.
About Program:
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Uganda is funding a horticulture value chain project for the period 2020 to 2024. The Horticulture Market Acceleration Platform (HortiMAP) aims to support entrepreneurial farmers, SMEs, and government leaders to chart their own course towards a competitive, inclusive Ugandan horticulture sector. HortiMAP will holistically address market actor constraints through technical assistance (TA) and financing solutions along horticulture value chains to improve food security, strengthen business growth, increase incomes, create jobs, and promote sustainable market-based growth in the horticulture sector.
Job Summary: TechnoServe seeks a Project Director to provide overall technical and administrative leadership and expertise over the program.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Leading overall implementation and management of the anticipated program, from inception to close-out
- Providing strategic guidance, leadership, management, and general technical oversight of the program
- Serving as the primary liaison with EKN, the Ugandan government, and all other counterparts, implementing partners, and stakeholders involved with the program
- Brokering relationships between market actors, including: SMEs, Producer Organizations, buyers, exporters, and financial institutions
- Recruiting, leading, managing, and supervising implementation teams comprising long- and short¬term team members and consortium partners
- Continuously developing operational efficiencies and driving innovations in delivery, ensuring that the program meets established objectives and targets and delivers Value for Money
- Serving as spokesperson for the program and presenting its work regionally/globally
- Identifying and communicating critical program learnings
- Identifying issues and risks related to implementation in a timely manner, suggesting appropriate program adjustments
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- Four senior level staff including tech specialists, financial directors and M&E staff.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The ideal candidate for the TechnoServe Project Director job opportunity must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, or another relevant field, and at least 10 years of experience in relevant private sector or development programs Or a Master’s degree plus 7 years of relevant experience.
- Significant program management experience in commercial agriculture, agribusiness development, access to finance, market access, trade facilitation, and partnership development
- Fluency in English required. Understanding of Luganda, Swahili, and other native languages is an advantage.
- Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams is desired.
- Strong interpersonal and communications skills and ability to effectively motivate and manage teams in a multi-cultural environment
- Ability to work under tight deadlines while managing multiple tasks and activities
- Ability to develop well written, cohesive analyses and reports
- Understanding of capacities and constraints of smallholder farming and agribusiness development
- An honest broker who is able to build win-win partnerships between multiple agriculture sector stakeholders, including agribusinesses, public sector, financial institutions, technology providers, and others
- Ability to clearly communicate a high-level strategy to internal and external stakeholders, while driving execution of a workplan and achievement of short-term milestones. Ability to use adaptive management principles to make strategic, data-driven decisions in the face of uncertainty and complexity
- This opportunity is for East Africa Residents with work authorization or Ugandan residents
Preferred Qualifications: Additional qualifications that would make a candidate more desirable. We seek candidates who bring experience with:
- Leading complex horticulture or other agriculture programs in Uganda and/or Sub-Saharan Africa strongly preferred
- Brokering and nurturing public-private partnerships using a high-touch approach to partnership development and implementation
- Influencing and collaborating with senior management of agribusinesses (input suppliers, producer organizations, processors, traders, etc.), financial institutions, and other private sector actors to achieve partnership results
- Implementing market systems development approaches, including a nuanced understanding of when to implement hybrid MSD-value chain approaches depending on the maturity and needs of market actors
- Sourcing and delivering demand-driven technical assistance and business development services particularly through technical assistance facility mechanisms
- Deploying a broad variety of catalytic financial instruments, including matching grants, credit facilities, and access to commercial finance, and a demonstrated understanding of factors that influence which instruments or combination of instruments to select
- Designing and implementing inclusive business models that integrate women and youth (farmers, entrepreneurs) and successfully removing structural barriers that bar entry from entering or thriving in agricultural value chains
- Designing and implementing climate-smart approaches that improve the resilience of value chain actors and agricultural sectors as a whole
- Implementing consumer-facing campaigns to promote food safety and nutritious diets
- Implementing large, complex programs funded by the Government of the Netherlands
How to Apply:
If you are interested and you meet the requirements, apply through the link below;
Please submit a resume, cover letter and three professional references.
Deadline: 15th February 2021
NB: Please note that only shortlisted candidates shall be contacted. TechnoServe encourages diversity in all levels and across all facets of our organization. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes. We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks. If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruiting@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.
Missed This Job? or Interested in more?. See List of Current Job Vacancies / Opportunities in Uganda