Agriculture Manager, Regenerative Agriculture Program

at  TechnoServe Inc

Everyone deserves the opportunity 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 leveraging the power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.
The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys 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 like volatile weather patterns, worsening natural disasters, and crop and livestock diseases, these small-scale producers face lower incomes and higher risks as they struggle to earn a good living.
TechnoServe is meeting 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 impact by 2030: 30 million people with increased resilience, 30 million tons of CO2e mitigated or sequestered, 30 million acres of land under sustainable management or improved conservation and $300 million in private sector investment. The initiative will drive over $1 billion in financial benefits for smallholder farmers and businesses. Innovating with corporate partners to transform their global supply chains across their entire sourcing footprint while they work towards achieving net zero commitments is critical to achieving our Regenerate 30 vision.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Agriculture Manager is responsible for managing the program’s technical team (composed of in-house agronomists, external regenerative agriculture experts and partner organizations) and leading the program’s engagement with technical counterparts at the donor and their suppliers. The Agriculture Manager manages the program’s implementation to drive the transition towards regenerative farming models across countries and commodities in the donor’s sourcing footprint; and coordinates and collaborates with the corresponding actors to conduct the processes under their responsibility.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• A bachelor’s degree in agriculture, or other relevant subjects and at least seven years of related professional experience are required, OR a master’s degree plus five years of experience
• Previous experience in the agriculture sector, managing farm operations or advising agribusinesses, and an understanding of regenerative agriculture principles and practices
• Strong project management and people management skills, including anticipating demand and managing multiple tasks and projects while meeting tight deadlines.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience working in cross-functional and multicultural teams across various geographic regions.
• Experience leading transformation of farming operations to regenerative agriculture production systems.
  Required Languages: Fluency in Spanish and English languages. Portuguese is highly desirable.
  Travel: International travel up to 30%.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to work independently and remotely and effectively manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Ability to navigate culturally and - at times - logistically complex and challenging environments
• Commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Proven team player with strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and passion for identifying gaps and proposing solutions for continuous improvement.

• Program Management
• Coordinates the planning, implementation, and monitoring of regenerative agriculture projects across multiple countries and crops.
• Develops project plans and timelines and manages project execution to achieve program objectives and execute on program budget.
• Communicates program achievements, challenges, and lessons learned to inform decision-making and improve program performance.
• Program Implementation
• Manages the program’s technical team, composed of in-house agronomists, external regenerative agriculture experts and partner organizations, to execute the work plan
• Leads technical meetings and workshops, including internal program implementation meetings and weekly team calls with technical teams of the donor’s suppliers
• Provides technical advisory to suppliers regarding regenerative agriculture transformation, in collaboration with our external advisors and partners (e.g. design of trials to test specific regenerative practices, monitoring and interpretation of agronomic results, design of scale up plan across farms in the supplier’s supply chain)
• Provides technical insights during meetings with the donor and other external partners and stakeholders.
• Program Reporting and Knowledge Management
• Collaborates with the different areas of the program to measure and report program data, including output-level indicators as well as outcome-level (e.g. GHG emissions reduction, soil health improvement, water use efficiency, biodiversity restoration, and farmer livelihoods improvement).
• Shares knowledge and insights with internal teams and external partners to facilitate learning and replication of successful interventions.
• Collaborates with the team to responds to requests from TechnoServe HQ and other teams.
• Contract Management
• Supports recruitment and contracting of consultants and experts as needed.
• Ensures timely execution of agreements and monitors consultants and subcontractors’ performance to deliver quality outcomes.
• Other duties, as assigned.