Job Title: Field Activity Manager

Duty Station: Based in Hawassa with frequent travel to project sites

Application Deadline: May 8, 2022

Reports to: Senior Program Manager

Project: Horticulture 4 Growth (H4G): An Initiative of the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACCs)

Duration: 5 years, with start date of May 30^th, 2022

About TechnoServe

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. Founded in 1968, we are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

About Horticulture4Growth (H4G)

Horticulture 4 Growth (H4G): An Initiative of the Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACCs) is a new $6M, 5-year project being jointly implemented by TechnoServe and the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. H4G will accelerate the transformation of Ethiopia’s horticulture sub-sector by leveraging the power of the private sector to strengthen the link between production and demand and improve the road-to-market for horticultural products through modernized domestic and export market channels. The project will primarily focus on five priority horticulture crops (banana, avocado, tomato, onion, and avocado) sourced from horticulture ACC woredas to transform the relationships of key market actors to be more inclusive and equitable. By the end of five years, a strengthened horticulture market system underpinned by a strong private sector will enable Ethiopian small-scale producers to earn higher, more stable incomes and increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in rural and urban areas.

The H4G Field Activity Manager Role

If you are a highly organized, results-oriented professional, if you are enthusiastic about private sector driven impact and facilitating behavior change, if you are a natural problem solver with an eye for detail, if you are comfortable overseeing program field operations and support staff, you may be exactly the person that we are looking for!

As the Field Activity Manager, you will be responsible for the management of field-related activities in H4G’s operating geographies. As H4G’s main liaison at the regional level, you will oversee the effective and efficient implementation of field activities and seamless coordination with our regional, zonal, and woreda government counterparts. You will manage and supervise a team of three, all based in the field office, as part of a total H4G team of 12. You will report directly to the H4G Senior Program Manager, while working closely with two other Program components: Partnerships and Analytics.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with an array of market system actors to develop, pilot, and implement new, more inclusive ways of doing business that meets market needs, generates economic benefits, and promotes behavior change to strengthen the performance of the overall horticulture market system. To do so, you will seek alliances and build relationships to maximize opportunity, multiply impact, and deliver value for money. A key component of the program includes a Catalytic Grant Fund to promote private sector development through a combination of matching grants and technical assistance to incentivize innovation. These grants will be used to cover costs related to market actors investing in or adopting new business models related to 1) last-mile input distribution 2) improved aggregation, infrastructure, and logistic services and 3) smallholder-inclusive sourcing strategies.

Key Responsibilities

Stakeholder Management and Representation

• Maintain strong relationships with regional, zonal, and woreda level program partners (ATI and MoA) through clear, effective, and regular communication, ensuring strong project coordination and joint problem-solving, and timely delivery of contractual      obligations
• Cultivate and maintain strong relations with key external stakeholders including government, industry bodies, private sector businesses, and other development actors
• Represent the program and TechnoServe at relevant regional-level coordination meetings, building a high level of awareness, trust, and confidence in the program and TechnoServe

Field Activities Team Leadership and Management

• Lead, manage, and supervise a cohesive and harmonious project team, convening regular team meetings and providing performance reviews and feedback
• Directly manage performance of the Field Activities Team, delegating responsibility as appropriate, ensuring compliance with organizational policies and financial procedures
• Ensure team buy-in to the program strategy and workplans, with each team member clear on their specific responsibilities and accountability
• Support team in managing the technical components of the project to achieve project results and contribute to program outcomes, with successful knowledge transfer to staff, partners, and clients through market facilitative approaches
• Establish a culture of excellence in which the team strives for constant learning and improvement, where success is celebrated, communication is open, and everyone’s contribution is valued

Technical Assistance – Field-level

Leveraging the recommendations by the Analytics team, work with private sector partners to implement market system interventions through training and technical support. Illustrative activities could include:

• Identify and support agri-entrepreneurs to increase the local presence of input suppliers at the kebele level and improve the availability and quality of last-mile input offerings
• Deliver trainings too cohorts of farmers, cooperatives, and primary level aggregators on key topics in quality standards and business and management skills
• Create a certified preferred supplier network of quality horticulture products to link with anchor horticulture buyers
• Expand digital market information systems to enable direct connections between producers, aggregators, traders, wholesalers, and buyers
• Facilitate pre-, mid-, and post-season market linkage forums between farmer cooperatives, traders, and government regulators to enable more regular opportunities for direct interactions and information exchange
• Deliver trainings to micro-retailers to increase business capacity and increase demand through horticulture-specific marketing tactics

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Regular meetings with the Senior Program Manager and Senior Management Team to inform on progress, provide strategic feedback, and align on program priorities
• Support PM with preparation and timely submission of high-quality program reports
• Work closely with the M&E Specialist and Gender and Inclusion Advisor for the timely collection, analyses, and reporting of monitoring, evaluation, and learning data to promote evidence-based decision making and adaptive management 
• Collaborate with other program team members (Analytics, Partnerships) to connect market actors with additional strategic and field-level support
• Promote learning and advance gender equality within team and with partners; adapt project approach as needed based on implementation feedback and progress to ensure benefit to women and youth  

Job Requirements

Required Qualifications and Experience

• A Bachelor’s or Master's degree in business, agribusiness, economics, rural development, or other relevant field of study (Master’s preferred)
• Bachelor’s Degree with 7-10 years; Master’s Degree with 5-7 years progressively responsible, relevant professional experience, including experience in agriculture, private enterprise development, and/or organizational capacity development. Strong preference for candidates with experience in the private sector and/or with market systems facilitative approaches.
• Highly knowledgeable of the market challenges, business cases, and economic opportunities in the horticulture sector for both small-scale producers and private sector actors
• Prior experience utilizing market systems facilitation frameworks to implement solutions that solve business/technical challenges across the value chain e.g., input provision, quality production, sourcing and aggregation, access to finance, market information and linkages, standards and certifications, sales and distribution
• Significant experience managing multiple and complex stakeholder relationships
• Fluency in Amharic and English, with excellent English writing and verbal communication skills (additional Ethiopian languages a plus)
• High fluency in business software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), including formatting
• Ability to frequently travel to project sites, as necessary

Core Competencies

• Strong project management skills with a track record of delivering quality results and achieving programmatic and organizational goals
• Analytical and empathetic leader who strives for sustainable impact, by building and working through impactful, high performing teams
• Proactive, and resilient problem solver with a learning mindset and business acumen to develop mutually beneficial relationships across diverse actors
• Strategic, flexible, and innovative decision-maker able to rapidly adjust to changing circumstances, learning from challenges and improving project and team performance
• Committed to TechnoServe’s mission and motivated to achieve impact at scale, effectively communicating and inspiring donors, partners, smallholder farmers, and other counterparts to act toward bold and large-scale transformation that benefits the poor, especially women

What TechnoServe Offers

We offer competitive salaries and career growth opportunities. We offer online learning resources from top universities. We provide regular training to all our staff to equip you with the technical know-how for you to excel. We provide autonomy in your job and freedom to bring in new ideas and initiatives. You get to be part of a stellar organization and shape the project from its inception. You will be challenged and grow as a professional. We offer a diverse team environment and highly encourage women and underrepresented groups to apply. 

How to Apply

Qualified and interested applicants should submit a cover letter resume as a single document (either Word or PDF) via THIS LINK Once you apply and are selected to move through one of our hiring rounds, you can expect a rigorous process that reflects our high baseline requirements for people skills.

Note: Women are highly encouraged to apply. TNS has the right to cancel this advertisement. TechnoServe reserves the right to revise or change job functions as the need arises

TechnoServe is an equal opportunity employer.

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive nor is it intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, or skills required of an incumbent. An employee will perform other reasonably related job responsibilities as assigned by management when required.