Director – Agriculture and Livelihood Practices

Grameen Foundation For Social Impact (GFSI) is looking at a seasoned professional with strong research, innovation and technical capabilities to lead the Agriculture and Livelihood Practices (ALPs) vertical. Demonstrated and deep engagement in one or more areas amongst digital agriculture, climate resilient agriculture, and carbon credits/carbon farming will be expected to guide the organization along new impact pathways.

Position: Director – Agriculture and Livelihood Practices
Status: Full Time Employee
Start Date: Immediate (November 2023)
Location: New Delhi
Reporting and relationships: The position reports to the Chief Program Officer

Job Summary:

The Director – Agriculture and Livelihood Practices will be a seasoned sector leader with deep domain knowledge in agriculture and allied sector livelihoods promotion. S/He will provide strategic leadership, action-research focus and innovation thrust to the portfolio. The role requires the Director, ALPS to:

• Provide strategic leadership
• Develop, manage and steer multi-stakeholder partnerships
• Facilitate scouting, incubation and socialization of innovative agriculture and livelihood practices in Grameen’s programs and those of its partners
• Guide knowledge management and capacity building programs
• Contribute to multi-sectoral programming and solution seeking by working with other verticals
• Contribute substantially towards new proposal development and fundraising initiatives
• Foster creative collaborative spirit in the ALPs team

Essential Job Functions

• Key Responsibilities
  • Provide Leadership in Program design and implementation, team recruitment, develop and manage partnerships, research and day to day operations monitoring and stakeholder engagements.
  • Use strategic thinking to translate ideas and concepts from research and/or practice/policy into concrete actions and plans, and anticipate long term challenges and trends to develop appropriate strategies
  • Keep up-to-date on relevant research, policy and best practices in agriculture and livelihood sectors and facilitate learning and dissemination activities to create wider sector-level impact
  • As a member of the Program Leadership Team of GF, contribute to strategy development, representing the organization at external fora and strengthen organizational reputation
• Project Management Support
  • Contribute deep knowledge and insights into detailed project plans with associated milestones and work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure project goals are met
  • Capacitate project managers in ALPs projects to use project planning tools for project implementation (viz. Risk Management Plan, Partner Engagement Plan, Grants Compliance and Legal Agreement Plan, Communication Plan, Project Schedules and an Monitoring and Evaluation Plan)
  • Provide subject matter expertise on industry and technology trends and opportunities to ALPs team and the organization at large
  • Steer ALPs team and support talent management endeavors for the same
  • Develop financial plans and manage portfolio budget for the vertical and assure quality in committed donor reporting and management
• Partner Relationship Management
  • Act as primary contact for sectoral stakeholders, including donors of present, past and potential projects
  • Proactively recognize and address concerns/issues and use established communication protocols to maintain an open, transparent and trusting relationship
  • Actively participate in internal Knowledge Exchange to share lessons learned and key findings of project with external stakeholders (industry conferences, blogs, case studies, etc.) and support other GF representatives in internal and external communication.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep commitment to eradication of poverty and alignment with Grameen Foundation’s Mission
• Outstanding communication and analytical skills
• Demonstrated research and analytical knowledge product generation background
• Proven track record of achievement under challenging situations and multi-stakeholder arrangements
• Deep experience in India and elsewhere on one or more of digital agriculture, climate resilient agriculture, and carbon credits/carbon farming
• Ability to act as a representative of the project in public forums.

Education and Experience

• 12-15 years of relevant professional experience
• Master’s degree in a field related to agriculture and allied sectors, water, climate, natural resource management and/or livelihoods from a reputed Institute/University

Language Capability

• Excellent reading, writing and comprehension skills in Hindi and English are a must
• Working knowledge of Bengali / Marathi / Odiya / Telugu, Odiya will be a plus
• Certified knowledge of a Francophone language will be a plus

Additional Comment: The position requires extensive travel, on-the-ground mentoring of project teams and stakeholder relationship building. The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as exhaustive of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made in appropriate circumstances. Grameen offers a competitive compensation package.

How to apply: Interested candidates may apply by sending their updated resumes and letter of motivation by / before EOD 31 October 2023 to ssingh1@grameenfoundation.in mentioning “Director – Agriculture and Livelihood Practices” in the subject line and confirming the current and expected compensation and earliest joining date.

Grameen retains the right to select the candidate most suited to its current and future requirements.

Grameen Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and encourages female candidates to apply