Regional Program Director for Coffee Africa

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business 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. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off. 

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

Operational management (60% LOE)

● Oversees implementation of programs with a constant drive for improved quality
● Ensures sound managerial and financial performance of programs by overseeing the management of program budgets, work plans, monitoring systems, donor compliance and key performance indicators (KPIs)
● Makes regular field visits and provide coaching of Program Managers and Senior Business Advisors (PMs/SBAs) to ensure program targets are met
● Recruits and retains quality managerial staff to implement coffee programs

Technical management (10% LOE)
● Supports the country teams to implement all stages of the Coffee Farm College and Sustainability Programs to ensure targets are met
● Works with Regional Sustainability team to understand technical program standards and ensure program activities are implemented in line with those standards
● Supports annual review of sustainability standards, associated training and audit materials in the region

Innovation & learning (10% LOE)
● Identifies areas of improvement and/or innovation within programs and works with the program managers and regional support teams to test and implement solutions and improvements
● Ensures program related field data is collected, cleaned and stored appropriately for ongoing learning and program improvement
● Ensure best practices, learnings and improvements are shared between program teams to increase overall regional program quality

Industry stakeholder management (10% LOE)
● Supports sector partnerships and alliances in the region, overseeing and backstopping program manager participation in national forums (e.g. working groups, conferences, etc)
● Supports program managers with visibility actions, ensuring that TechnoServe’s work is publicized appropriately and positively in the region
● Represents TechnoServe in relevant events in the region

Strategy and new business development (10% LOE)
● Supports identification and design of new program opportunities
● Assist country-specific strategic planning related to the sector

Basic Qualifications:

● Bachelor’s degree in management, business administration, agricultural economics, international development or relevant field, or equivalent work experience
● At least 12 years of experience in coffee value chain development, agribusiness, business strategy, industry analysis, financial management, and monitoring and evaluation. (Or a Master's degree plus eight years of experience) Preference for candidates with significant experience in the coffee industry. 
● Strong leadership, supervisory, problem-solving, communication and coordination skills required

Preferred Qualifications: 

● Past experience working on donor funded projects, experience with US Government (USAID, USDA, etc) funded projects is preferred

Required Languages: Verbal and written fluency in English, proficiency in a regional language (Swahili, Kirundi, French, etc) is a plus

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

● Demonstrated competency in program and staff management, coaching and team leadership
● Strategic and analytical thinking skills
● Strong attention to detail, with demonstrated experience managing complex field projects with multiple teams and workstreams
● Exceptional interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
● Demonstrated ability to communicate both quantitatively (i.e. Excel spreadsheet analysis) and qualitatively (PowerPoint presentations)

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

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, 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.