United States of America: Agriculture Program Strategic Advisor

Overview:

The Agriculture Program Strategic Advisor will counsel each Nuru country project to ensure the team on the ground can design solutions to successfully achieve sustainable, cost-effective impact.

This position reports to the Impact Programs Director and is located in Washington DC with three (3) months of onboarding in the United States and field sites in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Responsibilities:

Lead Agricultural Technical Advice to Country Projects by:

• Advising Agriculture Program Specialists (PSs), Cooperative Experts and Program Managers (PMs) in each country project to ensure the team on the ground can design solutions to successfully achieve sustainable, cost-effective impact

• Tracking progress and maintain in-depth understanding of Agriculture Program performance in each country via regular calls and updates with AG PSs, AG PMs, and the M&E team

• Conducting periodic review visits to the country projects to observe the execution of the activities of the program and to give technical advice on how to make program activities more effective and efficient

• Developing contingency plans for the AG Program in each country project

Support Cross-functional Collaboration by:

• Collaborating with PSAs across departments to ensure integration, coordination, and innovation

• Working with ad hoc work groups to develop proposals to address major issues and challenges with respect to achieving the goals of Nuru International (i.e., integration, scaling, sustainability, replication, etc.)

• Being strategic and influential in communicating to peers and colleagues about the Agriculture Program

Provide Agriculture Program Strategy, Learning and Development by:

• Developing and maintaining program manuals and base curriculum for program interventions as well as a robust portfolio of best practice solutions in agriculture and cooperatives for use in the Program Planning Process and program implementation

• Maintaining an in-depth understanding of cutting edge developments in strategies and solution design in the agriculture sector

• Developing and maintaining up-to-date on sector trends/innovations and analyses of other top organizations in the agriculture sector

Work effectively with the Agriculture Program team by:

• Leading the development of long-term Agriculture Program grand strategy

• Supporting and advising Agriculture Program teams in Nuru country projects

• Working with the Agriculture team to support systematic program monitoring for Nuru International and country projects

• Collaborating with the Agriculture team (NK and NE) in coordinating blogs and the PSA community of practice to bring about stronger inter-country working relationships, sustained communication and sharing of lessons learned over time and country

• Working with the Impact Programs Director to liaise with other organizations and academic institutions as well as supporting the Development Team in grant writing and reporting as needed

Work Assignment and Probationary Period:

• This is a career fast-track assignment available to competitive candidates under the conditions of a field-based probationary period. This entails three (3) months of on-boarding in the United States and field sites in Kenya and Ethiopia. This intensive assignment will be an opportunity for the candidate to train on the Nuru approach and model while immediately adding value in country. The candidate’s performance will be subject to review at any time during this period. Upon completion of this on-boarding period, probationary status will be reviewed. If the candidate is successful in this field assignment and on-boarding, probationary status will be lifted and the candidate will track into the normal Program Strategic Advisor career.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in International Development, Agriculture, International Business or related field.

• 5+ years of experience in the agricultural and/or international development sector.

• 2+ years located in developing countries. Experience in sub-Saharan Africa preferred.

• Experience with building, training, and mentoring teams to set and achieve measurable goals

• Strong quantitative and analytical skills with a proven record of applying quantitative frameworks to facilitate data driven decision-making.

• Working knowledge of cooperative and market based agricultural development approaches.

• Effective verbal and written communication and presentation skills in English. Language skills in one of Nuru’s project languages (Swahili or Amharic) a plus.

• Advanced skills across Microsoft Office programs, specifically in Excel.

• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in high stress situations and adapt to rapidly changing work environments.

• An interest in and commitment to ending extreme poverty in remote, rural areas.

• A positive attitude and willingness to put farmers and mission first.

General Competencies and Behaviors:

• Fully comply with our Code of Conduct and policies – live our values

• Meet general professional expectations for all Nuru staff

• Become recognized as a model servant leader in the organization

• Deliver very high quality products in a timely manner

• Use feedback to grow as a professional

• Be proactive and independent – take initiative and be able to operate effectively on “commander’s intent” with little supervision

• “Getting the job done” – even if this means long/unusual hours

Please apply and upload your resume/ CV and cover letter at http://www.nuruinternational.org/careers/, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.