Deputy Chief of Party, PIATA

Deputy Chief of Party, PIATA

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Job Reference: DCOP/OPP/12/2024

AGRA and its Work

AGRA is an African-led institution that actively supports the drive towards inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We do this by empowering the continent’s 33 million small-farming households to transform their agriculture from a struggle to survive to profitable businesses. The continent’s farmers regularly face challenges, and we aspire to provide uniquely African solutions that respond to their agricultural and environmental challenges, leading to increased harvests for reduced hunger and more income.

Working in alignment with the development priorities of our focus countries, we enable farmers to access improved and high-yielding seeds, gain knowledge on sustainable farming, and link to profitable markets.

In our work, we aspire to build alliances, partnerships, and networks required to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We work with our partners to create an equitable youth-friendly environment that harnesses the youth dividend on the continent to drive growth and facilitate open employment opportunities for young women and men. We achieve our key objectives through a focus on the following four areas of intervention:

Policy and state capability – We support governments in policy reforms and their effective implementation, developing and implementing strategies and flagship programs, and creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in agricultural transformation.
Seed systems – We engage in national and regional seed systems to enhance seed production, improve seed quality, and advance seed policy development with the aim of triggering higher productivity by farmers, allowing them to sustainably increase their harvests for food security and better incomes.
Sustainable farming – We support the expansion and strengthening of last-mile delivery systems for farmers in building resilient and climate-adapted farming systems for sustained high yields through interventions such as improving access to extension services, knowledge-sharing platforms, quality inputs, mechanization and irrigation, particularly with a focus on key areas such as soil health, efficient water management practices, and the adoption of climate-smart agricultural techniques.
Inclusive markets and trade – We work to increase the market linkages between farmers and other national and regional market actors for a positive, sustained cycle of commercialization and reinvestment.

Implementing Our New Strategy Through People

People are the heart of our organization and remain the true drivers of our delivery and our impact.We work with incredible people and partners who have roots in farming communities across the continent combined with an inclusive and diverse workforce from over 24 nationalities. Our commitment to a call to action goes beyond ourselves as we arise to catalyze African Food Systems’ transformation by being Deeply collaborative, Executing Excellently, Sincerely Constructive, and Increasingly Entrepreneurial aligned with our values of (I-RISE; Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Stewardship, and Equity).

We are looking for people who are passionate about Africa to join our innovative, growing, and multidisciplinary team. Together, we can grow Africa’s food systems by improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Want to join us?

The Position

Deputy Chief of Party, PIATA Job Reference: DCOP/OPP/12/2024

In realizing its mission to catalyze the growth of sustainable food systems across Africa, AGRA has identified aligning, influencing, and leveraging partners as a critical mechanism to build a robust enabling environment where private sector thrives and smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, are empowered to produce sufficient, healthy food and go from subsistence farming to operating thriving agri-businesses.

In 2017, AGRA launched the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA) together with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and USAID as a unique strategic partnership that enables African agriculture actors to do business differently as they support leaders to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. The innovative partnership seeks to bring together the best expertise, knowledge, capacities and resources across partners to drive integrated delivery with countries and across value chains, enhanced in-country coordination to leverage wider investments, and deliberate engagement with private sector to build sustainable systems that will transition agriculture from subsistence into a business that works. PIATA now includes the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Mastercard Foundation, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) as well.

The Deputy Chief of Party, PIATA is responsible for assisting the Chief of Party, PIATA to oversee, give orientation to, and facilitate the work of AGRA teams operating at national and continental levels in pursuance of AGRA’s Strategy and the program’s goals, objectives, and activities under USAID-PIATA Cooperative Agreement. S/he oversees technical coordination between program delivery at country and continental level with AGRA’s technical and operational teams. S/he will also assist the Chief of Party in liaising with all AGRA staff and partners in order to promote and deliver maximum results from the USAID-PIATA partnership.

The ideal candidate will particularly support the technical and administrative oversight of USAID-funded programs with AGRA and serve as a day-to-day institutional liaison to USAID in Washington DC and all country and regional missions across Africa. S/he will support the delivery of the USAID-PIATA partnership through ongoing partner coordination, technical working groups, and country networks that draw on the best knowledge, expertise, and resources of all partners.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Steward AGRA’s cross-functional engagement team for USAID partner management, including Program teams, Development Cooperation, M&E, Finance, and Communications to drive the strategic direction of the relationship, address issues as they arise, and maximize value in alignment with shared priorities.
Steward the collaborative development and ongoing adaptation of work plans and programs across the country, regional, and continental levels in alignment with strategy.
Analyze, finalize, and support AGRA proposals and grant memos.
Advise Country Directors on the establishment of a functional Country Network to ensure timely implementation of investment plans developed at the country level.
Collaborate with Country Directors to develop Road Maps outlining constraints, resources, and opportunities for increasing impact; organize country gatherings focusing on common constraints related to seed and fertilizer supply, including topics such as foundation seed supply, seed certification systems, fertilizer quality control, and seed harmonization.
Work closely with the Chief of Party in advancing PIATA, engaging deeply with partners on priority strategic initiatives to come together behind a shared vision for sustainably growing Africa’s food systems, leveraging the best of partners’ collective expertise, knowledge, and resources to catalyze transformative investments and change.
Advise the Chief of Party on the compilation of quarterly, half-year, and annual reports and other reports, as well as annual work plans as needed, in compliance with the requirements of USAID. Work closely with Country Directors on a regular system of monthly reports to PIATA stakeholders at country level.
Promote and strengthen AGRA’s integrated reporting system, data quality, and learning opportunities.
Collaborate with the Monitoring & Evaluation and Knowledge Management Unit of AGRA to implement systems for tracking project effectiveness, outputs, and outcomes, including documenting the range, volume, prices, and impact of increased input flows into rural areas on agricultural productivity and incomes.
Represent AGRA at key regional fora and development partner meetings.
Focus on integrated program development and implementation across AGRA’s business lines, processing of grants, consultancies, and event commitments, as well as ensuring ongoing monitoring and reporting in compliance with all requirements.
Work with all units and leadership on tracking, monitoring, and – where required – debottlenecking priority activities in work plans.
Organize and conduct regular country field visits to ensure the smooth implementation of program activities.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required:

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in political sciences, public policy, international relations, agriculture or other relevant disciplines.
Certification in Project Management would be desirable.
Demonstrate extensive experience overseeing US Government Acquisition and Assistance awards, serving as a lead resource partner in global development alliances, while ensuring compliance with relevant rules and regulations and driving successful program implementation.
Exhibit in-depth, practiced knowledge of USAID rules and regulations to ensure compliance and effective program implementation.
Understanding of the USAID program cycle (design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and closure), and experience in all phases.
Supervisory experience of sub-awardees, including oversight of flow-down provision compliance, branding & marking compliance, and compliance with travel and other provisions, as well as oversight of exceptions to provisions.
Work experience in Africa and specifically in Agriculture field is highly desirable.
Demonstrate deep knowledge and understanding of the program’s technical area and a programmatic understanding of how to advance inclusive agricultural transformation in Africa across a range of different country contexts.
Strong analytical skills and experience in designing and conducting program monitoring and evaluation activities, including data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Ability to identify and pursue strategic initiatives that provide the greatest value and sustainable impact: balances long and short-term tradeoffs.
Ability to communicate both verbally and in writing engaging stakeholders and ensuring thorough reporting and documentation to foster strong relationships and facilitate successful program delivery.
Demonstrate the ability to advise senior leadership on critical periodic reports, and effectively prepare, present, and analyze information through transparent and accurate reporting processes to ensure compliance with USAID requirements and support informed decision-making within AGRA.
Demonstrate experience in planning, organizing, and implementing complex projects, including managing budgets, timelines, and resources.

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV (including your e-mail and telephone contacts) to recruit@agra.org. Please quote the job reference number DCOP/OPP/12/2024 in the subject line of the application e-mail.

Applications must be received on or before 17^th January, 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For more information on the AGRA, visit www.agra.org.

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer