Deputy Program Director

Job Title: Deputy Program Director

Report: Project Director, with dotted line to Country Director

Department: Operations

Location: México

About TechnoServe:

TechnoServe, founded over 50 years ago, is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A nonprofit organization operating in 29 countries, we work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. By linking people to information, capital and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.

Job Summary:

TechnoServe is seeking an experienced Deputy Program Director for two ongoing programs that are supported by private sector partners and that seek to sustainably increase smallholder farmer (SHF) incomes by helping SHF improve the yields and quality of their crops, adopt regenerative agriculture practices, and connect to formal markets. The Deputy Program Director (DPD) will be responsible for leading partnerships and cross-cutting functions, supporting the development and execution of program strategies, and overall monitoring and evaluation of the programs. She/he will ensure targets are set and met and high performance of M&E and learning functions within the projects, ensuring robust data collection and analysis and promoting evidence-based decision-making and project adaptation.

The position includes managing relationships with key program partners; planning, reporting and presentations; and oversight of special projects and major consultancies. Reporting to the Project Director, the DPD will lead innovations on sustainability, digital tools, youth and gender and supervise roles related to M&E, gender, program support, and external communications.

Primary Functions and Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management

• Responsible for all management and reporting in the absence of the Project Director
• Maintain frequent communication with Project Director to ensure program activities, status and effectiveness are well-understood, drawing in the Project Director or other senior staff for problem-solving or other engagement as needed
• Develops and drives innovative solutions to complex problems, requiring creativity, ingenuity and innovation. Ensures solutions are consistent with organizational objectives.
• Manages and inspires a team and promotes a positive workplace.
• Secures internal support and understanding for new policies or programs; conducts briefs and technical meetings for internal and external representatives.
• Monitor and drive achievement of project goals, including in cross-cutting areas such as gender equity, regenerative agriculture, and digitization, and lead donor and partner relationships
• Optimizes the quality of programs and frameworks through continual assessment and improvements; mobilizes resources to achieve quality goals, persuading others to adapt new approaches.
• Develop budgets in coordination with the Country Director and Project Director for new partnerships with the public and social sector.
• Develop and monitor annual project plans
• Lead the development and execution of key project strategies
• Provide oversight to the development and execution of project procurement plans
• Act as a spokesperson for the programs and present their work internally and externally.
• Ensure program budgets are executed as planned and within guidelines.

Project Execution

• Establish goals with corporations and farmer organizations in coordination with the operations team.
• Supervise and coordinate with partner NGOs.
• Support the planning of and co-lead farmer visits with partners.

Reporting and MEL

• Work closely with project leadership and cross-cutting functions in the development of donor and partner reports and the timely preparation of other analyses and strategic information required by the donors.
• Report impact and progress of programs internally and externally according to each program’s M&E plan including quarterly reports, annual corporate measurements, and donor presentations.
• In coordination with the Country Director or Project Director, select methodologies (RCT, Propensity Score Matching, etc and use of software Stata, etc) to define M&E strategy and conduct analyses.
• Select digital tools and coordinate the development of new tools and platforms for data collection, traceability and digital learning.
• Lead the preparation and implementation of baselines and endlines; manage mid or final evaluations internally or with third parties.
• Supervise cross-cutting roles and contractors.
• Respond to and implement surveys as requested by Global TechnoServe (i.e. quality survey).
• Direct the systematization of internal project processes, e.g. agronomy, business, and quality areas.

Country Support

• Supports the development of the country’s implementation approach and strategy in order to help the Country Director achieve the country program’s goals and results in alignment with TNS global strategy.
• Supports the MEL, Communication and Gender components for the Country Office.
• Develop donor proposals and coordinate the compilation for requests for information.

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s degree with 8 years of relevant experience or bachelor’s degree with 12 years of experience in agricultural economics, statistics, econometrics, international development, business, economy, public policy, or other relevant areas.
• Proven experience in project management, stakeholder management, and monitoring and evaluating of programs related to agriculture, climate/conservation and inclusiveness
• Experience in financing.
• Mexican residency or valid work permit
• Fluency in Spanish and English with excellent oral and written communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in Mexico
• Experience leading or substantively contributing to development programs, in particular through MEL, access to finance, market access, digitalization or youth integration
• Strong quantitative analysis skills
• Consulting experience desired
• Ability to coordinate and communicate diplomatically across cultures
• Team manager with good communication skills that enable seamless collaboration with field-based teams
• Demonstrates high attention to detail and superb planning skills with a history of working independently and within agreed timelines and the flexibility to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while adapting to changing work situations.

Required Languages

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Spanish with proven report writing, presentation, and data analysis skills.

Travel

Regular travel across Mexico

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven record of successfully supporting or managing complex private sector development programs with extensive local capacity building components.
• Demonstrated excellence in managing teams, projects, and budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively and collaboratively with a broad range of public and private sector counterparts and other key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated capacity and experience to lead field teams and work to achieve the expected results
• Demonstrated ability to plan, monitor and deliver quality assurance; expertise with M&E frameworks and data analysis
• Independent judgment and strong decision-making skills required, with limited supervision.
• Knowledge of agricultural market systems and facilitation approaches.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines while managing multiple tasks and activities.
• Ability to develop well written, cohesive analyses and reports.
• Demonstrates interest in and/or knowledge of women's economic empowerment and gender equity.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Gender Specialist, Communications Specialist and M&E staff. Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams is desired

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 affirmative action employer 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.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe, please contact the Human Resources at [email protected] or call +1 202 785 4515.