Description

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s 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.

Summary:

Addressing Mango Production and Post-harvest Loss and Increasing Fish Yields (AMPPLIFY) is a five-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Food for Progress Program that will facilitate a resilient and growing trade of mango and fish, sustained by profitable farmers making ongoing productivity and climate-smart investments to maintain the health and performance of their farms across Côte d’Ivoire. Over the next five years, the project will use a facilitative market-based approach that leverages the resources of the private sector to drive incentives and behavior change throughout the market system, which can achieve improved productivity, trade, and food security through the provision of high-quality, accessible goods and services for farmers and other value chains (VC) participants.

The Senior Manager, Mango Program, oversees the entire mango component of the project including the operations, compliance, and reporting and manages a team of Agronomy Advisors and Farmer Trainers. The goal is lasting improvements to increase mango productivity, economic resilience of farmers, and the ability to mitigate the effects of climate change by enabling both men and women farmers to adopt climate-resilient and landscape-restorative farming practices.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive strategy for horticulture that aligns with TechnoServe’s goals of increasing mango productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing farmers’ economic resilience, and promoting climate-resilient farming practices.
• Monitor and oversee all agronomy-related operations, including trainings on good agricultural practices, especially integrated pest management and post-harvest storage, ensuring compliance with best practices and project objectives.
• Improve farmer productivity by designing training on best practices for farm management, climate smart agriculture and Integrated pest management
• Develop and manage a team of Agronomy Advisors ensuring consistent delivery of high quality trainings including development and customization of training, and troubleshooting field issues if adoption rates are low
• Produce tools that incorporate both in-person training as well as remote approaches leveraging digital tools to improve training efficiency and effectiveness
• Strengthen capacity and market-orientation of cooperatives and farmer associations in the horticulture value chain
• Liaise and collaborate with public and private nurseries to ensure high-quality tree stock is available for replanting
• Build up the capacity of private and public agricultural extension agents to support mango production, and link them to farmers in this value chain
• Promote capacity building of agricultural extension agents and services; development of demonstration plots and model farms; and dissemination of weather alerts and agronomy advisory services

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in agronomy, agriculture, horticulture or related discipline plus 10 years of experience in agronomy management, including overseeing horticulture projects in agriculture (or Master’s degree plus seven years of experience)
• Strong leadership and team management skills with the ability to motivate and guide a diverse team
• Significant experience in market system development within the agricultural sector.
• Experience developing agronomy training

Preferred Qualifications

• Practical experience and in-depth knowledge of agronomy or production within a large horticultural farming operation
• Experience in the mango sector

Required Languages

• Proficiency in English and French

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• In-depth knowledge of climate-resilient farming practices and landscape restoration techniques.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills, including budget management.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to engage with diverse stakeholders.
• Commitment to sustainable agriculture, gender equality, and climate change mitigation.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and meet demanding deadlines.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• This position reports to the Chief of Party and manages a team of agronomy advisors and farmer trainers.

Applicants must have work authorization in Côte d’Ivoire at the time of application. 

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.