Agriculture Director - Africa Region at Nature Conservancy

The Agriculture Director will lead the strategy design and implementation of The Nature Conservancy’s agriculture strategy for Africa. S/he will work closely with the TNC Global Sustainable Agriculture Strategy Director based in London and with the Africa Conservation Director and Director of Science to rapidly grow our position with some key partners in the agriculture sector. The Agriculture Director will work with multi-national entities, NGOs, governments and major donors to design systems and create solutions that improve food security over the long term while protecting the critical landscapes where we are invested.

To respond to increased demand for food and the increasing threat of habitat loss to unplanned intensification of agriculture, the Agriculture Director will spearhead implementing a Sustainable Intensification Strategy for Africa. Objectives of the strategy are to protect critical lands, improve soil health and protect critical water sources. Specially, by 2022, The Nature Conservancy will work in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia to avoid the conversion of 8.9 million acres of habitat while improving soil health on 2.6 million acres and addressing water management on 1 million acres of crop and grazing lands.

To view the full Job description please visit our website: https://www.sri-executive.com/offer/?id=8683.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight in fundraising and partnerships to agricultural programs
• Negotiates complex agreements with multilateral and bilateral donors and partnerships within the region
• Develop and implement creative ideas to improve overall agriculture performance in conservation strategies
• Formulate, evaluate, and decide broad organizational policies and long-term Agriculture programs
• Leverage strategic leadership on Africa’s agriculture program partnerships and scaling up.
• Conduct assessment on legal and financial compliance requirements of current and potential programs and partnerships
• Maintain existing donors and work to expand the donor portfolio to support existing and develop program activities
• Use available information and partnership networks to decide on probable outcomes and risks of collaboration and engagements towards sustainable agriculture intensification in the region
• Responsible for financial oversight and supervision on all agriculture interventions and activities across the region
• Provide broad management and leadership responsibility working across a matrix organization (TNC Africa region, Global programs, and partners)
• In collaboration with the Global team and Africa Conservation Director review the agriculture strategy for TNC in Africa and establish annual clear directions objectives for each financial year
• Develops long-term strategies for the region with clear goals and objectives and cascade the same across the Africa teams
• Ensures that program complies with TNC policies and procedures and external (donor/legal) requirements
• Provide high level engagements towards sustainable intensification through communication and personal contacts
• Builds cooperative relationships and collaborates with diverse groups, including landowners, conservation partners, government officials, donors, board members, and the general public, to recruit support for the Conservancy and publicize Conservancy efforts
• Ability to establish excellent working relationships with outside partners, state/local/federal agencies, land managers, private landowners and the academic community; leverages constructive and effective relationships inside and outside the Conservancy
• Work across diverse multi-cultural and environmental geographies susceptible to conflict over land use with the ability to resolve all emerging situations across partnerships and employees
• Lead the communication on agricultural activities across diverse TNC matrix organization to offer leadership and direction across the regional teams in collaboration with the Global agriculture director
• Ability to articulate lessons learned regarding conservation initiative successes and failures
• Provide technical support and training to regional teams and partners on current agricultural trends and practices
• The position may work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances, may require frequent travel domestically and/or internationally

Qualifications and Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• BA/BS degree and 12 years’ experience in conservation practice or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experience working in the agriculture sector in Africa for 10+ years
• Experience working with current development, conservation, agriculture and financial growth trends and practices in Africa. Ideally experience in several countries
• Experience developing and maintaining partnerships with national governments, multi-national corporations, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations to advance the goals of a program
• Experience directing a major program of strategic importance, including management/supervision of multi-disciplinary teams
• Experience and track record in proposal development and fundraising
• Experience designing, implementing, and directing complex or multiple projects of strategic importance, including managing finances, supervising multidisciplinary professionals and coordinating the work of partners while meeting deadlines
• Demonstrated experience influencing, developing and implementing conservation or agriculture policy and plans at the Regional level
• Experience developing practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes
• Experience working with local communities and demonstrated understanding of small-scale agricultural production challenges

Desired Qualifications

• MS degree and over 12 years’ experience in conservation or agriculture practice or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Multi-lingual and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated
• Experience developing practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes
• Communicating clearly via written, spoken, and graphical means in English and other relevant languages
• Managing time and diverse activities under deadlines while delivering quality results
• Knowledge of political, social, cultural and economic affairs in East and Southern Africa
• Ability to work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances

Terms of Appointment

This is a full-time position with an open-ended contract. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. A pension plan, life and medical insurances are included in the benefits package. The contract will be subject to Kenyan local laws and regulations including taxation.

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to diversity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of men and women of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, gender identities, military or veteran status or other status protected by law.