Associate Director – Agribusiness (2 positions) at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)

Key Responsibilities

Lead Agribusiness Strategy and Implementation

• Be the go-to person for Agribusiness expertise for the institution, provide strategic direction for AECF’s Agribusiness sector, and develop an innovative and ambitious Agribusiness sector strategy with  a clear focus on sub-sector interventions across Sub-Saharan Africa to scale up Agribusinesses and increase access to finance.
• Champion new opportunities across the organization, working collaboratively to identify opportunities in the agribusinesses-energy nexus, remove key barriers and enable innovation to build sustainable agribusinesses.
• Oversee the implementation (time, budget and deliverables) of the agribusiness strategy, putting in place tools, processes and systems to ensure the realization of the strategic objectives.
• Closely collaborate with and support the Director of Programmes to amplify his efforts and function as a thought partner, switching between strategic and tactical priorities.
• Lead the integration of AECF’s thematic areas of focus – climate, gender, youth and fragility – into the agribusiness strategy and ensure delivery of impact in the said thematic areas.

Program Implementation and Execution

• Oversee all Agribusiness programs, ensuring consistent and quality delivery.
• Ensure exceptional management of current agribusiness programs portfolio, and lead portfolio expansion – providing guidance and direction to the portfolio team on competitions, due diligence, structuring and execution of program activities.
• Provide technical expertise to assure alignment of the Agribusiness portfolio with evolving sector development policies, government development objectives, other donor programs, and foreign policy priorities.
• Provide oversight to planning and execution of portfolio activities to ensure that: implementation is on track; performance targets are being met; progress reporting is timely and accurate; and resources are utilized in an appropriate manner.
• Lead and manage cross-functional initiatives in the agribusiness and agribusiness-energy nexus, ensuring outstanding results and a high level of quality in our programs and ensuring coherence between the Agribusiness portfolio and cross-cutting themes and approaches.
• Lead regional and country operations, overseeing the composition and strengthening of the capabilities of the team.

Partnership Development

• Maximize mobilization of funds (public and private sector donors including bilateral, multilateral, and foundation donors) and bring co-financier resources to support existing and new programs/products.
• Lead origination, concept note and proposal development towards ensuring the diversification of the AECF programs and product portfolio.
• Working with the partnerships team, identify and onboard partners that may accelerate investment, innovation and market access across regions, countries, and sub-sectors.
• Manage relationships with main donors and partners at a global and country-level for Agribusiness programs.

The Candidate

Suitable candidates should have the following:

• 12+ years of relevant experience in Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, private sector Agribusiness management, international trade or another relevant field, with at least 5 years at a senior management level.
• Demonstrated rigorous understanding of the sub-Sahara Africa and global agribusiness context and ability to interact with key stakeholders from both public and private sectors.
• Working knowledge of agriculture value chains, agribusiness finance, agribusiness-energy nexus, and Climate Smart Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience in the social impact investment space or private sector development, working with Agri-SMEs in different Agri value chains.
• Excellent and visionary leader with great interpersonal skills to build a strong work ethic, impeccable integrity, and good judgment.
• Interest and aptitude in prospecting, cultivating, and managing new donors.
• Exceptional planning and analytical skills, ability to discern patterns and insights from research and internal/external data and focus on critical business issues.
• High degree of initiative and energy, “can-do” attitude, flexibility, teamwork, and attention to detail.
• Must be bi-lingual (English & French) for West Africa