Executive Director at Fairtrade International

Reporting to the FTA Board and working with the Commercial Director, Finance and Administration Director, Programmes Director, Strategy and Impact Director, Executive Assistant, and External Communications Coordinator, the Executive Director is the chief executive officer of the FTA with broad responsibilities for the implementation of FTA’s strategic goals and the management of its resources.  

To view the full Job description please visit our website: https://www.sri-executive.com/offer/?id=8666.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Executive Director will have the following key duties and responsibilities:

Strategy

• Advise the Board on strategy, formulate a strategic plan and manage its progress
• Develop an income strategy in conjunction with the Board to secure funding from a variety of sources
• Develop and implement a long-term development strategy for sustainability and dynamic growth of the organisation's programme activities and capacity
• Establish the key risks for the organisation and monitor and take appropriate steps to manage risk
• Establish key performance indicators for the organisation, monitor and take appropriate steps to manage underperformance

Governance and Legal

• Maintain a proactive relationship with the Board Chair and Regional Boards working with them to fulfill their duties and legal and other responsibilities for the proper governance of FTA
• Ensure that the organization has the right management systems and structures in place to carry out its work effectively, accountably and safely, and that professional standards are met
• Ensure the organisation fulfils its statutory and legal obligations
• Oversees and report the organization’s results to board of directors.
• Responsible for planning, organization, and direction of the organization’s operations and programs in consultation with the board of Directors

Leadership / Management

• Build and lead an effective team dedicated to fulfilling the organization’s mission through highly successful program implementation, community engagement, and fundraising targets
• Manage a culturally diverse staff, clientele and community whose skills, cultures and spoken languages reflect the communities Fairtrade Africa serves
• Ensure the existence of a comprehensive human resources strategy and effective systems for the recruitment, induction, probation, training, development, and ongoing performance management of FTA staff.
• Role model effective people management behaviours, emphasising their importance to line managers and hold them accountable.
• Support direct reports to develop their leadership capabilities, providing direct and honest feedback and ensuring relevant support.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Provide leadership, motivation, support and guidance to the senior team and build a culture of high performance, continual learning and listening and accountability throughout the organisation
• Establish a mechanism for young people/beneficiaries to feed into the senior management team and trustee board and be involved in decision-making
• Provide leadership to the regional teams to empower them to develop their work locally and develop a producer led culture.
• Develop effective partnerships with funders, Fairtrade international and national buyers’ networks, implementing partners.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with other NGOs, governments, civil society and other relevant stakeholders

External Communications

• Serve as the face of the organization and actively participate in external events, both increasing visibility, credibility, and brand in the market, and developing strategic partnerships in order to increase community awareness of FTA brand.
• Work with staff and board on annual benefit and oversee all external communication materials including, website, marketing materials, newsletters and social media content.
• Ensure the development of and drive the implementation of the overall communications strategy and a range of messaging for key audiences.
• Ensure the needs of members and producers are reflected both internally and externally.
• Act as a spokesperson for FTA, representing producer’s needs.

Financial Management

• Ensure the overall financial health of the organisation in conjunction with the Board.
• Ensure the production of an annual budget with the Head of Finance and Administration ensure the sound financial management of FTA within that budget.
• Ensure full and accurate reporting including the preparation of an annual report and financial accounts
• Ensure conformity to partner/donor financial reporting requirements.
• Develops and implements consistent inventory and cost accounting policies, procedures, and operational reporting/metrics.
• Coordinate and lead annual budget reviews, monthly and quarterly reviews, and periodic forecast updates with operational and senior management for all locations.

Fundraising

• Set and meet aggressive annual fundraising goals, in partnership with board of directors, to secure financial support from foundations, corporations, Fairtrade Africa members, and government funding sources.
• Lead and develop the fundraising strategy, identifying new income streams and products.
• Ensure the development of proposals in response to major bids and contracts.
• Build strong relationships with a range of potential funders and develop opportunities to identify and cultivate fundraising opportunities with high value donors.
• Prepare accurate and timely analyses that capture and communicate fundraising results, variances, and performance trends.
• Ensures that services and funding relationships are robust enough to meet or exceed strategic goals and objectives.

Programme Management

• Ensure the monitoring and evaluation of FTA programmes
• Provide leadership and management oversight of FTA fiscal and programmatic operations
• Encourage a culture of self-evaluation, monitoring and continuous learning
• Ensure coherence in the implementation of programme activity

Qualifications and Experience

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Agricultural Development/Economics, Rural Development, Development Studies or related studies

Experience and Knowledge

• A minimum of 12 years’ senior level management experience at a non-profit international organisation with Board level interface
• Experience in fundraising raising, presenting to and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders in a variety of formats; being the ‘public face’ of an organization
• Experience of building and maintaining positive relationships with staff, funders, statutory agencies and other key stakeholders.
• Experience in lobbying on behalf agricultural and horticultural producers for access to regional and international markets.
• Experience in working with small scale farming communities and advocating for their needs at policy level with governments and other policy and regulatory bodies.
• Knowledge of charity budgeting and principles of financial and management accounting; understanding of accounting principles for different funding sources

Skills

• Ability to think strategically
• Leadership skills
• Outstanding communication skills, both oral, written and online to both internal and external audiences
• Excellent presentation and persuasion skills
• Influencing, negotiation and networking skills
• Charismatic speaker; well respected in the sector.

Terms of Appointment

This is a full-time position with the successful candidate being contracted on a three-year basis with the possibility of renewal based on funding and performance.

Please note: This job description is intended as a guide and should not be viewed as an inflexible specification as it may be varied from time to time in the light of strategic developments following discussion with the post holder. The post holder will be expected to work to agreed objectives, which should facilitate achievements of the key responsibilities in accordance with the Performance Review Process.