Program Officer, Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

 Job Reference: CALA/PSC/01/2023

The Position Summary

The Program Officer – Coordinator for the Leadership Initiative will act as a day-to-day technical lead responsible for implementation of the Leadership Initiative. He/ She will be responsible for sharing AGRA’s knowledge, experience and networks, and will work directly with the partners on the design and implementation of the leadership journey including the coaching component, curriculum development, the leadership forums, learning trips and digital learning.

S/He will serve as a technical officer responsible for coordination of partners to effectively implement program activities and ensure delivery.  The Program Officer will also be expected to work closely with the implementing partners for this initiative as well as the beneficiary countries. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop progress and results tracking matrix for the Leadership Initiative related interventions.
• Coordinate collaborative activities between AGRA, the African Management Institute (AMI), the Policy LINK and other partners in organizing leadership capacity building activities.
• Work directly with the partners on the design and implementation of the leadership journey including the coaching component, curriculum development, the leadership forums & learning trips and digital learning.
• Contribute to state capability related proposals, particularly the ones related to enhancement of leadership capacity within the agriculture sector. 
• Enhance state capability contribution to the delivery of other bodies of work.
• Produce knowledge products and thought pieces related to leadership capacity building and its implication to agriculture transformation in Africa.  
• Track and report outcomes of the leadership support to countries.
• Develop and coordinate implementation of the annual work plan for the Leadership Initiative.
• Following up and monitoring the implementation of the Leadership Initiative and produce progress reports for reporting within AGRA, the BMZ as well as to the stakeholders.
• Taking lead in developing Leadership Initiative related proposals with support from respective country teams especially the country manager and task leader on government support interventions.
• Providing support in developing training materials and guidelines related to the Leadership Initiative.
• Organizing Leadership Initiative related workshops and trainings.
• Providing capacity building to country teams and AGRA staff on AGRA’s government support approach and support to the enhancement of leadership capacity. 
• Documenting good practices on Leadership Capacity Building for the agriculture sector deriving from AGRA’s investment.
• Analysing AGRA’s contribution in building State Capability/country and enhancing leadership capacity in the target countries. 
• Lead the provision and management of State Capability grants to national governments, regional and international technical assistance providers to deliver on State Capability initiative. 
• Contribute to partnership development with national, regional and continental partners [i.e., governments, private sector, multilateral and bilateral partners, civil society] operating in the state capability space.
• Produce program implementation progress reports (Financial and activities report) as required by the program funders.
• Design coordination reports and briefings. 
• Review and provide quality assurance on partners’ deliverables.

Key Qualifications & Experience 

• At least Master’s degree in any one of these fields: Agronomy, Sociology, Agriculture and Livestock Sciences, Agricultural Economics, International Development, Public Administration, Economics, Rural Development, OR any other relevant field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience linked to the provision of high-level policy advice/ technical support in agriculture and rural development.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing agricultural policies, agricultural sector plans, and frameworks.
• Experience in working with multi-stakeholder platforms and processes, or other complex collaboration and partner management platforms across sectors, including agriculture.
• Experience in coordination and partnership management.
• Experience in building capacity of government and private sector.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and experience in working with a wide range of individuals in government, private sector and civil society. 
• Proficient in program management, program design and M&E. 
• Proficiency in both written and spoken English. 
• Ability to create organizational work plans based on higher-level goals.
• Deep understanding of the Africa agricultural sector and stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, analytical and writing skills. 
• Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization.