Operations Manager Global Communities

Global Communities seeks to recruit an Operations Manager

About Global Communities

Global Communities is a global development organization committed to working in partnership with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable, impactful changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable. The objective of the program is to catalyze the transformation of Zambia’s agriculture sector through improving the sustainable farming practices and commercialization of emerging farmers.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief of Party, the Operations Manager will work under the USAID funded Emerging Farmers Partnership (EFP) GDA program in Zambia. S/he will have responsibility for all aspects of technical and operational program management in order to optimize program performance and outcomes. This includes systematic monitoring of program results against targets and work plans, operationalization of program standards, and employing data for decision-making and course correction. S/he will ensure effective coordination with private sector partners and stakeholders including government. S/he will ensure adherence to overall technical, and programmatic quality in implementation, compliance with USAID rules and regulations, and the timely submission of all deliverables to USAID, including annual work plans, performance monitoring plans, quarterly reports, annual reports, and other reports as may be required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist the COP in developing and executing project work plans and overseeing and implementing project activities.
  Provide leadership, management, and direction to field-level activities.
• Coordinate technical support in the mechanization, agronomic and capacity building components with partners.
• Develop and coordinate a capacity building program in collaboration with partners.
• Assist the project’s strategic, financial, and operational planning, including the detailed implementation planning process.
• Lead and oversee technical team and components and ensure activities align with the work plan.
• Adapt project implementation and activities to achieve objectives and targets as needed.
• Corroborate and monitor overall technical direction of the program.
• Process timely and quality submission of all deliverables to USAID.
• Provide surveillance and coordination with private sector partners in the program.
• Manage core project technical staff.
• Serve as primary point of contact for technical activities to EFP project partners and stakeholders.
• Provide general coordination of the capacity building of emerging farmers.
• Ensure gender equality and socially inclusive approaches are integrated into programming and effectively implemented; regularly identify learnings, refining the design as needed to improve social inclusion across project activities.
• Support the effective and efficient use of program resources in compliance with USAID regulations and Global Communities policies and regulations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness, Economics, Agriculture, or related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• Over five (5) years experience in managing implementation of USAID funded programs.
• Proven knowledge and experience designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of capacity building/training programs.
• A minimum of five (5) years of demonstrated senior management experience in managing agricultural development programs.
• Proven leadership skills building and managing cooperative, high-level relationships and motivating diverse teams.
• Experience facilitating blended finance models to advance agricultural scaling.
• Seven (7) years of demonstrated senior management experience managing relevant donor-funded programs.
• Experience and/or technical knowledge in designing, managing development projects and activities, particularly related to agricultural development.
• Experience scaling producers and farmer-based organizations (FBOs) to achieve commercial scale.
• Experience scaling aggregators and processors to increase domestic and regional trade of agriculture-based products.
• Proven capacity to collaborate across projects, be flexible, and creative and successfully lead an intercultural team in development contexts.
• Ability to communicate effectively, instilling trust and confidence.
• Excellent interpersonal and written and oral presentation skills.
• Strong computer skills.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Professional proficiency in written and spoken English. Must be able to read and interpret documents and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Must be able and willing to frequently travel domestically to project sites in the provinces.