Program Director— Harnessing Agriculture Productivity and Prosperity for Youth

At , we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better life. For over 50 years, we have given smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs the skills, connections, and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty. We leverage the power of markets and the private sector to create sustainable economic growth to benefit people and the planet. Our unique mix of business solutions, deep knowledge of local contexts, and data-driven insights is helping to fight poverty across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

TechnoServe staff are local–95% are from the countries in which they work. We put a high premium on collaboration and entrepreneurship. We hold ourselves and each other to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. And we focus on delivering lasting impact for our mission.

Overview:

We are seeking a Program Director to lead the Harnessing Agriculture Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) project, which runs from December 2023 through May 2028. HAPPY aims to drive shared prosperity in Ghana by creating, sustaining, or improving dignified jobs and increasing agricultural productivity across the poultry, rice, soy, and tomato value chains. HAPPY will bridge the productivity gaps in these four value chains by building resilient youth-led and women-led food systems. The project will harness the power of young women and men to enhance the sourcing and business models of off-takers, pursue innovative entrepreneurial ventures, support the adoption of improved practices and inputs, and influence the enabling environment by making their voices heard. The result will be a more prosperous and inclusive agricultural sector that propels growth across the country.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

Leading TechnoServe’s overall implementation and management of the HAPPY project. Providing strategic guidance, leadership, management, and general technical oversight of the project, with an unwavering commitment to delivering results through partnership. Serving as a liaison and driving shared vision and strategy among consortium members, donors, Ghanaian government agencies, and private sector actors. Leading, managing, and supervising a complex consortium of implementing partners, technical organizations, and service providers. Fostering collaboration, learning, and adaptive management to inform decision-making, communicate with stakeholders, and drive impact. Ensuring coordination with a range of donor-funded programs in Ghana. Ensuring that project outcomes and deliverables are completed on time, within budget, and in compliance with donor and TechnoServe requirements. Responsible for country program administration and operations including fleet/vehicle management, local safety and security plans, general office management, and local travel protocols and arrangements. Serve as TechnoServe’s principal spokesperson to Ghana staff, communicating updates, policies, and general information. Escalating any staff-related concerns or legal issues to the Regional Director. Approve local procurements, payments, and offer letters and act as bank signatory. Participate in budget discussions, decision making, and ensure the achievement of donor and corporate budget targets.

Basic Qualifications:

A Master’s degree or equivalent in business, international development, economics, public policy, education, agricultural economics, or relevant field with at least 8 years of experience successfully leading a large, complex agribusiness or agricultural development programs with a value chain focus (or a Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of experience). Experience in managing program closeout activities. Experience overseeing technical program areas as well as operational functional areas including financial management, budgeting and procurement. Experience hiring and managing multi-disciplinary teams. Fluent in written and spoken English.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with market systems development (MSD). Solid understanding of small- to medium-enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, including market incentives, business growth constraints, and the enabling factors to translate program support into sustainable jobs and enterprise outcomes. Experience leading complex agricultural market systems in West Africa (and specifically Ghana) strongly preferred. Experience managing programs with an inclusion of marginalized groups, including women, youth, and indigenous people. Demonstrated ability to work with West African agribusiness firms and financial institutions. Experience working in complex and challenging environments.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Demonstrated effectiveness in strategic thinking and policy analysis and able to dialogue with host country government Strong communications and interpersonal skills with evidence of ability to lead diverse teams and achieve results Demonstrated ability to coordinate and engage with a wide range of stakeholders including: government, private sector, NGOs, civil society, research institutions, agribusiness firms and financial institutions Knowledge of agricultural market systems and facilitation approaches Significant knowledge of relevant value chains (poultry, rice, tomato, soybean) Ability to effectively motivate and manage teams in a multi-cultural environment Ability to work under tight deadlines while managing multiple tasks and activities Ability to develop well-written, cohesive analyses and reports Ability to clearly communicate a high-level strategy to internal and external stakeholders while driving execution of a workplan and achievement of short-term milestones Ability to use adaptive management principles to make strategic, data-driven decisions in the face of uncertainty and complexity

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.