Winrock recruits 01 Country Director

Winrock hiring a Country Director, Enabling Farmers for Agricultural Transition (EFAT).

Reports to: U.S. based Program Director

This position is open to Senegalese nationals.

Project summary

Winrock International is seeking a subject matter expert in international agricultural extension to lead an anticipated program to pilot and disseminate best practices on integrated extension advisory services. The Senegal Country Director will be responsible for implementing an Activity to pilot and learn from pluralistic extension and advisory services using a demand-driven, gender-responsive and socially inclusive approach that supports the USAID Bureau of Resilience and Food Security, USAID Missions, local stakeholders, and the global extension advisory services community of practice (CoP) at various action points along the Extension Advisory Services (EAS) continuum.

The Senegal country director will be responsible for designing, implementing and capturing the knowledge generated of operational research of different EAS models that can be globally replicated and scaled. The Senegal pilot will drive transformation in the agriculture sector and achieve sustainable impact by leveraging and contextualizing existing research on climate-smart agriculture practices, technologies, and EAS delivery models to meet the needs and priorities of target farming systems, crops, and demographic groups. The country director will also support the global EAS CoP to capitalize the best practices from the Senegal pilot.

Essential responsibilities

The country director is responsible for overall leadership, project management, supervision, administration, and implementation of the Senegal pilot activity in collaboration with the US-based program staff, supported by a small in-country team. The CD will act as the lead subject matter expert in Senegal, as well as ensure smooth program implementation, including establishing and maintaining systems for project operations; ensure that all deliverable deadlines are met and targets are achieved; coordinate and maintain working relationships with project stakeholders (including USAID Senegal, government entities, sub-grantees and/or subcontractors); lead collaborative initiatives with relevant government agencies and private sector players, and oversee the preparation and submission of technical and financial reports and other deliverables to USAID. The Senegal Activity will also host around 8 to 10 skilled U.S. volunteer experts per year, and the CD will oversee the development of technical assistance terms of reference (for two-week volunteer assignments), as well as facilitating the in-country logistics and follow up on technical recommendations.

Technical and Thought Leadership and Capacity Building

Develop and implement a thought leadership strategy to translate knowledge gained from pilot activities, program studies and assessments, including dissemination to USAID and the EAS community of practice.
Provide technical assistance and follow-up coaching and support design of capacity-building training materials and workshops for high-level policy makers.
Provide leadership, technical assistance, support, and oversight to partner institutions, private sector actors and non-governmental organizations.
Provide technical thought leadership on analytical work that might be commissioned by USAID in Senegal or around West Africa (e.g., studies or assessments on EAS approaches in various countries).
Represent the project and Winrock to USAID and other members of the community of practice, including local and national government entities, national, regional and international ag research institutions, private sector and local civil society.
Work with Winrock management and other colleagues to leverage and align project work with other Winrock efforts, including Winrock’s West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer Program (which also has activities in Senegal), to maximize impact.

Coalition Building and Experience Sharing

Forge and maintain relationships with in-country and regional EAS stakeholders.
Develop strategic partnerships to leverage other public and private sector resources and ensure project success
Promote communication, experience sharing, and dissemination of best practices and lessons learned with other relevant actors/programs.
Coordinate and collaborate with other Winrock’s projects implemented in Senegal (Farmer-to-Farmer, Dekkal Geej, and the USAID Entrepreneurship and Investment Activity).

Project Management

Manage the core pilot project activities, deliverables, and in-country budget.
Establish and maintain systems and effective practices for scaled-up project operations.
Develop and oversee the pilot project’s annual planning and ensure timely, high-quality implementation of activities and deliverables.
Oversee and support monitoring and evaluation of project implementation and deliverables, including the collaborative design of pilot M&E Plan and other evaluations and data collection activities.
Collaborate closely with Winrock’s Farmer-to-Farmer team in Senegal on volunteer recruitment and reporting.
Oversee preparation of scopes of work for volunteer assignments that are aligned with the Activity objectives and contribute meaningfully to building local capacity.
Oversee the pilot project budget and forecasts, monitor spending, and ensure that all activities are reflected in annual budget allocations, in compliance with Winrock policy and donor guidelines.
Prepare and submit timely and accurate program updates and reports to the Program Director for reports to the donor and Winrock.
Supervise, coach and mentor the Senegal team, including program, M&E and support staff.
Maintain close communication with the donor, reporting regularly for formal review sessions and providing ongoing, informal updates of program progress, and serve as the in-country point of contact with the USAID Senegal activity manager.
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Successful candidates will be a proven and experienced leader in the community of extension advisory services with a track record of using innovative approaches to increase the adoption of climate smart agriculture practices by farmers. The Country Director will have strong management skills as well as relevant experience implementing programs in agricultural extension in developing countries. Additional experience and specialization in local capacity development, gender equality and social inclusion, working with agricultural research institutions, and/or capturing best practices and lessons learned through implementation research. Significant project management experience and leadership is highly desired.

Education: Bachelor’s degree required, in agricultural development, agricultural education, agricultural economics, or other related field of study. Master’s degree preferred.

Technical: Minimum of 7 years of demonstrated leadership experience managing agricultural development programs or private enterprise in the ag sector.

Management Experience:

Experience managing projects to the highest ethical standards.
Demonstrated leadership and administrative skills in the management of multi-activity programming, on time and on budget.
At least 5 years of experience in project management and implementation of donor-funded programs (preferably USAID).
Financial management, budget design, and budget management experience.
Demonstrated success in motivating and supervising diverse teams of employees.
Results-driven professional with proven understanding of program design, monitoring and evaluation.
Experience in strategic planning and workplan development and implementation of strategic plans.
Good track record working with and/or partnering with a variety of individuals and organizations, including senior US and host country government officials, international agencies, private sector companies, and donor organizations.

Skills & Knowledge

Experience with public-private partnership, public sector agriculture agencies, research institutions, and civil society groups.
Leadership experience in the implementation of development projects, particularly related to agricultural extension, capacity building, gender, and youth mainstreaming.
Professional proficiency in written and oral English language skills required.
Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict, and ethical management skills.
Demonstrated ability to foster team dynamic across global teams.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Willingness to travel up country in Senegal approximately 30% of time, and occasionally around the West Africa region or to the United States (contingent on COVID-related health risks).

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