Technical Deputy Chief of Party, Transforming Local Food Processing

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.

Program Description:

TechnoServe is preparing for a global opportunity with USAID focused on transforming the local food processing sector to provide for the greater availability of safe and nutritious foods in Feed the Future countries. Building on TechnoServe’s rich history in the food processing sector, the program will leverage the power of the private sector to create better nutritional outcomes for base-of-the-pyramid consumers and more profitable market opportunities for local farmers. This will be achieved by working with local food processing companies in priority USAID countries to support better business practices, more durable market linkages, and improved knowledge.

Job Summary:

The Technical Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will be responsible for delivering a comprehensive technical strategy aligned with the program’s overarching objectives across the targeted countries. S/he will oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of technical interventions, ensuring they are completed on time and according to TechnoServe’s quality standards. S/he will work closely with the COP and Knowledge Management Director to continuously assess the quality of our implementation based on data, take measures to improve or reorient program activities when needed, prioritize tasks and allocate resources effectively to meet program goals.

S/he will lead a team of technical experts in food processing, food safety, food systems R&D, among others, and support them as they build the capacity of local partners to strengthen their countries’ food systems. S/he will foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning within the technical team.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for the project's activities, ensuring alignment with project goals and objectives;
• Work closely with the Chief of Party (COP) to develop and implement project work plans, ensuring technical quality and compliance with donor requirements;
• Represent the project and organization in technical forums, conferences, and meetings with donors and other stakeholders;
• Lead efforts to capture, document, and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and innovations from project implementation;
• Manage relationships with key regional and local stakeholders and support them as they build their capacity on regulatory control systems for food quality, nutrition requirements, and safety standards;
• In collaboration with the Chief of Party and the M&E Manager, design, review and continuously improve program implementation on the basis of results obtained, based on quantitative and qualitative data and feedback from program participants, clients, partners and staff;
• Plan, establish, and direct a wide range of program interventions (special studies, after action reviews, partners’ meetings, organizational learning surveys, on-line engagements) to inform and advance the program’s Collaborating, Learning & Adapting (CLA) Plan, to facilitate overall program implementation;
• In collaboration with the Chief of Party, ensure that the programming execution meets TechnoServe quality standards;
• Assist Chief of Party with other strategic and technical tasks as required

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree plus 10 years of relevant experience, (i.e. business management, food science, economics, agriculture, development); Or Master’s degree plus 7 years of experience

Required Languages:

• Fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills required

Travel:  Up to 40% international travel is expected

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven agri-food private sector expertise including market analysis, product development, quality control/quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and marketing
• Management consultancy, business advisory services or experience managing local consultants/BDS providers
• Significant experience of managing key relationships with stakeholders at a senior level.
• Strategy planning and implementation
• Managing knowledge and learning, training and program quality
• Experience supporting USAID-funded programs and familiarity with USAID’s CLA approach

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong program management and analytical skills, as evidenced by leading roles on successful initiatives engagements of significant scale.
• Good knowledge and understanding of the business and/or technical challenges of agro-processing in emerging markets.
• Ability to work independently and diplomatically in a multicultural environment.
• Detail orientation, including strong organizational, analytical and quantitative skills.
• Ability to anticipate demand, manage multiple tasks/programs and meet tight deadlines.
• Proven team player with strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills.
• Outstanding written communication skills including prior experience editing and proofreading documents.
• Strong program management skills including the ability to anticipate demand and manage multiple tasks and programs while meeting tight deadlines.
• Excellent computer skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet.
• Outstanding organizational skills.

This position is contingent upon the activity award and approval by the donor.

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 affirmative action employer 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.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call 1 202 785 4515.