Executive Director – Sustain Africa (Part-Time)

Job Summary: IFDC

Type: Consultancy – Global

Country: Kenya

City: Nairobi

About IFDC

IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.

Responsibilities

• The Executive Director is the leader of a small team staffed by IFDC and other Sustain Africa global partners
• The ED is the primary external representative of Sustain Africa and works consistently on expanding its platform amongst private sector, research institutions, donors and government relationships
• The ED has a consistent focus on fundraising to fund the different activities of Sustain Africa
• The ED is responsible for execution of the activities in the Fertilizer and Soil Health work stream
• The ED monitors and interprets the findings of the Sustain Africa Fertilizer Monitor; compiling its conclusions in quarterly reports and advising the Board on actions to be taken
• The ED monitors developments in farm inputs and soil health (e.g., liming, soil maps, green ammonia etc.)
• The ED advises internal (Board, global partners, other Sustain members) and external parties about Sustain
• Africa’s Lessons Learned and positioning on market and food systems development
• The ED will form a Leadership Team with the other Director(s) leading the Sustain FST and potentially other future work streams
• The ED drafts and updates the Sustain Africa Strategy
• The ED operates within the mandate for the role as laid down in the Sustain Africa Collaboration Agreement
• The ED secures operations of Sustain Africa within the constraints of prevailing legislation, compliance requirements, policies, and procedures within the host organization IFDC and budgets.

Requirements

• 7+ years of leadership experience in food systems development
• A master’s degree in a relevant academic field or comparable competences
• Experience in farm inputs markets, fertilizer, finance, and leadership/management.
• Entrepreneurial drive with a can-do attitude backed by solid analytical skills, judgment, and risk awareness
• Cultural overview and demonstrated mastery of multiple communicative leadership styles
• Pioneering and inquisitive personality
• Strong communication skills and media experience
• Proven track record as fundraiser
• Very strong team and platform builder
• Complex problem solving, creativity, negotiation
• Understanding of stakeholders’ position and strategic and financial interests in multi-stakeholder environments
• In depth knowledge of food systems and Food System Transition, key sustainability topics in F&A and in particular in the farm inputs sector
• Presentation skills on Board level and in international networks
• Fluent in English and preferably a second language, both verbal and written.

Reporting and Work Relationships

This position will be report to the President and CEO and Board Sustain Africa.

Location

This is an international recruitment with a duty station in the IFDC office based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Consultancy fees   

It is a 2-year renewable (1 September 2024 till 30 September 2026) consultancy and the starting fee for this position is around 10,000 USD per month.

Diversity Clause

IFDC is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and offers equal employment opportunities based on ability, performance, and potential. Equal opportunity is integral to the recruitment and selection practices at IFDC. IFDC recognizes the value in recruiting employees with different backgrounds, knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. IFDC recognizes and values the contribution of people with a diverse background in capabilities, experience, and perspectives. Diversity encompasses gender, age, experience, education, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds as well as other dimensions such as lifestyle and family responsibilities.

About Program/Project

Sustain Africa1 was conceived in 2022, as crisis response and resilience initiative in support of smallholder farmers (SHFs) growing food crops for domestic markets in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). “Sustain” has channeled support from international farm inputs suppliers and donors2 to farmers, agrodealers, traders and local blenders, mitigating market volatility and promoting sustainable agricultural practices that enhance food security and living incomes within planetary boundaries.

With fertilizer prices peaking mid-2022, Sustain has secured availability and affordability of fertilizers and seeds to SHFs in 10 of the most vulnerable countries in SSA, delivering a total of almost 200,000 Mtons of fertilizer to 2 million farmers. On-the-ground implementors have provided technical assistance and distribution and price controls, collecting data on fertilizer uptake and farmers’ business cases in support of a learning agenda and M&E reporting. Additionally, Sustain Africa has executed 2 advisory assignments to the Governments of Kenya and Nigeria, and a Learning Agenda into the effectiveness of this crisis response and in preparation for future market volatility.

Starting Sept 1, 2024, Sustain Africa will launch its two leading work streams for the next phase of Sustain:

• Sustain Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health, covering initiatives such as (i) the Sustain Africa Fertilizer Monitor, an analytics instrument based on IFDC’s AFO platform; (ii) Liming; (iii) other initiatives based on the outcomes of the 2024 AU African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit.
• Sustain Food Systems Transition, focusing on Food Systems Transition in selected SSA countries, with focus on (i) Food System analysis and development of National Food Strategies; (ii) food import substitution; (iii) macro-economics and finance; (iv) nature and soil health preservation and climate resilience.

The Executive Director will be the primary “face” of Sustain Africa and lead on the Fertilizer and Soil Health work stream.

Link: https://jobs.silkroad.com/IFDC/Careers/jobs/1417?embedded=true