This role, Manager, ADOPT (Adaptation & Resilience Pillar), is crucial for FSD Africa’s strategy, focusing on leveraging insurance adoption activities to improve program delivery and achieve meaningful real-sector outcomes, particularly for young women smallholder farmers (SHFs) and agri-preneurs in implementation countries. This position requires leadership in strategy development, hands-on program management, stakeholder engagement, and influencing for impact, ensuring interventions promote inclusive insurance and climate resilience.
Key Responsibilities and Role Requirements
ADOPT Strategy and Programming
- Work with the Head of Delivery, AFIYA, within the context of FSD Africa’s strategy and the Adaptation & Resilience Pillar’s focus, ensuring that the programme results in meaningful real-sector outcomes.
- Lead the overall strategy, planning, and execution of AFIYA ADOPT interventions across implementation countries.
- Manage partnerships with local implementation partners, Foundation agriculture programs, and intermediaries to co-design and deliver training for young women SHFs and agri-preneurs.
- Maintain a strong focus on insurance adoption, climate resilience, and gender equity, ensuring interventions directly support uptake of inclusive insurance and credit.
- Scope out existing research (and undertake additional research if agreed upon), building a deep understanding of how insurance adoption activities can be leveraged to improve programme delivery.
- Share learnings associated with strategy development and programming with the broader FSD Africa organisation and partners.
- Work collaboratively with the Development Impact team to devise and manage results measurement and learning frameworks that will yield important insights.
Programme Management
Coordinate the roll-out of a delegated portfolio of community engagement programmes so that results are achieved, risks are managed, and quality results are delivered; ensuring that ongoing learning from the AFIYA Adopt interventions are fully utilised to maximise impact and innovation:
- Lead the co-design and implementation of training programs in collaboration with local and Foundation partners.
- Oversee the operationalisation of Youth Agribusiness Development Hubs in each target country, creating a platform where young entrepreneurs can learn, collaborate, and grow their ventures.
- Build and nurture relationships with cooperatives, agribusiness centres, financial institutions, and other intermediaries to help deliver training and bundle services like financial literacy, access to tools, and insurance.
- Monitor training uptake, business development outcomes, and track post-training adoption of climate-smart practices and insurance.
- Support representation of youth voices and feedback into product design and policy dialogues.
- Review Quarterly monitoring and evaluation reports for community engagement activities and take appropriate action based on results and analysis:
- If desired results have been achieved, initiate strategies for widespread awareness-raising and ‘crowding in’, focusing on applying leverage, replication of the project, and scaling.
- If desired results have not been achieved, either manage performance of the implementation team or adjust the strategy/approach.
- Identify, report on and mitigate project risks in a timely manner (project delivery and partnership management).
- Refine project strategies, creating detailed implementation plans, risk assessments, and tracking frameworks to guide execution.
- Ensure clarity among stakeholders regarding roles, deliverables, standards, and reporting requirements for effective project delivery.
- Lead effective project closure processes, ensuring sustainable outcomes beyond FSD Africa's involvement.
Influencing and Communicating for Impact
Actively participate in the development, and lead implementation, of advocacy and communications plans for AFIYA community engagement activities:
- Map stakeholders and devise strategic communication plans to influence key actors and advance project goals.
- Partner with the Communications team to integrate advocacy into project plans, driving stakeholder engagement effectively.
- Develop impactful content and materials for advocacy efforts, supporting visibility and strategic communication objectives.
- Represent FSD Africa professionally in public forums, enhancing its credibility and influence among stakeholders.
- Monitor communication efforts, adjusting strategies based on effectiveness and stakeholder responses.
Relationship Management
Take initiative to build relationships and ensure effective collaboration with and between all project stakeholders and FSD Africa colleagues, including managing any consultants deployed to the projects being managed:
- Ensure that all stakeholders involved in the project are fully briefed concerning expectations; especially on project milestone targets, quality standards, data collection/reporting, and compliance with accountability requirements.
- Proactively build strategic partnerships essential for project success, ensuring alignment with AFIYA objectives.
- Foster collaboration across organisational pillars, identifying opportunities for synergy and coordinated actions.
- Respond effectively to stakeholder information needs, organising targeted capacity-building events or knowledge dissemination.
- Manage consultants and teams through motivational leadership, ensuring high performance and effective project outcomes.
- Engage continuously with stakeholders to nurture relationships, ensuring ongoing collaboration and support for projects.
Risks & Resources Management
Ensure effective management of resources/budget for projects under management, aiming to optimise the impact that is achieved with resources and ensuring compliance with FSD Africa and Donor policies:
- Develop project plans, budgets, and forecasts to ensure optimal resource utilisation and compliance with organisational policies.
- Support fundraising by contributing technical sections and budgets to project proposals.
- Ensure rigorous due diligence and risk assessments are conducted, ensuring thorough analysis without impeding ADOPT partner operations.
- Liaise internally to manage financial resources effectively, ensuring compliance with statutory and donor regulations.
- Regularly analyse portfolio performance for value-for-money, adjusting strategies to enhance development impact.
Qualifications and Education
- Master’s degree and 6 years of experience or Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, Development Studies, Gender Studies, Education, Climate Change, or a related field with at least 8 years of experience.
- Relevant postgraduate qualifications preferred.
- Excellent skills in written and spoken English.
.png){kind=logo}
.png){kind=logo}