Partnership Manager - Advancing Women for Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains (AWRAS)

Job

Job Title : Partnership Manager

Contract : Advancing Women for Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains (AWRAS)

Level of Effort: Long Term Technical Assistance (LTTA)

Position Overview

DAI seeks a Partnership Manager for the USAID-funded Advancing Women for Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains (AWRAS) program. The Partnership Manager will oversee and support multiple gender and agriculture-related activities under the AWRAS program.

USAID is establishing a partnership with a cohort of private-sector actors to develop innovative approaches to addressing sustainability challenges in their agricultural supply chains by embedding gender-responsive activities in their core business, agricultural value chain, and sustainability strategies.

The partnership aims to establish a shared understanding of market-based, core business solutions that promote women’s equal access to and control over resources, opportunities, and decision-making authority in agricultural supply chains as a key strategy for achieving sustainability goals. Interventions will build upon the initiatives already led and implemented by partners, leveraging lessons learned and successful practices to enhance knowledge sharing and develop effective implementation tools. The partnership will align efforts between corporate partners and USAID to address constraints and capitalize on opportunities to advance environmental sustainability by embedding gender equality into core business operations. The partners involved in this activity were selected based on their ongoing work and significant learnings from gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives and their commitment to sustainable agriculture. By building upon their current efforts, they aim to scale these initiatives within their own supply chains, share best practices, and influence the industry for greater impact. Their active engagement and experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives make them ideal contributors to this partnership.

By identifying and implementing a common theory of change and measuring outcomes, the project will foster synergy and coherence among the private sector partners and bilaterally with USAID.

The Partnership Manager will be responsible for managing at least one of the AWRAS private sector partners and AWRAS activities related to that partner with minimal direction or supervision. Responsibilities include overseeing the activity design and work planning, implementation and management of activities, including the management of multiple client relationships. These will include USAID/Washington and relevant USAID Missions and the private sector partner(s). The Partnership Manager is also responsible for buy-in activity budget management and financial forecasting, with support from other members of the AWRAS team. In addition, the Partnership Manager will provide strategic technical direction for procurements and grants, and participate in the procurement evaluation and selection process for any procurements or grants related to their activity portfolio. The Partnership Manager will also be responsible for developing and managing activity scopes of work and budgets and provide surge procurement and operational as needed. The Partnership Manager will work with other members of the technical team to coordinate learning capture and developing knowledge products for activities they manage. The Partnership Manager will report to the COP and will coordinate and work closely with the Gender and Agriculture Advisor, Operations, MEL, and Communications teams and the Home Office Team.

Responsibilities

The Partnership Manager will be responsible for the management of assigned activities. Tasks may include:

• Manage and track activity implementation progress by personnel, consultants and subcontractors, ensure it adheres to the approved workplan and deliverable schedule, and troubleshoot deviations
• Lead development and review of technical deliverables and contribute to subsequent learning
• Directly manage relationship with USAID, private sector client(s), relevant stakeholder(s), and implementing partner(s) and serve as the project’s primary point of contact for the duration of the assigned activities. E nsure assigned buy-in activities are managed in accordance with USAID regulations and DAI policies.
• Manage the contractual and operational aspects of the activity and coordinate with the relevant members of the operations, procurement, financial management, reporting and MEL teams.
• Support principal technical members of the team in technically developing and managing the activity, subcontractors, deliverables, and strategic guidance with the client.
• Ensure assigned buy-in activities are managed in accordance with USAID regulations and DAI procurement policies.
• Liaise with AWRAS Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Advisor, private sector partners, and subawardees to ensure that M&E data capture and data quality contribute to overall AWRAS project M&E reporting;
• Provide summary learning for periodic required reporting to USAID and private sector partners
• Work with the Chief of Party, Senior Operations Manager, and other team members in flagging and addressing potential issues and challenges
• Generate activity, consultant, and subawardee scopes of work and budgets as needed
• Ensure implementation is strategic and cost-effective by ensuring ongoing collaboration, joint analysis, learning and use of data for decision-making and continuous quality improvement
  
  
  

Qualifications & Skills Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum of 10 years work experience working on USAID-funded development projects
• Exhibited excellence in budget, operational, and process management and command systems and policies (or more general project and business process management experience relevant to USAID implementation)
• Relevant experience with the technical issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment, sustainable development, USAID’s private sector engagement and gender equality and women’s empowerment policies
• Exhibited experience in working with and successfully managing multiple mid- and high-level government and/or private sector clients
• Exhibited supervisory experience and matrixed team management
• Proven ability to mentor staff and create a supportive and positive work environment where all staff thrive
• Proven project management, communications, writing, and interpersonal skills
• Excellent judgment, sound problem solving and decision-making skills
• Ability to work in a fast moving, fluid team setting with multiple stakeholders
• Periodic travel required
  
  
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience with DAI policies, procedures, and systems (Jedox, SharePoint, etc.) for project management is preferred
  
  
  

Compensation & Benefits:

This position and any offer extended is contingent upon project funding and client approval.

For employees working the United States, the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to be between $95,000 to $125,000. Actual offers will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, qualifications, relevant education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Eligible U.S. based employees, will be able to enroll in medical, dental and vision insurance, plus a 401(k)-retirement plan with a company match. Additionally, employees will be eligible for company-paid annual leave (vacation & holidays), sick leave, parental leave; as well as short- and long-term disability coverage. Detailed information will be provided at the time a formal offer is extended.

For employees working outside of the United States, compensation and benefits will vary based on location.

Equal Employment Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or status as a protected veteran.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting discrimination in all forms, nurturing respect for our interpersonal relationships, and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.