The role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Position
The Head of Generation Africa is an exciting position responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of the Generation Africa initiative. The role holder will be primarily accountable for coming through on the initiative’s vision to strengthen the ecosystem that supports young Agripreneurs across the continent.
In particular, the Head of Generation Africa will lead the development and implementation of the initiative’s adaptive strategy. He/she will be responsible for program development and quality, scaling the activities and reach of the initiative throughout the year, bringing onboard new partners, and reporting to the initiative’s Steering Committee and stakeholder groups, which will be made up of Strategic Partners (funders) and Technical Partners who will approve the strategy and budget each year and review progress against key performance measures. He or she will represent Generation Africa in public fora and through thought leadership. He or she will also directly manage a team of at least three staff, oversee contributions from service providers, and coordinate the pro-bono contributions of capacity from the initiative’s partners, which are expected to cut across public sector, private sector, implementing institutions, farmer organizations, and beyond.
The Head of Generation Africa will be a passionate advocate of this agenda, championing it with young Agripreneurs themselves, the ecosystem actors that support them, and top-level leaders.
The Head of Generation Africa is a key member of the AGRF Management Team and will be based in Nairobi. The role will work closely with partners across the continent and the world on a daily basis, and travel is expected to be around 15-20% per year.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Strategy Development
Engaging partners, ecosystem actors and entrepreneurs to identify key opportunities for Generation Africa to strengthen the ecosystem for Agripreneurship;
Developing and iterating a compelling multi-year strategy that will rally and support partners to transform the Agripreneurs ecosystem;
Developing an annual work plan of activities and targets through which the Generation Africa team will deliver the strategy;
Securing approval of the Steering Committee for the annual strategy, work plan and budget.
Implementation Oversight
Overseeing implementation of the strategy and work plan;
Team management – leading an agile, empowered, creative and dedicated team to deliver results;
Adapting the plan to embrace new learning and opportunities;
Quarterly and annual reporting on progress to the Steering Committee.
Public Representation
Advocacy for youth Agripreneurship with cross-sector leaders embodying the vision of Generation Africa, conveying the vast opportunities, nuanced constraints, and pathways to progress in the sector;
Championing Agripreneurship to youth themselves, through online and in-person fora;
Attending key events on behalf of Generation Africa. This may include convenings of partners and stakeholders such as the African Green Revolution Forum, CAADP Partnership Platform, the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting and World Economic Forum Africa Summit, Young Africa Works, the Seeds and Chips Food Innovation Summit, and others.
Financial Management
Developing an annual budget to deliver on the strategy;
Securing revenue sources to fully resource the budget;
Overseeing expenditure to ensure value-for-money within budget limits;
Ensuring compliance with internal and external expectations for fiscal management including and reporting requirements.
Senior Partner Relations
Inspiring like-minded organizations to join forces toward systemic change on behalf of young Agripreneurs, including by aligning their existing efforts and elevating their resourcing for this agenda.
Engaging and aligning key leaders to a common vision for Agripreneurship and activating them as advocates.
Key Qualifications and Experience required:
A Masters-level qualification in a relevant subject.
At least 10 years’ relevant professional experience, including 3-5 years’ experience in a managerial role, that should include:
Leadership within initiatives supporting cross-sector collaboration on key economic or social challenges;
Working in support of entrepreneurship, preferably youth related;
Working in Africa’s Agri-food sector;
Managing a team and budget, with a track record of delivering targets;
Raising funds to support development initiatives.
The candidate must be a citizen of an African country.
English fluency is required; capabilities with other languages, particularly French, is desirable.
An attractive remuneration package commensurate with the responsibilities of the position will be negotiated with the successful candidate.
