Position Title: Regional Agribusiness Director
Location: Nepalgunj 
Reports To: Deputy Chief of Party (Technical)

Background: 

The new five-year Feed the Future Nepal USAID Agricultural Transformation (“USAID Agricultural Transformation”) aims to catalyze the transformation of Nepal’s agricultural sector required for long-term inclusive economic growth. USAID Agricultural Transformation is implemented by Winrock International in collaboration with Center for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development (CEAPRED), Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development (FORWARD), CrossBoundary, Banyan Global, and the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS). USAID Agricultural Transformation’s working area will include 26 districts across six provinces, with the goal to reach more than 500,000 farming households. 

Building on successful Feed the Future (FTF) investments in Nepal, USAID Agricultural Transformation will apply a refined evidence-based market systems development approach that empowers Nepali private and public actors to identify, design, implement, and own solutions that address root causes of market inefficiencies across five target value chains (fine rice, industrial maize, lentils, high-value vegetables, and goat) through four interrelated objectives:
Objective 1: Agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and diversification increased 
Objective 2: Enabling environment for private sector investment in agriculture and equitable access to market systems improved 
Objective 3: Climate and economic resilience of women, youth, and marginalized communities enhanced 
Objective 4: Capacity of national agricultural research institutions and extension systems strengthened. 

USAID Agricultural Transformation will place women, youth, and marginalized populations at the center of intervention design to strengthen their economic participation and address underlying constraints to accessing productive resources, markets, and information. Strategic facilitation pathways will catalyze new investment in inclusive business models, facilitate adoption of climate smart practices, technologies, and services tailored to the diverse needs of users, and strengthen the Government of Nepal at all three tiers.

Position Description:

The Regional Agribusiness Director (RAD) will be responsible for overall management and operations of USAID Agricultural Transformation within the three Economic Growth Centers namely Dhangadhi, Nepalgunj and Butwal. Additionally, s/he will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the regional office, ensuring that results are achieved on time and on budget.

Essential Responsibilities:

The Regional Agribusiness Director will work closely with the DCOP (Technical), Objective Directors (including the Business and Market Systems team), three Growth Center and Partnership managers, and Local Capacity Strengthening Managers to achieve all results under abovementioned objectives.

The specific responsibilities are detailed below:  

A. Technical

• Foster strategic collaboration with private sector, government, academic and research institutions, to strengthen agricultural practices and market systems.
• Facilitate the advancement of commercial interests of firms by improving business operations and trade, thereby integrating smallholder farmers into sustainable and profitable supply chains.
• Provide technical and managerial guidance to Growth Center and Partnership Managers to identify and develop innovative business models with private sector entities and monitor their activities to achieve USAID Agricultural Transformation results.
• Execute strategies to mobilize resources from local and provincial governments, cooperatives, and leading companies for specific market infrastructure and services, including storage/warehousing, equipment, processing, mechanization services, grading, testing, standards compliance, market information, and business and training support etc.
• Closely coordinate with other Directors for technical guidance and collaborative strategizing. 
• Liaise closely with Market Systems Development Managers for technical input on operationalizing capacity strengthening plans for private sector, farmers groups and local government including support for development of a robust business development services (BDS) ecosystem.

B. Management

• Monitor day-to-day management of activities under three Economic Growth Centers while providing overall facilitation and guidance.
• Closely coordinate with GESI Officers to ensure that inclusive practices are integrated in programming and staffing. 
• Carry out staff appraisals for direct reports, promote overall staff motivation, and support staff with performance improvement, as needed.
• Together with the technical and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) teams, oversee preparation of biweekly, quarterly, and annual reports with critical appraisal of issues, implementation status, adherence to work plan and learning.
• Participate in detailed implementation planning sessions. 
• Participate in and contribute to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.

C. Operations/Communications

• Oversee necessary logistics (with support from the Regional Office Manager).
• Lead/guide preparation of training materials, guidelines, and tool kits.
• Oversee training to government, non-government, private sector, and USAID Agricultural Transformation staff.
• Regularly forecast, review, and monitor budget expenditures.

D. Other

• Serve as regional MEL focal person to ensure timely data entry into the MEL system.
• Oversee the proper collection, processing and documentation of data needed for monitoring and planning to ensure targets are achieved.
• Contribute to ensuring a safe and equitable workplace, especially for women and those from disadvantaged groups.
• Support and collaborate with other USAID-funded activities.
• Undertake other related tasks as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements:

Education: Minimum bachelor’s degree in agri-business, agri-marketing, agri-economics or related field. Master’s degree in relevant field preferred.

Required Experience

The ideal candidate will have the following experience:

• At least 10 years of experience in agricultural project management and operations with a focus on competitiveness, diversification, and resilience in agriculture.
• Experience in market systems development, private sector engagement and enhancing value chains (including forming strategic partnerships and public private partnerships).
• Business development skills to assess feasibility of partnership opportunities; ability to conduct market research; and identify/support design of innovative business models for private sector co-investment.
• Experience working with private sector partners and ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience collaborating with financial institutions, business networks and BDS providers.  
• Familiarity with digital agricultural tools and resources (e.g., for research, extension, finance, marketing etc.).
• Ability to work with government counterparts (local and provincial levels). 
• Experience monitoring activities and progress against indicators/targets.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and coordination skills.
• Demonstrated cultural competence, organizational skills and experience working in diverse, multi-disciplinary teams and environments. 

Language
Fluent Nepali and English, including excellent report writing and English communication skills, with the ability to deliver high-quality reports/technical documents, is required.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessability (DEIA):

We seek to cultivate an environment where all candidates relish equal employment opportunities devoid of discrimination, misconduct, fraud, and abuse. Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) and Localization guides our practices not just in hiring, but also in staff retention, growth, and policy implementation. This commitment signifies that we value diversity in all its forms including age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and cultural background. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, recognizing the rich tapestry of the communities in which we live and work.

We highly encourage women and people from marginalized communities to apply.

Disclaimer:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further selection process. The organization reserves the right to reject any/all applications without assigning any reason whatsoever. Canvassing at any stage of the process shall lead to automatic disqualification of the applicant.