Food Systems Manager

Job Title: Food Systems Manager

Supervisor: Deputy Chief of Party

Location: Nairobi Kenya

Grade: Grade 9

About TechnoServe:

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. is a pioneer in leveraging the power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics, and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.

Program Overview:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) anticipates funding the five-year Feed the Future Local Food Systems (LFS) activity in Kenya. The activity will promote inclusive agriculture-led growth with a focus on climate-smart approaches, strengthen the resilience of people and systems by expanding economic opportunities, improve nutrition of women and children, as well as integrate cross-cutting themes. This activity is anticipated to cover a combination of staple and high value crops.

The activity will implement solutions including:

Improving resilience of vulnerable populations Building the capacity of food system enterprises Catalyzing investment into local agricultural market systems Establishing strong and transparent relationships between food system actors Improving the availability and affordability of nutritious food products, especially for women and children Expanding employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, especially for youth and women

Job Summary:

TechnoServe seeks a Food Systems Manager (FSM) to provide strategic and technical guidance to LFS’s Technical Integration Team. Reporting to the DCOP, the FSM will have strong technical knowledge of the food and market system of the sectors and geographies prioritized by the LFS project.

The Technical Integration Team will be composed of technical professionals across areas such as first/last mile distribution, agro-processing, nutrition, policy, gender, youth and social inclusion (GYSI), and entrepreneurship.

The team will be tasked with developing strategic approaches with the regional implementation teams across a number of work-streams; identifying national level priorities and supporting relationship building with national stakeholders; supporting the development of specific partnership opportunities across the workstreams; setting training and capacity development standards across the workstreams; and, fostering collaboration across regions and program objectives. The FSM will be responsible for ensuring that the team has necessary support from the CLA and Finance and Admin units, and is coordinating effectively with the regional implementation teams.

The role includes conducting research around various market systems and identifying constraints to be addressed, identifying and coordinating local partners; supervising members of the project team; and overseeing project implementation, reporting, and monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership:

Under the guidance of the COP and DCOP, provide strategic guidance, leadership, management, and general technical oversight of the technical integration team. Lead the development of food and market system interventions with a focus on gender, localization, and sustainability. Conduct market research, generate innovative ideas, and effectively manage partnerships to drive program success. Identify new strategic program opportunities to expand the impact of the project.

Stakeholder Engagement:

Independently engage with senior-level executives from the private and public sectors to encourage solutions to local food systems Support the development and ongoing relationship management of national level partnerships Engage with external stakeholders to build essential partnerships, as determined by the COP and DCOP

Program Management:

Work closely with the regional implementation teams, CLA Unit and Finance and Admin units to ensure alignment of resources, activities, and key performance indicators. Conduct frequent field visits to stay informed about intervention progress and support ongoing collaboration, learning and adaptation. Working with the Grants Manager, develop schedules, tools, and processes for deploying a robust local partnerships fund; work closely with the regional implementation teams to ensure targeted calls for partnerships are released to address constraints in the local food system. Identify issues and risks related to implementation promptly, suggesting appropriate program adjustments Lead, or in supporting role, manage, contribute to, and provide quality control to data analysis and report writing.

Capacity Building and Support:

Support subawards and grantees in intervention design and operational management. Provide Food and market systems coaching and guidance to program staff and partners

Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting:

Collaborate with the M&E team to monitor and evaluate program progress. Support or contribute to knowledge management activities including writing articles on project developments, learning or opinion pieces.

Innovation and Best Practices:

Develop innovative approaches to enhance TechnoServe's work and share these innovations to promote the adoption of best practices within the organization.

Representation and Networking:

Represent the program at networking events with private and public sector actors, as per the guidance of the COP and DCOP

Other duties

Perform other related duties as required to contribute to the program's success.

Basic Qualifications and Competencies:

Bachelor’s degree in management, economics, statistics, agribusiness, business administration, agricultural economics, agriculture, international development or relevant field, or equivalent work experience, master’s degree preferred. At least 7 years of experience in food and market systems, or related fields Strong knowledge of the business and agricultural ecosystem in Kenya with familiarity with the various market actors and players, including financial sectors, input suppliers, service providers, etc. Strong gender leadership, supervisory, problem-solving, communication, and coordination skills required. Demonstrated commitment to advancing gender equality. Track record of building and managing strong client and stakeholder relationships, including with government, civil society and private sector Proven ability to develop strategies and conduct analysis on complex commercial questions Experience in authoring concise and well-written reports and presentations Demonstrated competency in program and staff management, coaching, and team leadership Experience working on donor-funded projects is preferred. Strategic and analytical thinking skills Exceptional interpersonal and cross-cultural skills Fluent user of MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Verbal and written fluency in English and Kiswahili Preferred Qualifications: Experience in LFS’s zones of influence preferred Proven experience in incorporating complexity awareness with programmatic implementation Proven experience with catalytic grants programs

Required Languages:

Fluency in English and Kiswahili, with excellent oral and written communication skills required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Demonstrated Leadership: Proven ability to inspire and lead teams toward program goals, fostering adaptability and creative problem-solving. Results-driven: Committed to achieving measurable impact and program outcomes, consistently seeking improvement opportunities. Strategic Management and Adaptability: Proficient in systems thinking, quick to adapt strategies in response to change, with expertise in Market Systems Development (MSD), entrepreneurship, and regenerative solutions development. Problem-Solving Expertise: Strong at addressing market system challenges and developing innovative solutions. Stakeholder Engagement: Skilled in building effective relationships with diverse stakeholders to drive collaboration and results. Gender and Inclusion: Familiar with gender-sensitive and inclusive program approaches, dedicated to reducing social and economic inequalities. Initiative and Independence: Takes initiative, works independently, demonstrating self-motivation and proactiveness. Effective Communication: Friendly and approachable, facilitating communication and collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders.

Supervisory Responsibilities: 

Supervise a team of 5 technical staff, matrix management to additional sub-awardee staff.

Please note that this opportunity is contingent upon donor award.

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.