Mennonite Economic Development Associates is hiring a
MEDA invites applications for a Project Director to join our dedicated and talented team in our mission to create business solutions to poverty!
MEDA believes that business solutions are effective interventions to address poverty. Through a market-systems approach and strategic partnerships, MEDA enables access to finance and provides business and technical expertise to build transformative agri-food market systems that create decent jobs, allowing traditionally excluded groups to become active participants in a sustainable economy. MEDA welcomes all who share our values and want to join us in our mission. To find out more about MEDA, please visit our website at www.meda.org.
ROLE
The Project Director leads on operationalizing a country program initiative, which aims at creating systems level change and impact at scale that will drive the creation and/or sustaining of decent work opportunities and socio-economic prosperity for women and youth. This position will lead project planning, execution, and reporting and in the selected country, building strategic relationships and engagements with project stakeholders.
The "Opportunities for Circular and Inclusive Diversification in Agriculture (OCIDA)" project, jointly funded by Global Affairs Canada and MEDA, is a $13 million CAD initiative over five years, aimed at enhancing sustainable, inclusive, and profitable cacao and coffee market systems in Honduras, creating prosperity and decent job opportunities, especially for women and youth small-scale producers. OCIDA’s integrated approach encompasses building climate resilience, improving business performance, and fostering an enabling environment for sustainable growth, with a strong focus on gender equality and supporting rural women in agriculture.
Location: Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Hybrid)
Reports To: Sr. Regional Director, LEAP
Status: Full-time, 3 Year contract with a start date of soon as possible
KEY FUNCTIONS
Project / Staff Management and Leadership (60%)
• Lead project team with full accountability for results.
• Prepare and/or review and approve annual workplans and budgets, track and manage performance against targets, actively manage variances, and identify areas for improvement or adaptation.
• Ensure implementation adheres to donor contractual requirements, MEDA’s strategic objectives, and MEDA’s policy and procedures.
• Ensure timely preparation, review and submission of financial and narrative reports.
• Provide oversight to project finance systems and processes including the review and authorization of transactions, observing strong financial controls, and minimizing exposure to risk.
• Ensure effective and efficient management of project’s planning, monitoring, evaluation, performance and reporting requirements and timelines.
• Provide direction to the project technical operations and strategy deployment.
• Manage client, subcontractor and direct/indirect partner relationships.
• Lead and manage the performance of staff ensuring acquisition, retention and development of a strong team.
• Communicate the overall objectives of the long-term program so that each staff member aligns her/his work accordingly.
• Communicate with Program Management, Technical Advisory, People & Culture, Finance and Legal colleagues outside of the direct team; to achieve desired collaboration and ensure effective project implementation.
• Some travel is required, mostly within Honduras and/or the region (Central America).
Representation & compliance (20%)
• Act as MEDA representative for project financial, legal and key relationship management matters.
• Ensure project operations are compliant with the project governance articles, donor requirements and with local laws and technical standards/certifications.
Operational partnerships & Business Development (20%)
• Raise MEDA’s profile and contribute to the positioning of MEDA as a leader in building transformative agri-food market systems that create decent work among development stakeholders, including public, private, civil society and INGO actors.
• Identify and foster partnerships with agri-food market actors to co-create long-term impact-focused initiatives that align with MEDA’s overall strategy and with the development aims of the project country and region.
• As required, support proposal development processes, portray leadership role in programmatic design and in-country and regional partnerships development.
EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
• Official development project management experience in leadership capacity.
• Proven experience in managing agrifood systems projects, ideally with a focus on sustainable and/or circular economic growth strategies, including knowledge of circular business models in agricultural settings.
• Experience in professional and tactful communications, persuasion and influencing host country ministries, government officials and high-profile partners while upholding optimal collaboration with MEDA’s key stakeholders.
• Multi-stakeholder platform/initiative coordination skills.
• Communication skills: facilitate sharing of the initiative updates with key stakeholders and host country government officials and demonstrating its alignment with country priorities and development goals, ensuring professional oral and written communication with donor, consortium members and clients.
• Fluency in Spanish is required, and English is a plus.
• 4 to 6 years of supervisory and 7 to 9 years of managerial experience.
• Educational background in Business Administration, Agroeconomics, Agricultural science, international development studies, Geography, or equivalent. Masters’ level qualification combined with work experience leading project at country implementation/operations.
• Understanding and appreciation of business principles, international development and MEDA’s approach of creating business solutions to poverty.
• Experience with multiple sub-grant relationships.
*Please note - MEDA is working with a recruitment partner, HRIC Executive Search on this search, and selected candidates will go through a screening process with HRIC Executive Search before meeting MEDA hiring managers* We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis.
This job description may be reviewed, revised and updated as required to meet department and/or organizational objectives.
MEDA is an equal opportunity employer and accommodations are a__vailable during all phases of the recruitment process. We ask that any applicants requiring accommodation make their needs known in advance.
Project Directorpovertycountry program initiativesystems level changeimpactdecent work opportunitiessocio-economic prosperitywomenyouthproject planningexecutionreportingstrategic relationshipsengagementsOCIDAGlobal Affairs CanadaMEDAcacaocoffee market systemsHondurasclimate resiliencebusiness performancegender equalityrural womenTegucigalpaHybridSr. Regional DirectorLEAPFull-time3 Year contractsoon as possibleRepresentation & complianceagrifood systems projectscircular business modelsSpanishEnglishsupervisory experiencemanagerial experienceBusiness AdministrationAgroeconomicsAgricultural scienceinternational development studiesGeographyMasters’ level qualificationsub-grant relationships