Agriculture Policy Expert - National/State Agri Scheme

Position Summary:

The Agriculture Policy Expert (APE) will address policy and implementation aspects from both national and state level agricultural schemes. Using in-depth knowledge of the existing laws, policies, best practices, technical solutions on Agriculture in India.

APE will participate as a permanent team member which includes diagnostic, design and initial part of the implementation phase.

The selected candidate will report to the program manager and will also coordinate with the agronomists, government representatives and equivalent officials as per the project requirements.

Responsibilities include:

- Advisory and management: Acts as a thought partner to program manager during the diagnostic and the design phase which includes

a) Understanding Agriculture policies in India and linkages with related policies in the State such as water policy, power policy etc.,

b) Policy prioritization for interventions

c) Impact assessment

d) Evaluating feasibility and practicality of the solutions e.g. user testing

e) Creation of comprehensive milestones for phase 1 & 2

- Advises program managers on the identification of boundary condition and constraints while defining the key metrics for success

- Uses expertise in agricultural policy to suggest best practices in decision making across subsidy implementation, budget allocation, program implementation.

- Identifies model states in India to better understand the best practices and data systems and also suggest outlays to connect team with the respective states- officials/experts

- Provides regular assistance to the team on agricultural policy issues and evaluates the existing technical solutions in agriculture sector

- Policy formulation: Using knowledge of methods and objectives of Agricultural Policies, formulates draft subject specific policy e.g. credit access to sharecroppers, irrigation security etc. in close tandem with respective state stakeholders if required, post the diagnostic phase.

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will be recognized by the Indian professional community as an expert in policy formulation, planning and decision making in agriculture. S/he will have experience collaborating with state official, agronomists, policy experts, research institutes, and other organizations working in the global agriculture arena. The successful candidate will demonstrate a clear understanding of the complexities in policy linkages across ministries related to agriculture, market, food distribution, animal husbandry and power etc., with proven ability to formulate policy guideline in agriculture industry.

The candidate should have the following qualifications:

- Masters or equivalent advanced degree and min. 7-8 years of experience in one or more of the following areas: agricultural policy, scheme implementation, survey analysis and data analytics. A mix of work experience in both the public and private sectors would be an advantage

- Proven ability to think strategically and conduct dialogue on agricultural policy matters, implementation, recent tech solution/interventions while maintaining a strong sense of realism with regard to state conditions and competing demands for resources

- Demonstrated ability to work with a broad spectrum of organizations

- Ability to communicate ideas effectively, and to write clearly and concisely

- Demonstrated excellence in scientific writing and preliminary data analysis, written and oral communications skills and the ability to advocate and communicate with a broad and diverse audience