About the Role :

Arthan's partner plans to work on better design and implementation of key programmes post-harvest phase to improve the efficiency of the Agriculture Sector. We are looking for an Associate Director to join the leadership team and lead our our Programme and Innovation work in this area. This vertical will engage in better design of existing government programmes (with a potential of improving the income of the farmers) and innovate to make them better (for example, by creating better market linkages). As an example, the Government of India announced Operation Green to focus on Tomatoes, Onions and Potatoes (TOP). We plan to help the government implement this by understanding production and consumption patterns, understanding value chain and its inefficiencies, and identifying investments required to reduce volatility in prices and increase the price realization by the farmers.

- Apart from working on programmes, the vertical would also lead work on connecting innovation to policy in this sector - engaging with start-up ecosystem and helping their scale-up in partnership with the government.

- As a member of the core team (and first key senior hire), the Associate Director will also play a significant part in defining and influencing priorities.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

- Strategically identify key priority areas and programmatic interventions in post- harvest/ market linkage phase which have the potential to transform agriculture and improve farmer's income

- Understand the root cause of the problem/ inefficiencies and come up with innovations to solve them

- Communicate finding of these innovations through briefs presentations, talking points, briefings, notes, and power-point presentations to the government & other stakeholders

- Work with the government/ other stakeholders to institutionalize those solutions

- Identify opportunities for start-ups to partner with the government and create platforms for engagement between the policy and the innovation space

- Develop networks within agriculture innovation ecosystem and position as a thought leader in the space

- Ensure timely and high-quality outputs linked to strategic organizational goals and priorities

- Manage and lead team of high-performing individuals

- Support the CEO in key organization-wide initiatives such as overall strategy and planning and talent management

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities :

- Masters degree or equivalent in relevant fields including business, public policy.

- 12+ years of work experience with managerial responsibilities, demonstrating superb project delivery, team leadership and strong analytical skills. We require a strong background demonstrating ability to identify root cause of a complex problem and ability to come up with implementable solutions.

- A strong candidate would prior exposure working with government and business/ start-up sector and of managing large and complex projects. While basic understanding of agriculture sector (and key issues) is essential, we require candidates with strong interest in implementation, i.e. translating policies into programmes.

- Excellent research and programme management skills and the ability to analyse complex qualitative and quantitative data, craft possible solutions, and recommend actions.

- Entrepreneurial mindset (important as we are a start-up) and comfort in navigating ambiguity through structured analysis.

- Excellent leadership and administrative skills, including ability to manage multiple projects at a time, and work without supervision.

- Ability to work closely with fellow leadership team members, and brainstorm with them.

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