Precision Agriculture for Development - State Head/Program Director

Precision Agriculture for Development, Inc. (PAD) seeks a State Head for Odisha to support PAD research, operations, and scale-up activities with state governments, social enterprises, and other key partner organizations. PAD was established with a keen eye towards rigorous evaluation and constant experimentation.

Organization background :

PAD is a US-based non-profit organization with a mission to support smallholder farmers in developing countries by providing customized agricultural information and services that increase productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. PAD is pioneering a model for agricultural extension: delivering farmers personalized agricultural advice via their mobile phones. PAD implements this model in collaboration with partner organizations and gathers evidence on its impact. PAD aims to improve the lives of 100 million farmers in developing countries with its services.

The initial phase of PAD's work consisted of testing the impact of similar mobile phone-based agricultural extension services in multiple contexts across the developing world. That research found that while careful attention to design and context and careful evaluation was critical, mobile phone-based agricultural extension could increase adoption of appropriate farm management practices, yields, and incomes, with point estimates suggesting a benefit cost ratio of 10/1. Based on our initial evidence around a proof of concept technology, PAD began working with partners capable of scaling and further testing this approach, while simultaneously continuing to build its own research efforts.

A key element of our approach is helping partners with wide reach - such as governments, contract farming organizations, telecommunications firms, agribusiness, and NGOs - to design, build, evaluate, and improve customized mobile phone-based agricultural advisory systems. We help partners structure and improve their service offerings through incorporation of the latest availability technologies and data as well as insights from behavioral economics and social learning theory. Taking a global approach, we bring experience on what has worked elsewhere to every engagement and continue to optimize to local contexts using A/B testing and rigorous evaluation.

PAD currently has operations in four countries (India, Kenya, Pakistan, Ethiopia), is advising a partner in Rwanda, and is working towards new endeavors in Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Uganda. These opportunities have allowed PAD to reach over 510,000 farmers by Q2 2018, both with our own services and research efforts as well as through partnerships.

In India, PAD is operational in the states of Gujarat, Odisha, and Karnataka, with advanced explorations in UP, West Bengal and Bihar.

PAD's senior leadership team includes professors and global experts in technology and development with considerable combined experience in sub-Saharan Africa and India as well as deep expertise in data sciences and monitoring and evaluation. The board includes Professor Michael Kremer (Harvard University), Professor Shawn Cole (Harvard Business School), Professor Daniel Bj- rkegren (Brown University), and Heiner Baumann (Harvard Business School alum, former McKinsey).

PAD's India team consists of alumni from Harvard, IIM-Ahmedabad, IIT-Kanpur and Delhi College of Engineering with experience in management, research, and building start-ups.

Responsibilities :

- Refine vision and strategy for the state with the senior leadership and effectively implement the same

- Lead the overall operational and implementation activities, ensuring project milestones are delivered on time and within budget

- Build, manage and strengthen relations with different partners and stakeholders: technology providers, agri-businesses, development organizations, non-profits and other service providers and implementation partners to facilitate scale-up of the PAD service

- Understand end user's requirement and support the development of the optimum product for Odisha

- Support the development and implementation of the technology platform to deliver the product

- Build a strong personal and institutional working relationship with state government officials within all the program relevant departments

- Build and implement a capacity building plan that facilitates the transfer of system management to government

- Lead the overall hiring, training and management of staff across verticals

- Manage contracts, grants and sub-partner monitoring functions at the state level including managing deliverables and spending rate

- Preparation of progress and expense reports for the funders

- Operationalize the Management Information Systems (MIS) at the district and state level, undertake periodic analysis and report progress to senior leadership

- Be responsible for submission of project reports, invoices/bills or any other documents to the concerned stakeholders

- Represent PAD in government meetings and different state planning meetings and committees

The successful candidate will also assume the role of Program Director and be responsible for the following tasks :

- In coordination with India Country Director, explore and as appropriate set up projects and activities in other states in India

- Participate in relevant research and knowledge generation activities and exchange learning and tools with other PAD entities, partners in India, South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa

- Follow relevant trends in precision agriculture, innovations and best practices in government extension services

- Carry out any other responsibility as assigned by the India Country Director and the global management team

Qualifications and experience :

Required :

- Master's in Business Administration or an equivalent degree/experience

- 5 to 8 years of relevant experience in business development, consulting and management in multiple sectors

- Proven professional experience leading large programs and, bringing individual projects to scale

- Self-motivated, with a strong ability and drive to lead the project independently at the state level

- Ability to work effectively with Government departments and officials at all levels, with the energy, patience and proactive problem solving needed to overcoming obstacles and co-creating a customer (farmer) centric service

- Excellent managerial, liaison and negotiation skills

- Willingness to travel within Odisha and other states across India based on requirement

- Excellent communications, written and presentation skills in English and Hindi; knowledge of local language, Oriya, will be an added advantage

- Strong reporting and upward management skills

- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to lead the team of diverse professionals

Desired :

- Experience and ability to work in multicultural settings

- Experience working with start-ups and high-growth environment

- Experience in smallholder agriculture and the developing world

- Work experience in Odisha and local language skills (Oria) preferred

- Familiarity with impact evaluation method

- Consulting or other private sector experience

- Fluency in at least one Indian language (Hindi, Gujarati, Oriya, Kannada, Bengali, etc.)

Position details :

- Full time

Locations : Bhubaneswar, India

Compensation : commensurate with experience