Duma Works is recruiting a Program
Associate for one of our clients; a leading
organisation that represents Africa’s largest network of smallholder farmers
with a vision to serve at least 1 million farm families by 2020.
Wanted: Early‐career professionals with
2–5+ years’ work experience to serve in a position that combines both field and
management experience in Africa.Job Description: The organization was launched in Rwanda in 2007 and is now their second largest country of operation.
The organization anticipates 50% growth in
enrollment this year, much of this growth will come from their Kenya and Rwanda
operations.
In 2014, Rwanda reached its highest enrollment
numbers to date, and working with their Rwanda team presents the opportunity to
directly serve 10% of the Rwandan population in the next four years. The
organization is currently seeking Program Associates in Rwanda on the following
teams:
Field Operations: The main objective of our Field Operations team is to build the capacity of our local staff to provide financially sustainable impact, at scale, to all farmers. This team is the direct service provider to our farmers.
Field Operations: The main objective of our Field Operations team is to build the capacity of our local staff to provide financially sustainable impact, at scale, to all farmers. This team is the direct service provider to our farmers.
Field Operations is responsible for setting
strategy, developing content, liaising with other departments, and ensuring
execution of our program at scale. Every material or strategy rolled out
through the core program will reach hundreds of thousands of farmers! Example
projects include:
Operations Management:
Most Program Associates start out partnering with a Senior Field Director to
support ongoing operations/district performance management and mentor the field
leadership in that region.
Eventually, Field Operations team members’ take‐on more
central management responsibilities, which could include managing our core
calendar, managing communication flow from the operations team to the field,
and/or facilitating key meetings with other departments.
Scale Improvements:
All Program Associates will be expected to manage anywhere from 1 to 3 scale improvement projects that set our core program content and aim to improve the way that we operate at scale.
Scale Improvements:
All Program Associates will be expected to manage anywhere from 1 to 3 scale improvement projects that set our core program content and aim to improve the way that we operate at scale.
This involves managing a project plan/calendar,
making strategy recommendations, developing content, and ensuring
execution.
An example of a scale improvement project would be
leading the scale-‐up of major program change
like mobile repayment where farmers can repay their loan using
mobile
money.
Product Innovations:
Product Innovations:
The objective of Product Innovations is to increase
positive impact on farmers’ lives by developing new products and improving our
existing product offering.
This team manages our agricultural and non-‐agricultural
product pipelines and runs trials using a multi-‐phased
product development cycle to determine if new a product should be offered to our
entire client base.
Example projects include:
Example projects include:
Agriculture Product
Development: A Program Associate typically manages
one of the stages in the Agricultural Product Development cycle, which includes
research stations, farmer trials, demo plots, and large farmer trials.
Additionally, a Program Associate may manage 1-‐2 non‐agricultural
products that are in development (for example, reusable sanitary pads).
Trial Design & Execution: Program Associates fully own projects and are responsible for all aspects from trial design through execution.
Trial Design & Execution: Program Associates fully own projects and are responsible for all aspects from trial design through execution.
Each Program Associate manages a project until it
either reaches full scale or is handed to our Core Program team or until the
product shows no further promise.
Mentor-ship & Development of
Staff: Manage and mentor 1-‐2 staff;
in addition to assisting with Product Innovations trials, staff will
develop into independent innovators capable of leading their own
projects.
Scale Innovations: The Scale Innovations team aims to deepen impact on every community we serve by increasing the percent of households who join our program, and by developing innovations that help our field staff serve farmers better.
Scale Innovations: The Scale Innovations team aims to deepen impact on every community we serve by increasing the percent of households who join our program, and by developing innovations that help our field staff serve farmers better.
Our trials include innovations around marketing,
mobile technologies, farmer cash constraints, and more.
We develop trial interventions using a combination
of data analysis and human centered design methods, and test them using field
pilots, surveys, and close engagement with farmers.
Recent projects include piloting new strategies for
marketing to our farmers, testing new forms of repayment incentives, and
integrating tablets into our field program.
The typical steps in a trial include: Understand the problem and develop trial concept: Meet with field leaders, gather information using surveys, analyze existing KPIs, observe operations in the field, talk to farmers, literature reviews, etc. Identify and prioritize ideas to improve the program.
Plan the trial:
The typical steps in a trial include: Understand the problem and develop trial concept: Meet with field leaders, gather information using surveys, analyze existing KPIs, observe operations in the field, talk to farmers, literature reviews, etc. Identify and prioritize ideas to improve the program.
Plan the trial:
- Design a quantitatively rigorous trial.
- Plan a project calendar and create field tools and talking
points.
- Design integration with tech and finance systems and set up
incentive systems that promote success.
Run the trial:
- Supervise trial roll-‐out, usually done by Field Officers.
- Visit the trial in the field to observe execution and propose mid-‐trial changes
where appropriate.
Collect/analyze data:
- Usually involves both quantitative and qualitative components.
Communicate results:
- Create reports, present findings, meet with key stakeholders to
determine how findings should be implemented in our core program, or if
trial should be scaled up/rerun/canceled.
Mentorship & Development of
Staff:
- Manage and mentor 1-‐2 staff; in addition to assisting with Scale
Innovations trials, staff will develop into independent innovators capable
of leading their own
projects.
Career Growth and Development: The
organization invests heavily in building management and leadership skills. Your
manager will invest significant time in your career development.
We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered
through mentor-ship and through regular management consulting-‐style
career reviews.
We also have regular one‐on‐one
meetings, where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively
to craft roles that each person can be passionate about.
Because of our rapid growth, we constantly have new
roles opening up and opportunities to grow in many functions. This results in
relatively fast career growth for our
staff.
Qualifications: We are seeking exceptional professionals with 2 to 5+ years of work experience, and a demonstrated long-‐term passion for international development.
Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
Qualifications: We are seeking exceptional professionals with 2 to 5+ years of work experience, and a demonstrated long-‐term passion for international development.
Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Strong work experiences. Examples include a demanding professional
work experience, or successful entrepreneurial
experience (e.g. starting a field program in a developing country, leading
a conference, starting a business, solid Peace Corps accomplishments).
- Leadership experience at work, or outside of work.
- Top-‐performing undergraduate background (include
GPA and test scores on your resume).
- We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong
leadership skills with good humor, patience, and a
humble approach to service to join our growing family of
leaders.
- A willingness to commit to living in rural areas of East Africa for
at least two years‐ this is a long‐term, career‐track role.
- The ideal candidate will have at least one year demonstrated
experience working in the developing world, although this is not a strict
requirement.
- Ability to cook/laugh – desirable.
- Language: English required. Kinyarwanda‐speakers are
particularly encouraged to apply.
Preferred Start Date: Flexible
Compensation: Starts modest. However, this is a career‐track role with fast raises for performance, paying a meaningful salary for long‐term placement in developing nations.
Benefits: Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.
Job Location: Rural Rwanda
Duration: Minimum 2-‐year commitment, full‐time job.
How to Apply:
Compensation: Starts modest. However, this is a career‐track role with fast raises for performance, paying a meaningful salary for long‐term placement in developing nations.
Benefits: Health insurance, immunizations, flight, room and board.
Job Location: Rural Rwanda
Duration: Minimum 2-‐year commitment, full‐time job.
How to Apply:
Applications letters and detailed CV are to be sent
by email to apply@dumaworks.com marking the subject as “PAR 1855”, Your Full
name & Phone number e.g. PAR 1855, Barack Obama, 07xxxxxxxxx.
If you don’t follow these instructions, your
application will not go through
Deadline for receiving applications: 25th September 2015
Deadline for receiving applications: 25th September 2015
