Mercy Corps Digital Farmer Capability Lab Manager Job in Nairobi, Kenya - AgriFin Accelerate Program

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. 

Driven by local needs, our programs provide communities in the world’s toughest places with the tools and support they need to turn the crises they confront into the opportunities they deserve. 

Mercy Corps is looking for committed and dynamic individuals to take up the following position.
 

Digital Farmer Capability Lab Manager – Nairobi, Kenya
 

This position is based on an award of funding.
 

Program Summary: The AgriFin Accelerate program will operate in three African countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia) utilizing a market ecosystem approach, working with carefully selected partners to build sustainable models, where farm and crop management tools and financial services are "bundled" in affordable, unified platforms on mobile phone channels to promote mass uptake commercially. 

The program involves three interrelated components that seek to address low farmer productivity and capability, and improve institutional ability to deliver appropriate products and build ecosystems to drive scale. 

We work with farmers, banks, mobile network operators, MFIs, financial service providers, research institutes and other ecosystem players in well-defined partnerships to sustainably bundle services, leveraging the offer and outreach of all partners, while increasing the range of services, access points and value for farmers. 

The program works with partners to identify, prototype, test and scale successful mobile-enabled services for smallholders, with a key focus on expanding access to financial services, using a rapid iteration approach to product development and client-centric design techniques.
 

General Position Summary: The Digital Farmer Capability Lab Manager (DLM) will provide strategic management and direction for the AgriFin Accelerate Digital Farmer Capability Lab (DL) implementation across in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia, working directly with program partners including banks, MFIs, insurance companies, mobile-network operators, farmer unions, Ministries of Agriculture and agribusinesses. 

The purpose of the DL facility is design, test, and roll-out capability building tools throughout the product life cycles, leveraging both digital and traditional delivery mechanisms, that assist smallholder farmers (SHF) in accessing and utilizing program services with maximum impact. 

The DLM will engage with program teams during mobile-enabled product development exercises to identify farmer capacity building needs through farmer-centric research and work to adapt or develop tools (marketing, products, services, partner staff orientation, and materials) to enhance the financial inclusion of small-holder farmers by program partners. 

In addition to the development of these capability-building tools, viable business models and value-add services must be developed for their delivery in order to ensure long term implementation at scale with a focus on embedded services within program partners. 

Significant attention will be placed in learning and best practice, testing and iterating new methods and supporting expansion of models which have proven impact and viability. 

The DLM works under the direct supervision of the Program Director and coordinates closely with technical teams, Country Managers, and Research Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) Manager. 

The DLM will identify and manage external consultants as needed. 

The DLM will also engage with RMEL and Communications team members to ensure learning is collected, distilled and communicated as planned.
 

Essential Job Functions:
 

Program Implementation:

• Lead program learning in best practices and innovation in farmer capability building to ensure that the full program teams across all countries are informed and working optimally.
• Support the external learning and communications agendas around innovations for partners and ecosystem players.
• Regular desk review of global best practice as well as ongoing learning meetings with program stakeholders related to capability building, working in coordination with country managers.
• Prepare field reports, social media postings and blogs for mass communication regarding the farmer capability building aspects of the program.
• Take the lead in identifying potential capability-building partners and user-interface experts.
• Work with strategic partner Dalberg to complete due diligence on partners to identify institutional strengths, weaknesses and capacity for program implementation and ultimate scale.

Lead Capacity Building Tool and Channel Development:

• Engage in the development of all partner relationships and product roadmaps related to farmer capacity building tool development and delivery, liaising directly with the Deputy Program and Country Directors.
• Lead design sessions which drawing on rapid product iteration and testing approaches, identifying and utilizing technical consultants as needed, as well as providing direct capacity building for partners as feasible.
• Ensure a focus on adapting existing and/or identifying and testing impactful tools and methods of delivery that leverage technology to the fullest extent.
• Ensure that tools are incorporated into overall program impact evaluations, with successful tools being shared to the fullest extent with program partners and the market at large.
• Ensure that tried and tested tools and models will be packaged into capability building toolkits for public use.

Technical Support for Market Assessments:

• Work with RMEL and country managers to structure and implement market assessments to drive meaningful farmer capability building.
• Ensure that there is a special focus on understanding farmer needs related to financial inclusion and productivity gains, as well as trusted channels and embedded models for delivery of training for farmers, such as cooperatives and farmer extension services.
• Ensure that market assessments focus on the “pain points” of small holder farmers to guide product and service development and overcome the barriers for the small holder farmers so they can increase their access, usage and utility of services.
• Ensure that research targets leading and alternative technology companies to provide services to smallholder farmers.
• Support the work of the RMEL Manager around implementation of the RMEL agenda related to the delivery of capability-building services, including tools, methodologies and delivery channels viably reaching SHF with impact.
• Oversee, review and report on relevant deployed product and tools results using established metrics and key performance indicators at a client, institution, and systems level.

Program Representation and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Proactively outreach and market capability-building services for SHF.
• Proactively engage with program stakeholders to inform coordination and collaboration, including agricultural extension networks, research institutes with content, farmer cooperative groups and other sources of training, training content and training delivery.
• Logically and simply visualize complex systems orally and in presentations.
• Actively support program planning and reporting efforts related to capability building for SHF.
• Ensure that programming works within Mercy Corps’ market systems rubric and international best practice.
• Provide technical leadership within the team in capability-building, including regular trips to the radial offices to support Country Managers and Program Officers to build their capacity in the sector.

Organizational Learning: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Direct supervision of: N/A
• Reports Directly To: Program Director
• Works Directly With: Technical teams, Country Managers, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Manager, Communications Manager, Finance staff.

Knowledge and Experience:

• MA/S or equivalent in finance, business, user-design, international development or related field of study
• 8 years’ experience in relevant training and capability building implementation including 3 years in a senior management position in a financial institution, consulting firm, or related-entity.
• Strong understanding of financial capability tools and best practice in emerging markets for low literacy populations
• Demonstrated experience in mobile-enabled financial services. Strong preference for candidates with experience in financial product design, testing, and deployment for adult and youth clients.
• Demonstrated experience in financial capability building activities using embedded and digital delivery channels. Background in consumer education a plus.
• Understanding of and experience with improving financial inclusion for smallholder farmers a plus
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English (Swahili a plus), including report development, writing and editing. Client-facing or farmer-level interviewing experiences a plus.
• Proven experience demonstrating the value of client-centered design through verbal and visual presentations.
• Formal experience in human-centered design a plus.
• Experience in East Africa preferred, especially in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia preferred

Success Factors:

• The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity for understanding and working effectively within the three diverse countries which AgriFin Accelerate operates.
• S/he will be an excellent communicator, multi-tasker, and able to work in ambiguous situations. 
• S/he will be a tolerant and flexible individual able to work in difficult and stressful environments and follow procedures.
• S/he will be a team-player with a positive attitude toward problem solving and conflict resolution.
• The successful candidate will be focused on team-building and capacity-building of national staff; be a strategic thinker, have strong skills in design monitoring and evaluation of development programs and maintain a sense of humor.

Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to hr@ke.mercycorps.org. 

The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for. 

Applications without the right subject heading will be automatically disqualified. 

Please do not attach any certificates.

(Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We will only get in touch with shortlisted candidates.)
 

NB: Mercy Corps does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.