Regional Programme Director - Ignitia

HOW WILL YOU MAKE AN IMPACT?

Ignitia provides climate and weather forecasting services to 1.3 million subscribers through a robust portfolio of programs and partners in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso. We have recently launched in Brazil and have ambitions to scale to other countries in West Africa and other regions. In addition to reaching farmers directly through the region’s largest mobile network operators including MTN, Airtel, and Orange, and through a web app and web dashboard used by agribusinesses like crop input distributors, we’re also an agtech service provider to INGOs and their farmer-beneficiaries.

As ignitia’s Regional Program Director (RPD), you will oversee the successful implementation of new and existing programs in West Africa for both NGO project subcontracts and agribusiness customer engagements. S/he will be responsible for effectively collaborating with the sales team for the customer and implementation handover, the product team for customer feedback and service improvements, and directly oversee the finance and admin team based in Ghana. S/he will continuously develop operational efficiencies and drive project delivery innovations to submit project deliverables on time and within budget leading to long-term service contracts with repeat customers.

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Primary functions and responsibilities

•  Leadership: oversee, support and coach the West Africa team in delivering their objectives whether it is Finance, Admin, or Project Implementation; develop tools and processes that drive operational efficiencies across the business; build technical knowledge and demonstrate thought leadership by committing to continuous improvement, pursuing workshops and webinars, reviewing professional publications, and sharing those insights broadly within the company
•  Project execution: establish and maintain strong working relationships with customers, donors, and implementing organizations; effectively develop and execute activities against a clear work plan to deliver on contractual milestones and ensure high-quality and timely submission of reports and invoices to customers; develop and execute against a sound M&E plan that assesses outputs and outcomes across the business and social performance indicators; actively problem solve and anticipate delivery challenges related to customer forecast receipt and use of information services within agribusiness operations; create knowledge management products and marketing collateral including best practices documents, ignitia product literature, implementation guides, case studies and video testimonials to capture lessons learned and promote ignitia’s brand
•  Financial management: Manage country and regional budgets, quarterly financial planning, audits, and backstop and oversee the work of the Finance Lead (Ghana and Nigeria) and support reporting alignment with Swedish financial processes (supported by a bookkeeper in Sweden); process international payments
•  HR: manage and provide timely and regular feedback to colleagues and direct reports including annual performance management process; hire independent consultants and staff as required for project implementation
•  Coordination: Collaborate with the sales and product teams to ensure smooth customer service, satisfaction, and increase lifetime value where pilots lead to scale-up
•  Support: support the sales team as needed for business development activities from lead generation to presentations to follow-ups; support the CEO inboard and investor reporting

Requirements

WHO ARE YOU?

The RPD will have significant management and international experience, be capable of successfully leading programs, teams, and operations across multiple countries, and have a passion for social entrepreneurship to create social and commercial value. S/he is an outstanding communicator and team leader, an adaptive manager, entrepreneurial, and ambitious. S/he is analytical and team-oriented with an interest in climate change, tech, and international development in West Africa. Previous experience working with INGOs, agribusinesses, tech companies, or other private sector experience is highly desirable.

WHAT WILL IT TAKE?

• Bachelor’s degree in international relations, economics, business, technology, or another related field. Master’s degree (MBA, MPP, MIA) preferred.
• At least 7 years of experience in-country operations, team management, project implementation, and delivery
• Skilled in stakeholder engagement and managing complex relationships from Executive to field level
• Excellent knowledge of the food system and international development sectors in West Africa, the key stakeholders, their business and social outcome priorities, and how they operate and how decisions are made
• Powerful communicator – both written and oral
• Outstanding project and financial management skills
• Self-starter with strong time management skills
• Excellent computer skills and tech-savvy
• Superb analytical skills and a mastery of data analysis; experience in both qualitative and quantitative M&E approaches a strong plus
• Advanced oral and written proficiency in English. Ability to speak and write in French or Portuguese a plus.

Benefits

IGNITIA’S VALUES

• We are go-getters – we work hard and have a sense of urgency in pursuing the opportunities that help us accomplish our goals
• We act like owners – We take every decision based on what’s best for the company. We take responsibility for our actions.
• We are curious – we learn rapidly and eagerly; we are in constant search for ideas that challenge conventional wisdom. We lead the way.
• We act with integrity – we treat others the way we like to be treated. We deliver on our promises and we do what we say we will do.
• We strive for excellence – We aim to be the best in everything we do; we recruit fantastic talent. We provide great customer service and we provide the best weather data on Earth!