Regional Representative - East Africa

Vredeseilanden wants to contribute to viable livelihoods of organized family farmers in South and North. We believe that family farmers can feed the world and work themselves out of poverty, while respecting the boundaries of the planet.

Vredeseilanden supports family farmers in gaining a decent income from sustainable agriculture. We do so by supporting them to improve their position in the whole agricultural value chain, from production to consumption.

Therefore, Vredeseilanden facilitates multi-stakeholder dialogues with value chain actors, private sector and governments. We use evidence from the value chain interventions to reach agenda’s for structural change.

We are recruiting for our office in Arusha, Tanzania.

Regional Representative(Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya)

Objective of the position:

Develop, lead and manage the regional VECO office in East Africa and prepare a future positioning of the regional branch as part of a network organisation i.e. making the transition to an independent member organisation. Lead the VECO-programme, taking into account the regional context, so as to achieve maximum and sustainable increase in income of organized family farmers.

Responsibilities:

Management and Change Management

§ Ensure the successful functioning of the VECO East-Africa office. This entails :

• Development of specific policies for the regional program (financial, HR, programmatic) in line with Vredeseilanden global policies, and taking into account the regional context and legal framework
• End responsibility for the financial and HR management of the VECO East-Africa office
• Managing and inspiring the regional team
• Being an active and visible coach to the team

§ Support the efficient transition towards a global network organisation : Identify potential risks and resistances and create conditions for a smooth transition towards an independent and financially autonomous member organisation of the global network

Representation and Networking

§ Ensure VECO East Africa is integrated into strategically relevant local and regional networks and ensure that VECO East Africa does not operate in (splendid) isolation.

§ Represent Vredeseilanden in the region and ensure the liaison between the region, Vredeseilanden in Belgium and its key stakeholders (volunteers and donors)

§ Work towards financial autonomy of the regional VECO East Africa office. Diversification of funds will be key.

Programme

§ End responsibility for the regional programme in line with the global Vredeseilanden policies, strategies and guidelines, taking into account the regional context. This means:

• Leading the regional team towards the continuous development of strategies and policies, to enhance the capabilities of farmer organizations and their members to become strong collective business organizations, while linking up these farmer organizations with other chain actors like processors, traders, retailers, consumers… in order to reach up-scaling and structural changes at regional level. The active participation of partners and key stakeholders is crucial in this.
• Ensuring the regular and systematic assessment of the programme’s performance, and adjusting if needed, by using the internal Planning, Learning and Accountability system of Vredeseilanden

Profile

• Masters degree or equivalent in (Development) Economics, Business Administration, (Sustainable) agriculture, or Development studies or equivalent by experience
• Very good knowledge of English as working language of the global organisation of Vredeseilanden. Knowledge of Swahili is an asset.
• Background in International Development Cooperation
• Experience in collaborating with private actors, multi-stakeholder approach
• Experience in a network organization is an asset
• Sufficient knowledge of and experience with financial management and reporting
• ≥ 5 years in management position
• ≥ 5 years of living and working in a developing country
• Good knowledge of the regional East African context
• Good knowledge of development issues, business (models), value chains and associated areas
• A global vision and a broad interest, able to see problems from different angles and seek solutions with experts
• Know key concepts and methods in financial and HR management
• An excellent cross-cultural communicator and an active listener
• A strong networker
• Fundraising capacities
• Strong leadership
• Able to manage, coach and motivate a multicultural team
• Able to put people in their strengths
• Change management skills and the capacity to steer, in a strategic manner
• A strong affinity with Vredeseilanden mission and values
• Firmly believe that the strong interdependence and collaborative efforts of civil society, business and public authorities/services is the only way to come to sustainable progress, co-creation, dialogue

HOW TO APPLY:

Please send your application with CV and motivation letter to jobs@vredeseilanden.be before 15 March 2015.

Start contract: mid June 2015

Date for the first round of interviews: in the week of 30 March 2015