Coordinator GEA (Gender Equality) – AFR

About Us

Agriculture is the key to unlocking a better future for billions of people. But while rural families sustain the world, they struggle to sustain themselves. At the same time, they face increasingly urgent challenges, from volatile crop prices to extreme weather.

Root Capital is a social impact investor that provides financing and business training to agricultural enterprises so that they can transform rural communities. We work with enterprises in the “missing middle” of agricultural finance: those whose credit needs are too big for microfinance and too small or risky for commercial banks.

Since 1999, we have loaned over $1.9B to more than 800 businesses, and we have trained more than 1,800 ones-improving the lives of 10 million people. As these agricultural businesses succeed and scale, they become engines of impact for their local communities, raising incomes, creating jobs, uplifting women and young people, preserving vulnerable ecosystems, and building rural prosperity.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Root Capital currently works in a dozen countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and has staff in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ghana, and Kenya.

Proud winner of the 2024 SCA Sustainability Award for Non-Profits. Learn more here.

Position Overview

The Gender Equity Advisory (GEA) Coordinator for Africa leads the technical coordination of the GEA service for clients in our Africa region, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.  This role is responsible for identifying the strengths, weaknesses and potential opportunities to create impactful and tangible change in growing agribusinesses, with an emphasis on gender equity and the specific gender gaps and related interventions required for our clients.

The Advisory team is responsible for the design, quality assurance, monitoring, partnership management, and implementation of business Advisory services – including Gender Equity Advisory- to rural agribusinesses, in line with Root Capital’s mission.

The GEA Coordinator for Africa actively participates in the design and planning of the GEA service and is responsible for coordinating and monitoring implementation across the countries where we offer advisory, currently: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Advisory services are provided by a growing team of advisors across the countries we support; these are sector experts who offer customized support to the businesses we serve.

This role requires a strong technical understanding of gender equity and inclusion, in particular for rural, agricultural enterprises, to lead the continued growth, improvement and innovation of the service.  Additionally, the coordinator will facilitate effective integration of a holistic Advisory service package with other coordinators in areas including business management, climate resilience and digital business intelligence.  Beyond the immediate Advisory team, they’ll also be a key liaison with other Client Service departments including Lending and Business Development to cultivate a robust pipeline of future clients and support retention of existing clients while promoting the business case of gender within our portfolio.  As this role actively ensures the quality and impact of the GEA service, the Coordinator works in close coordination with global colleagues across the quality management, strategy, impact and innovation teams.

Duties & Responsibilities

Purpose

Coordinate, Implement & Monitor Gender Equity Advisory Services (40%)

• Lead the planning, execution, monitoring and performance evaluation of GEA advisor activities (on-site, virtual consulting and/or GEA advisory workshops), in accordance with regional goals, country/value chain strategies and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
• Design and/or update procedures, methodological resources, tools, materials, etc. as feedback support to advisors on the quality of their results, services and products delivered and analyze results for continued improvement, excellence, and alignment with work plans and established goals.
• Design, create, review and socialize training content (from onboarding through continued upskilling), curriculum, diagnostic methodologies, monitoring and quality tools of the GEA service to ensure the updating of the service content according to the client’s goals and needs.

Engagement

Advisor Management (20%)

• Develop and manage GEA advisors workplan and coordinate GEA advisors activities with other advisory services advisors workplan
• Supervise the execution and evaluate the performance of the advisors’ activities (on-site, virtual advisory and/or GEA workshops) in accordance with the annual goals or objectives of the service, clients, and individual advisors.
• Recruit, onboard, continue to train and guide advisors, in person or virtually, and other advisory programs in the region to ensure the integrity and quality of the service and a high bar of advisor excellence.

Field-Building, Engagement & Communications (10%)

• Participate in networking and partnership development of internal and external stakeholders in the gender field and actively develop new relationships and alliances in this space to foment regional dialogue and support for Root Capital’s gender-related work (ie. Conference participation)
• Collaborate with strategy, communications, grants management colleagues to develop collateral and document learning, success stories and impact of GEA work in Africa for internal and external audiences.

Delivery

Innovation, Quality Assurance, Learning & Monitoring (10%)

• Delivery of monitoring and review of work plans, diagnostics and advisor reports to guarantee alignment with portfolio and regional plans and to guarantee the clarity and quality of the information. Evaluate any related training needs.
• Establish processes for and regular evaluation of indicators for monitoring, evaluation or learning purposes that guarantee quality inputs for analysis, decision making and reporting, including participation in Risk Review to determine client eligibility for Advisory offerings (including services, catalytic funding and innovations/pilots).
• Consolidate information, prepare reports and periodic summaries of the performance and progress of advisory activities in GEA, required by advisory management or other interdependent areas, including consolidated qualitative data, key results, stories, challenges and lessons.
• Provide feedback on regional gender-related strategy, new initiatives and innovations, impact metrics and learning needed, and the GEA more broadly as part of the global service level working group.

Client Management via assigned portfolio of Africa Advisory organizations (20%)

• For a subset of clients in the portfolio, Advise and co-develop with Business Development, Lending and Risk colleagues to generate a multi-faceted client perspective and approach that generates portfolio resilience and intentional planning from pipeline development and client identification through retention, service prioritization and grant opportunities.
• Lead relevant client communication regarding integrated package of services and products, participation in impact studies, pilot initiatives, and/or visits from donors and strategic allies; act as the sole representative to the client of the comprehensive advisory plan.
• Monitors the progress of the advisory plan for each assigned client, including performance of specific advisory objectives in the portfolio, progress of the portfolio/country plan, impact on client capacity, their progression through the Enterprise Framework.

Required Qualifications

• Experience of more than 8+ years in processes related to rural development or strengthening of agricultural companies or SMEs.
• University degree- preferably in business management, economic development, agricultural economics, accounting or related field.
• Leadership experience with direct supervision and coaching responsibilities. Supervision experience within remote work context a plus.
• Demonstrate pedagogical competencies, preferably in training design with participatory methodologies, diverse participants, and rural environments.
• Experience and skills in project management including workflow planning, task scheduling and implementation.
• Creative thinker and active problem solver; ability to identify challenges and develop innovative solutions.
• Self-starter with ability to manage and prioritize multiple competing tasks and stakeholders; ability to thrive in a dynamic and entrepreneurial team environment.
• Humility and empathy; ability to work with and identify the needs of farmers and agribusinesses operating in complex, challenging rural environments.
• Enthusiasm and experience coordinating and motivating teams in a multicultural environment; experience in a global and multi-location work environment is highly desired.
• Committed to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion and embracing transparency and authenticity in daily work life.
• Proactive approach to problem-solving with demonstrated decision-making capabilities.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to a dynamic environment.
• Experience working and communicating in a remote environment.
• Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
• Flexible to travel within rural areas of Africa.
• Passionate about Root Capital mission.
• Authorized to work in Kenya, Rwanda, or Uganda.
• Please upload your CV and cover letter in English.

Root Capital provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, active military or veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and breastfeeding and expressing breast milk), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Root Capital is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that upholds our leadership principles of: empowerment, equity, integrity, service, and transparency.