Kenya Markets Trust Portfolio Director (Agribusiness) Job-July 2015

Kenya Markets Trust Portfolio Director (Agribusiness) Kenya Markets Trust (KMT) uses innovative mechanisms to catalyse and influence change in market systems through partnerships in the private and public sector, working at business level influencing commercial practices and at government level influencing policy and regulation, to create better performing market systems that are inclusive and create wealth for all along the value chain, particularly those at the base of the pyramid.

KMT is currently working in five sectors – seed, agricultural inputs, dairy, livestock and water – and implements some work in these sectors internally and some through local partners. It’s working funds / revenue comes from donors and foundations .

KMT is seeking to recruit a Portfolio Director (PD) to manage its Agribusiness portfolio, which
comprises Seed and Inputs Technical teams and implementing teams on the ground.
The PD will report to the Chief Operating Officer and will be part of the Executive Team.

The PD will manage the internal and external teams responsible for the implementation of KMT’s initiatives in the Agribusiness Sectors, ensuring the smooth flow of operations and allowing for creativity and initiatives to be generated by teams on the ground.
More specifically the PD will be responsible inter alia for:

• Ensuring that systems and process are in place to facilitate the work of the Agribusiness Teams on the ground;
• Ensuring that the right information is collected, analysed and disseminated to guide the teams;
• Providing quality control on all procurement within the department;
• Establishing KPIs that monitoring team and individual performance;
• Regularly reviewing expenditure against budget with the Team Leaders within the Department and ensure that remedial action is taken where variations are high;
• Working with the COO and HR department to make sure that current staff have the right skills and that suitably experienced and qualified staff are recruited to fill vacant positions;
• Overseeing the professional development of staff within the department;
• Identifying and organising (in conjunction with the Livestock PD) regular and relevant internal and external professional and managerial training for department members;
• Identifying and ensure the availability of external consultants in order that they provide real value-added to the various teams;
• Set Terms of Reference for, evaluate and manage external teams for specific assignments;
• Identifying sector-specific as well as cross-sectorial policy issues and working with the Research, Policy and Knowledge team to develop influencing plans
• Working with the Research, Policy and Knowledge team to develop influencing plans to identify new interventions or sectors that KMT could potentially transform.
• Quality control report preparation by Team Leads to relevant funders;
• Provide leadership to Department members on overall ‘Change Management’ within KMT;
• Develop the human talent of the Teams under your management & leadership

Experience & Skills:

The right person for this position will have at least 8-10 years’ experience, with at least 4 years gained at a leadership level.

Ideally, experience would have been gained in a business that transacts commercially with the ‘base of the pyramid’, one that values a highly developed sense of client service and partnerships management, and that experiments with new initiatives & ideas to reach current and future clients in the seed/agricultural inputs sectors.

The right candidate will be curious, flexible, adaptable and lateral thinking, and able to think strategically.
Specific experience in supply chain/value chain management; use of ICT to make markets work more effectively and a broad understanding of the workings of knowledge management, the value and essence of communications would be valued.

In addition, the right candidate would require:

• Education to Masters level or equivalent in a relevant discipline such as Business Management, Agribusiness, Marketing, Strategy, Economics.
• Experience of working with multiple and diverse partners in the private, public and donor/funding sectors
• Proven track record of success facilitating progressive organizational change and development within a growing organization
• Ability to operate as an effective tactical as well as strategic thinker
• Superior management and co-ordination skills; ability to influence and engage direct and indirect reports and peers
• Action oriented, entrepreneurial, energetic, collaborative proactive; a team leader who can positively and productively impact on strategic initiatives
• Proven ability to work in a complex work environment where there are cross cutting demands
• Strong relationship management skills,
• Strong people skills, problem solver, results oriented
• A change driver; with inquisitiveness, imagination, anticipation, courage and client focus,
• Demonstrated strong analytical skills and experience
• Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal and presentation skills with the ability to effectively interface with executive management, the Board and staff.
• Excellent skills in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• It would be a distinct advantage if the candidate has had some exposure to value chain analysis and/or making markets work for the poor (M4P) approach to market transformation.

How to Apply

If you are interested in the above position and meet the above criteria, please send in your application via electronic mail to KMTPDAB@tgagroupea.com attaching a full résumé / curriculum vitæ and details of your current salary package in Microsoft Word Document (.doc /.docx) format.

Your application should reach us on or before Tuesday 4th August 2015.
An attractive and competitive package will be offered to the appointed candidates.
For more information on KMT see www.kenyamarkets.com