Call aimed at professionals with experience in business administration in agricultural value chains, preferably coffee, training of business development in rural agricultural areas, participatory training methodologies, adult learning and facilitation.
Organizational Background
Root Capital invests in growing agricultural businesses so they can transform rural communities. These companies buy crops such as coffee, cocoa or beans from small farmers. With growth, they become drivers of impact that can increase incomes, create jobs, empower women and youth, keep the peace, and preserve vulnerable ecosystems.
We provide these companies with vital resources: access to capital, business and technical partners, financial training, and conservation practices. We work in difficult-to-serve geographies where others don't. To date, we have distributed $ 1.5 billion to improve the lives of more than ten million people in farming communities.
With twenty years of experience providing financing to small agricultural businesses, Root Capital has learned that sometimes credit alone does not help them grow and become stronger. Therefore, in addition to access to capital, it offers financial, agronomic, business intelligence, climate resilience, and gender and youth training and advice in difficult-to-service geographies. Companies that receive our advisory services learn to implement best business and financial practices for smart growth and continued success. We use a practical and participatory learning methodology, since our goal is for company staff to acquire new knowledge and skills and be able to implement them in the short term.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Root Capital currently has offices in Costa Rica, Kenya and Mexico with associated offices in Nicaragua and Peru. Root Capital clients are located in more than 13 countries in Mexico, Central America, South America, East and West Africa, as well as Southeast Asia.
Main goal
Train and advise cooperatives and agricultural companies in finance and business management using Root Capital's participatory training methodology. Develop personalized financial advice for clients based on diagnostic information that positively impacts their economic growth, productivity and resilience.
Main Responsibilities
- Carry out comprehensive agribusiness diagnostics (rural business diagnostics) that include measuring business performance in various management areas and identifying strengths, weaknesses, and potential development opportunities to influence clients' work plans.
- Prepare reports and write responsive recommendations based on diagnostic results, and develop a customized annual training and advisory work plan with clients.
- Provide advisory and training services to clients in accordance with the Root Capital methodology and in coordination with clients on topics that include, among others: good financial and business management practices, accounting, administration, planning and financial management, analysis data, cash flow, leadership and organizational capacity, etc.
- Keep records of workshop attendees, evaluate training results, and prepare activity reports.
- Note: Your role as a facilitator may be in a centralized event or workshop where multiple clients or organizations attend, or in conducting a 1-1 session with an individual client at their offices. You can lead sessions or serve as a secondary facilitator to support the workshop / session.
- Monitor annual work plans, document and validate the strategies used, and advise clients on implementation.
- Contribute to the organizational monitoring of Root Capital by recording the activities carried out with clients (using digital data collection tools and Excel), preparing monthly activity reports and capturing learnings.
- Contribute to external reports with key impact information, including results, challenges, lessons learned, customer success stories, and photos.
- Promote innovation through contributions to the development and piloting of new instruments, methodologies and training tools.
- Understand and effectively integrate gender-inclusive approaches and gender mainstreaming best practices to ensure that women participate and benefit equitably from advisory services and, more broadly, promote gender equity among our clients.
This function will work in close coordination with regional management.
Note: You must be willing to perform advisory services (one-on-one with a single client or multi-client workshops) online / remotely and in person.
Required qualifications
- University degree in agricultural economics, economics, business management, accounting, agribusiness, business administration or related careers.
- Experience in business administration in agricultural value chains, preferably coffee.
- 3-4 + years of experience in training and / or work with business development in rural agricultural areas and / or with small farmers, agribusinesses and / or cooperatives.
- Knowledge and application of participatory training methodologies, adult learning and facilitation
- Knowledge of administration tools including: MS Office Suite (especially Excel), Google Apps (email, shared calendars and collaborative documents) and Zoom.
- Focus on offering high-quality customer-oriented services.
- High capacity for planning, relational and organizational management.
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Ability to synthesize complex concepts and convey them clearly
- Ability to generate trust and sympathy with customers effectively
- Ability to assess training needs, plan, direct and execute training responsive to customer needs.
- Strong writing skills and ability to prepare reports or other documents as required.
- Team player, works collaboratively to design and deliver services / products.
- Commitment to the development of innovative solutions and results orientation.
- Identification with the mission, vision and leadership principles of Root Capital.
- Interest and commitment to gender equality.
- Ability to travel and work in different parts of the country.
- Ability to manage your work independently with a high degree of accountability and proactive outreach for support as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Knowledge and experience of sustainability standards (eg Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Fairtrade Organic).
- Experience using dashboards / digital applications in data visualization and analysis for strategic decision making.
Duration
The consultancy takes place in 2023, with the possibility to be renewed the following year. The first period will be three months, allowing a process of integration and adaptation, carrying out an evaluation at the end of the period to assess the continuity of the consultancy until December 2023. Each month it takes an average of 5 days for work.
Selection
- 1st. Stage: Reception of resume or curriculum vitae accompanied by a cover letter.
- 2nd. Stage: First Interview
- 3rd. Stage: Final interview
