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Call for independent contractors to work with Root Capital on a periodic basis. Target applicant pool is professionals with experience in business management within agricultural companies with a focus on human capital.

NOTE: This is a call for applications for independent contracting on a periodic basis. This is not a call for an open position of employment with Root Capital.

Organizational background

Root Capital invests in the growth of agricultural businesses so they can transform rural communities. These companies buy crops such as coffee, cocoa, or macadamia nuts from smallholder farmers. With growth, they become impact drivers that can increase incomes, create jobs, empower women and youth, maintain 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 geographies that are difficult to serve where others do not. 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 strengthen. 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-serve geographies. Companies that receive our advisory services learn how to implement best business and financial practices for smart growth and continued success. We use a practical and participatory learning methodology, since our objective is for the company's 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 partner offices in Costa Rica, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Root Capital's clients are located in more than 10 countries across Mexico and Central America, South America, East and West Africa, as well as Southeast Asia.

Main goal

Train and advise agricultural cooperatives and agribusiness enterprises on human resource (HR) management (HR policies and processes) to define sustainable people changes. Set up systems and processes for recruitment and onboarding, retainment and promotion, performance appraisals/ reviews, development and implementation of workplace policies, compensation and benefits administration, and overall organization design.

Main Consultancy Deliverables

• Carry out organizational diagnostics that include measuring business performance in various management areas, in particular organizational capacity, human resource management, and related systems.
  • Identify strengths, weaknesses, and potential development opportunities to influence client work plans in regard to human capital
• Prepare reports and write responsive recommendations based on diagnostic results and develop a customized human capital training plan with clients.
• Provide advisory and training services to clients, in line with Root Capital methodology, on topics including, but not limited to: human resource management, systems and processes for recruitment and onboarding, retention and promotion, performance appraisals/reviews, workplace policies, organizational structure, employee training and professional development, compensation and benefits administration, employee communication and relations.
• Set up systems that support culture and behavioural change.
• Keep records of training participants, evaluate training results, and prepare activity reports.
• Monitor workplace business management and gender equity action plans, document and validate strategies used, and advise clients on implementation
• Record activities carried out with clients (using digital data collection tools and Excel) and preparing monthly activity reports.
• Deliver reports with key impact information, including results, challenges, lessons learned, customer success stories, and photographs.
• 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 equitably participate in and benefit from the services provided by our clients and the training done by the advisor and, more broadly, promote gender equity within our clients.
  • Explore, identify, and strengthen areas where there are linkages between human capital and gender specifically focusing on women and career development. This may encompass training gaps and needs including interpersonal skills, benefits including leave, flexible working hours, facilities such as nursing rooms and day care facilities, and policies on equal pay for equal work day, equal opportunities etc.

Note: You must be willing to conduct consulting services (individually with a single client or multi-client workshops) online/remotely and in person .

Required Qualifications

• University degree, preferably in studies related to Human resource management, Social Sciences, Business Administration or related field.
• Knowledge of HR best practices and prior experience in all functional areas of human resources (compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, compliance etc.).
• Experience in people and organizational change capabilities with a focus on sustainability.
• 3-4+ years of experience training and/or working with business development in rural agricultural areas and/or with agribusiness and/or cooperatives.
• Knowledge and application of participatory training, adult learning, and facilitation methodologies
• Knowledge of MS Office Suite, Google Apps, and Zoom.
• High organizational planning and management skills, ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong writing skills and ability to prepare reports or other documents as needed
• 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 responsibility.

Preferred qualifications

• Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) qualifications

Duration

The independent consulting contract will be for a duration of anywhere between 3 and 11 month periods, dependent upon the needs of Root Capital and the unique professional skills of the applicant. Each month it takes an average of 5-15 days to complete assignments and deliverables work, with 15 being the maximum number of consulting days per month.

Application Instructions

• If interested in the role, please submit a curriculum vitae/resume and compelling cover letter to afradvisoryrecruitment@rootcapital.org.
• The subject of your email should follow this convention: “Human Capital Advisor- Country Name – Applicant First Name & Last Name”.
• Inquiries that do not follow this convention will not be reviewed.
• The cover letter should explain why you are a fit for Root Capital, your experience working with agri-SMEs, and your expertise in digital business solutions. Specific examples of your impact and achievements should be included.

Application Process

• 1^st Stage: Review of resume and cover letter
• 2^nd Stage: First Interview
• 3^rd Stage: Technical Assessment
• 4^th Stage: Final interview

Application deadline: March 31st, 2024

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