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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 an impact investor that provides financing and business training to agricultural enterprises in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since 1999, we have loaned over $2B to more than 800 businesses that are too big for microloans but too small for commercial lenders, and have trained more than twice as many businesses. As these businesses succeed and scale, they become engines of impact for local communities, raising incomes, creating jobs, expanding opportunities for women and young people, preserving nature, and building rural prosperity.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Root Capital has more than 180 employees operating in more than a dozen countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and has associated offices in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ghana, and Kenya.

Position Overview

The Interim Director, Strategic Partnerships & Opportunity Development plays a central role in advancing high-impact, multi-stakeholder initiatives aligned with Root Capital’s strategy. The role focuses on engaging external partners to support co-creation and strengthen the fundraising pipeline, while structuring fundable partnership opportunities that translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives. The position serves as a facilitator, coordinating cross-functional inputs and aligning stakeholders to ensure initiatives are well-designed and ready for donor engagement.

Duties & Responsibilities

Purpose (50%)

• Design, structure, and support the operational launch of multi-stakeholder initiatives that advance Root Capital’s strategy across target geographies and value chains, addressing financial, knowledge, and market access barriers.
• Translate strategic priorities into clear, fundable partnership opportunities.
• Engage and align external partners to support co-creation of initiatives and strengthen their relevance and feasibility.
• Develop partnership frameworks for multi-stakeholder initiatives, including objectives, theories of change, outputs, budgets, and partner roles, in alignment with Root Capital’s strategy, Impact MEL practice, and donor priorities.

Engagement (30%)

• Support the cultivation and stewardship of relationships with corporates, donors, research organizations, certification bodies, and ecosystem partners, in close collaboration with relationship owners.
• Facilitate co-creation processes with external partners to shape partnership opportunities.
• Coordinate internal review processes for initiative frameworks, ensuring alignment across Programs, Strategy, Partnerships, and other teams prior to partner engagement.

Delivery (20%)

• Maintain accurate documentation, timelines, and progress tracking for initiative development and partnership pipelines.
• Integrate learnings from pilots, research, and partner feedback to strengthen initiative design and positioning.
• Contribute to improving internal processes related to opportunity development, cross-team collaboration, and initiative structuring.

Required Skills and Experience

• 7–10 years of experience in international development, agriculture, partnerships, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience designing or co-creating multi-stakeholder initiatives, partnerships, or programs in emerging markets.
• Strong understanding of agricultural value chains and ecosystem actors, including cooperatives, exporters, certifiers, agritech providers, and corporate buyers.
• Experience engaging with donors, corporates, technical partners, or research institutions within the climate, sustainability, or agricultural sectors.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills across diverse geographies and cultures.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred; additional languages are an asset.
• Deep belief in and dedication to Root Capital’s mission, with a passion for inclusive, regenerative, and climate-smart rural development.
• Experience in multicultural, geographically distributed teams; strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Authorized to work in the listed countries
• Flexibility to travel regionally as needed, including visits to rural areas.

Commitment to supporting well-being and work–life balance.

Applications

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply using the form below as soon as possible, making sure to include a resume and cover letter that describes your interest, qualifications, language abilities, salary requirements, and how you learned of the position. Finalist candidates will be required to provide at least three work-related references.

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.