Job Description

Senior Program Associate - AgribusinessAbout African Leadership Academy and the Africa Career NetworksAfrican Leadership Academy (ALA) seeks to transform Africa by identifying, developing, and connecting a new generation of young leaders who will lead the continent towards lasting peace and shared prosperity for all. Since our inception in 2008, we have worked to lay the foundations of this audacious mission by identifying and developing a group of exceptional young leaders who will work together to shape Africa's future. Since 2012, the program at ALA has enabled students and alumni of the and (ALA) to access transformative early-career opportunities and accelerate their progression to impact. Partnerships with various foundations and supporters have allowed ACN to build 7 growing, pan-African career networks focused on key economic sectors - Education, Health, The Arts, Agribusiness, Infrastructure, Governance and Professional Services. Our network-theory driven approach has facilitated powerful social impact collaborations among our young leaders and connected them to over 5000 internships and full-time job opportunities.About Al for AgribusinessAL for Agribusiness is a network that supports and develops young leaders who contribute to the transformation of the agriculture sector across Africa. We catalyse connections between key stakeholders along the agriculture value chain to create an ecosystem that facilitates diverse career pathways for our young leaders. We support aspiring agripreneurs in their efforts to build innovative ventures that will drive productivity and job creation in their communities. The network fosters powerful and sustainable intergenerational relationships that enable the exchange of information and know how to positively impact rural livelihoods.We equip our young leaders with the skills, knowledge and attributes needed to catalyse their careers in the sector by facilitating masterclasses and providing one-on-one coaching and career guidance. We identify, connect, and support young agripreneurs to establish sustainable ventures. In addition, we will partner with established high impact organisations to help develop and promote the work of our entrepreneurs. Our initiatives include a Co-Creation fund program, Coaching and Career Guidance, Stakeholder Engagement through Virtual and In-Person Events, SME Internship Program and Internship Readiness Masterclass for SMEs, Agriculture Sector Employer Engagement, and the Application of Network TheoryPosition OverviewAs the Senior Program Associate for AL for Agribusiness, you will be responsible for weaving connections and relationships within the network which involves engaging and building relationships with network members and network partners. You will coordinate and arrange the sector success and sector challenge programs, events, activities and around the network and be responsible for working with the various internal (IL, Marketing, Finance etc) and external stakeholders (service providers and partners) to drive the success of the activities. You will ignite and foster collaborations between network members and facilitate knowledge transfer and the exchange of ideas to inspire impactful creative solutions for Africa across the ALA and ALG community, as well as build partnerships on campus. You will coordinate work supported by the Program Associate and interns while working closely with the Program Manager to ensure the budget is managed appropriately and the strategic outcomes are achieved.Position Responsibilities

• Project Management: Assumes project ownership with demonstrated attention to detail and thoughtful gathering, organizing, and interpretation of data
• Internal Stakeholder relationships: Must engage with various departmental and cross-functional teams. Supports recruitment and interviewing
• Payment processing: Procurement and processing of payments, correct allocations as per the budget, avoids needless spending and identifies opportunities for savings
• Relationship Management: Comfortable sharing ALA with the outside world; consistently and clearly communicates mission and model; identifies prospective customers, partners, and stakeholders in network.
• Program Coordination: Ability to coordinate initiatives, events and programs that will contribute to, and build the network.
• Highly organized facilitator: Ability to plan and deliver on programs and projects timeously. Able to plan, prioritize with good organisational skills.
• Communication skills: Experience with public speaking and able to clearly communicate for marketing and reporting purposes, both verbally and in writing. In practicality, this translates into report writing skills, marketing blurbs, social media posts and newsletter writing.
• External Stakeholder Management: Ability to confidently work with multiple stakeholders at different levels in organisations, to advance progress and execute on program ideas, both internally and externally.
• Matching and Placements: Responsible to contribute to the internship and job placements in the team as per the agreed annual target.
• Data Management and Analysis skills: CRM Data management and input, generating analytics that can be used for reporting.

Desired Experience

• A degree in a related discipline. A postgraduate degree will be an added advantage.
• 4+ years of working experience in a related field with supervisory experience.
• Agribusiness knowledge and a broad understanding and knowledge of the development challenges and opportunities facing the African continent.
• An awareness about career opportunities in this sector through the lens of leadership development and be passionate and eager to engage in continuous learning and networking in these fields.
• Dedicated to shaping the future of Africa.

Reporting to: Senior Program Manager of AL for Agribusiness NetworkStart Date: 1 October 2024Location: Johannesburg, South Africa.

African Leadership Academy