Farmer Field School Manager

BACKGROUND Passing Gifts Private Limited PGPL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Heifer International USA and it provides services in educating consulting training advising and providing professional and technical services to individuals associations and entities in India and abroad particularly those who support or are working in the areas of social advancement and sustainable development This position may also require service agreements secondment agreements between entities etc PGPL is an equal opportunity employer All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race religion color national origin gender gender identify sexual orientation age status as a protected veteran among other things or status as a qualified individual with disability FUNCTION The Program Manager for Passing Gifts Farmer Field Schools FFS will provide strategic leadership technical guidance and operational oversight to a network of FFS across six districts of North Bihar and other geographies This role is central to empowering women smallholder farmers by building their capacity in sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture The manager will be responsible for ensuring the quality effectiveness and impact of the FFS program directly contributing to improved food security enhanced livelihoods and the economic empowerment of women farmers and their communities This position requires a dynamic leader who comes with a good agriculture sector understanding can manage a field team build strong stakeholder relationships and lay the groundwork for a state-wide scale-up of the initiative RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES including approximate percentage effort A Program Management Implementation 30 Lead the overall planning budgeting and execution of the FFS set-ups across the designated districts Ensure the FFS curriculum is relevant to local agro-ecological contexts context-specific and participatory Develop detailed annual and quarterly work plans and ensure timely implementation of all program activities Oversee a team of program Coordinators and Community Facilitators from partner organizations engaged in FFS implementation in providing mentorship guidance and support B Technical Guidance Capacity Building 30 Serve as the technical lead on sustainable agriculture practices including Integrated Pest Management IPM soil health management organic input preparation and water efficient irrigation Design and deliver Training-of-Trainers ToT programs for field staff and community master trainers CFs - FFS Krishi Sakhis Ensure the technical content delivered in FFS is accurate up-to-date and easily understandable by women farmers C Monitoring Evaluation and Learning MEL 20 Extend support in developing and implementing a robust MEL framework to track progress measure impact and capture learnings This may include support in developing a digital tracker cum dashboard as well Conduct regular field visits to monitor the quality of FFS sessions assess farmer adoption of new practices and provide on-the-spot guidance Analyze field data to identify trends challenges and successes using insights to drive adaptive management Document success stories case studies and best practices for internal learning and external communications D Stakeholder Engagement Networking 15 Build and maintain strong relationships with government bodies e g Department of Agriculture ATMA Jeevika Krishi Vigyan Kendras KVKs partner organizations and local research institutions Liaise with other NGOs private sector actors agri-input suppliers buyers and community-based organizations to create synergies and avoid duplication Represent the organization at district and state-level forums related to FFS and agriculture-based livelihoods May perform other job-related duties as assigned 5 QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS Education Master s degree in agriculture Agronomy Horticulture Rural Development or a related field More than 7 years of program management experience including at least 5 years in managerial role leading agricultural livelihood projects Experience working with governments private sector stakeholders and international organizations Direct hands-on experience in dealing with smallholder farmers regenerative and climate smart practices is highly desirable Sound understanding and exposure of FFS across different geographies will be considered as a preference Proven experience working with women s collectives Self-Help Groups SHGs or farmer producer organizations FPOs Sound understanding of integrated development issues and critical analysis of the root causes of poverty in India Knowledge of development issues trends challenges and opportunities and implications to community development ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to navigate challenging situations to achieve goals and deadlines Demonstrate a high degree of honesty and integrity Motivated to work responsibly with little supervision Ability to meet and deal with others in a courteous and tactful manner Ability to work with sensitive information and to always maintain confidentiality Ability and willingness to work a flexible schedule Fluent in Hindi English and Local Language spoken as well as written Have an interest in animals agriculture community development Willingness and ability to travel locally and internationally Knowledge of word processing spreadsheets PowerPoint web designing collaboration platform and tools and electronic mail software Microsoft preferred Constant sitting standing and walking with occasional bending and lifting may work at a computer for extended periods of time