Company Description

Who we are
SNV is a global development partner, deeply rooted in the countries where we operate. Driven by a vision of a better world where all people live with dignity and have equitable opportunities to thrive sustainably, SNV strengthens capacities and catalyses partnerships that transform agri-food, energy, and water systems. We help strengthen institutions and effective governance, reduce gender inequalities and barriers to social inclusion and enable adaptation and mitigation to the climate and biodiversity crises.

With 60 years of experience and a team of approximately 1,600 people, we support our partners in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia, tailoring our approaches to different contexts to achieve large-scale impact and create more equitable lives for all.

Our core values of people-centeredness and respect, equity and equality, and diversity and inclusion, are fundamental to who we are, and what we do. This is reflected in our vision and mission, and strategy, which sets out our aspirations and commitments as our compass towards 2030.

For more information on SNV, please refer to our website: www.snv.org

SNV’s Agrifood Sector
The need to transform our agri-food systems is essential for a healthier, more sustainable and inclusive society, now and for future generations. Our goal for the agri-food sector is to support an equitable transition to sustainable and resilient agri-food systems that deliver food security and adequate nutrition for people from all their diversity in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases are safeguarded for future generations. We are committed to driving an impactful transition by focusing on three key outcomes:

1. Sustainable agri-food production– By prioritising our efforts on climate-resilient production of nutritious food by farmers, pastoralists and agribusinesses, reducing food losses in production and restoring productive landscapes, we work to increase the sustainability of food systems.
2. Economic empowerment and social inclusion- By aligning markets and investments and focusing on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies that support resilient livelihoods and improve incomes for the most marginalised communities, we strive to promote inclusiveness, challenge harmful social norms and increase participation.
3. Food security and nutrition- By strengthening resilience for nutrition of vulnerable populations, promoting the consumption of diverse, healthy diets and improving the availability and accessibility of nutritious food, we aim to empower households to make production, income and consumption decisions that promote healthy diets.

Job Description

We are currently looking for a:
Project Manager/Sector Leader Agrifood Systems
Location: Vientiane, Lao PDR
Full-time/ International employment contract/ 2 years with options for extension

SNV in Lao PDR implements programs that are supported by various international donors. Implementation of these programs is currently active in six provinces, with the Country Office in Vientiane, and field offices in Savannakhet and Houaphan.

The person
If you are an impact-driven agri-food leader, SNV Laos will be keen to recruit you in the role of a Project Manager (PM) / Sector Leader (SL). In this role you are pivotal to grow and enhance the Agrifood portfolio, you are representing SNV towards (potential) donors and you ensure the quality of the Agri-food expertise with and through our programs and projects. You will also manage ongoing agrifood projects with 3 active projects and several in the pipeline, manage the agrifood team of 15 staff and be part of the Country Management Team that is jointly leading the Laos team of about 50 people across 3 locations.

As Project Manager / Sector Leader Agri-food:
You are working with our Agri-food team and partners across our portfolio to deliver impact at scale. You drive the national community of practice, and you ensure the use of our MEL frameworks to generate learning and insights across the diverse teams. You will oversee all projects within the Agri-food system to ensure implementation and together with the agriculture and nutrition advisors improve the quality of the overall sector performance at country level.

You play an important role in Business Development, instigating, developing, and translating opportunities into sound concept notes and project proposals, connecting with colleagues from our Global office in The Hague and office in countries where we operate as well as with partners, both national and international. You maintain close relations with relevant stakeholders, keeping track of the development sector in-country, representing SNV to remain strategically targeted and responsive to potential stakeholder needs.

Duties and responsibilities:
The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

Strategic Leadership

• Providing innovative leadership and encouraging people to take an active role in programme design and proposal development and ensuring quality and implementation in line with the strategic directions of SNV and the Lao PDR.
• As a key member of the Country Management Team (CMT), responsible for enabling and supporting the CMT uphold the highest standards of behaviour embracing diversity and inclusion across teams, maintaining SNV code of conduct and intentionally radiating SNV culture statements.
• Drive Agri-food systems impact via programme and project delivery, actively promoting reflections and learning based upon SNV MEL framework and ensure continuous development of practice standards across projects.

People leadership

• Providing leadership, coaching and technical support to teams
• Driving the community of practice within the country
• Growing and nurturing talent, actively looking at opportunities to build diverse experience across teams.
• Directly leading a team of project advisors in the Agri-Food sector, instilling adaptive leadership with people centricity across the respective teams.

Collaboration and consultation

• Participating in global Agri-Food community of practice and meetings to ensure impactful steering of the sector.

Representation

• Building, maintaining, and expanding relationships with donors and other partners (government, local partners, national and international NGOs and bilateral and multilateral agencies, private sector), for a high level of visibility by actively participating in external and internal networks and events.

Project/program delivery

• Driving data-based reflections and decision-making at all levels, with a specific focus on ensuring that the agri-food systems programs are designed and implemented in quality.
• Contributing to internal and external knowledge development, by full documentation and sharing of project insights and results.
• Contributing to the development of the country strategic and annual plans and budgets and reports on progress/ performance against targets, within the requirements of the corporate planning process.
• Planning and assigning deliverables and activities, reviewing their progress and addressing deviations in terms of timelines and quality, based on project planning, deliverables agreed and budget set.
• Ensuring effective and efficient project/programme delivery in compliance with donor reporting and to promote cross-sectoral learning.

Business Development

• Supporting Business Development (BD) by developing proposals to secure funding for innovative Agri-Food programs and may also support business development for Energy and Water sectors. Supporting the country program to pursue and track business opportunities for new projects and programmes.

Your profile
You have an innate passion for people; you believe that experience and growth can be transferred to others, and you have a strong technical background in the Agri-food sector, nutrition and food systems in particular. You are an experienced project manager with a passion to design and enable sound theories of change that drive systems impact. Whilst being rooted in science, you adapt to context, and you inspire people from diverse backgrounds to join our cause. You are experienced with MEL frameworks, and you actively promote learning against insights generated from our field work. You are ensuring project reflections feed into practitioner learning cycles.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have the following experience and qualifications:

• Master’s degree in agri-food related discipline (or equivalent).
• Minimum 5 years relevant experience in the design and management of large complex agriculture/agri-food projects in Laos and surrounding countries and in multi country context(s).
• Extensive, minimum 3 years, experience in working in/with international NGO’s, bilateral and multilateral organizations.
• Experience in nutrition-sensitive approaches, agri-food value chains, market-based approaches, climate smart agriculture.
• Experience in systems transformation, good governance practices and approaches that are responsive to gender considerations, social inclusion, and empowerment principles.
• Experience with project planning, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and financial management.
• Proven track record in program design, compelling proposal writing, business development and resource mobilization; international donor relationship management.
• Excellent people leader used to provide clear direction and guidance to a group of people and encourage cooperation among team members to achieve goals.
• Self-motivated with excellent intercultural leadership, teamwork, coaching, communication, networking, and organizational skills.
• Excellent communication, reporting and presentation skills in English (SNV corporate language).

Additional Information

Working at SNV
SNV offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package. We offer a challenging work environment, opportunities to lead and innovate, and a commitment to growing your skills in a fulfilling and diverse working environment. Our staff benefit from, and contribute to, an internal global network of experts.

SNV strives to be an inclusive employer, thriving on the diversity of its people and does not discriminate on the basis of disability status, religion, ethnic origin, gender and sexual orientation, etc.

How to Apply
If you believe that your credentials meet the above profile, we invite you to apply by submitting your CV with a motivation letter in English by 1 May 2025.

Reference & vetting check
At SNV, we conduct thorough background and reference checks for all candidates applying for internationally determined positions, with a strong focus on safeguarding. You will be asked to provide contact details for three individuals who can serve as references. Please note, we will only contact your referees with your explicit permission.

As a participant in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, our reference checks also include a request to your previous employers to complete a "Statement of Conduct" questionnaire. This questionnaire addresses any instances of misconduct, including sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment, in line with the Scheme’s definitions.

*We do not appreciate third-party mediation based on this advertisement.

How to Apply:

Please APPLY ONLINE at: https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/SNV/744000054292234-project-manager-sector-leader-agrifood-systems