Senior Manager, Next Generation at Root Capital

• Company:
• Location: Kenya
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• Job type: Full-Time
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• The Senior Manager of Next Generation Jobs serves as a technical expert in youth inclusion across Root Capital’s related innovation agenda, leading to the development of new products and services that address emerging needs of both agricultural businesses and associated youth. We currently define youth as individuals of working age (in accordance with local labor laws) up to and including 35 years old. Capacity to envision the needs of these target communities and respond with insight, as well as collaborate deeply with colleagues across the organization, are key to the success of this newer programmatic area and will enable this role to contribute to Root Capital’s mission and strengthen its reputation in this field.
• The innovation team provides technical and programmatic services to the rest of the organization around our global innovation agenda, which ensures Root Capital’s service offering continues to meet evolving client needs and market realities. The innovation team leads an inclusive and rigorous process to evaluate, prioritize, and monitor innovation ideas through the innovation lifecycle. It collaborates closely with innovation leads on Client Services and / or itself leads the design of innovations that benefit Root Capital’s client base and advance our mission.

• Design new programs and services related to Next Generation Jobs that advance Root Capital into new opportunities consistent with its mission. This includes framing and conducting or overseeing related market research, as well as the design of technical specifications for the service, and planning and project management related to the development – and in some cases testing – of these services.
• Lead the development of the Next Generation Jobs innovation strategy and identify gaps in our current product and service offering to identify opportunities for innovation.
• Oversee the research and review of ideas for new products and services related to Next Generation Jobs, ensuring they support the overall strategy and fit with organizational capabilities.
• Craft learning plans for Next Generation Jobs-related pilots and oversee their execution including critical assessment of pilot performance to inform executive decision-making about the future of the tested products and services.

• Promote the importance and strategic alignment of the Next Generation Jobs work with team members and management across the organization.
• Build capacity among other teams to deliver youth-related programs and services.
• Network with other organizations working on Next Generation Jobs (or related) topics in order to keep abreast of best practices, trends, and learnings from external sources that might inform Root Capital’s own work.
• Build relationships with other organizations that might serve as complimentary partners in our Next Generation Jobs strategy, and identify areas of alignment to inform potential shared programming.

• Plan for Next Generation Jobs innovations to follow Root Capital’s innovation processes, with clear stage-gates, roles and responsibilities, and synthesized and relevant information to inform decision-making.
• Organize and collaborate closely with the cross-cutting teams working on Next Generation Jobs related innovations to ensure timeliness and quality in their deliverables.
• Introduce effective tools to promote the development and monitoring of new youth-focused products and services, in close collaboration with other teams.
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in youth employment, youth in agriculture, or another related field within the context of smallholder agriculture. Experience formulating new approaches within this field that are aligned with an organization's broader strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to influence changes to existing organizational policies and approaches, as well as bring in new insights from outside the organization that inform decision-making.
• Experience building influence across diverse teams and project management of those teams in complex initiatives. Prior exposure to programmatic quality control processes desired.
• Demonstrated ability to design and conduct qualitative research to inform strategic decision-making.
• Bilingual English/Spanish is required.
• Specialized/varied experience in service delivery/project design in agriculture across multiple geographies, and a proven ability to collaborate deeply with cross-cutting teams
• Enthusiasm for working in a multicultural environment; experience in a global and multi-location work environment is highly desired.
• Committed to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion and embracing transparency and authenticity in daily work life.
• Proactive approach to problem-solving with demonstrated decision-making capabilities.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to a dynamic environment.
• Experience working and communicating in a remote environment.
• Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
• Passionate about Root Capital mission.
• Authorized to work in a country where Root Capital has an office.
• Flexibility to travel locally or regionally is required according with the nature of the role, including the possibility of visiting clients in rural areas

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