Precision Agriculture for Development - Program Director

Job opening - Program Director

Precision Agriculture for Development, Inc. (PAD) is an early stage global technology enterprise using rich data and smart algorithms to help smallholder farmers make better production decisions. We are advised by top academics at Harvard and Brown Universities and backed by global funders.

Background :

- It's possible to boost production of major crops by 30% and reduce environmental impact simply by managing agricultural inputs better. Part of this promise has already been achieved in developed countries, where precision agriculture technologies have improved targeting of inputs to local conditions. PAD is adapting precision agriculture for smallholder farmers in the developing world. We are building an intelligent platform that provides individualized production recommendations based on theory and data. Our vision is better livelihoods for the poor, drawn from a more productive, environmentally-friendly landscape. In a rigorous randomized controlled trial in India, the alpha version of our voice-based service increased yields by 8.6-28%, with a social benefit to cost ratio of 10/1 (Cole and

- Fernando 2016). We have scaled up our pilot, growing from 200 to 56,000 users over the past 16 months in Gujarat. We are also operational in Odisha and are actively exploring new opportunities in multiple states of India.

- Our ambitions are large: our funders include Silicon Valley venture capitalists and technology entrepreneurs, and we believe that technological innovations create new scope and opportunities to address rural poverty and close the global food production gap. We aim to improve the lives of 100 million farmers in developing countries. To reach our goals, we will tap new technologies (like microsatellites, drones, smartphones, and machine learning), which have the promise to vastly improve the intelligence of our service and the quality of recommendations we provide to farmers.

- PAD's senior leadership team includes professors and global experts in technology and development with considerable combined experience in sub-Saharan Africa and India as well as deep expertise in data sciences and monitoring and evaluation. The board includes Professor Michael Kremer (Harvard University), Professor Shawn Cole (Harvard Business School), Professor Daniel Bj- rkegren (Brown University), and Heiner Baumann (Harvard Business School alum, former McKinsey). PAD's India team consists of alumni from IIM-Ahmedabad, IIT-Kanpur and Delhi College of Engineering with experience in management, research, and building start-ups.

Opportunity :

- Based on the success in Gujarat, and the pilot in Odisha, PAD is in advanced discussions with the Coffee Board of India and reputed international funders to bring the digital agri-advisory solution to at least 300,000 farmers by the end of the year 2019. PAD will integrate and use some of the most cutting-edge technologies in the agricultural domain while collaborating with top international and national research organizations. To lead the overall project strategy and implementation, PAD is looking for an experienced management professional with the necessary skills to work on a high profile, high potential project.

- We offer highly competitive compensation, international work experience, and the opportunity to apply leadership and technology-based problem-solving skills in a highgrowth, impact-oriented environment.

Job Description -

The Program Director will have the following responsibilities:

- Set and refine the - Information and Communications Technology (ICT)- vision and strategy for Coffee farmers in Karnataka and other Coffee growing states with the senior leadership and effectively implement the same

- Define and lead the overall operational and implementation activities, ensuring project milestones are delivered on time and within budget

- Build, manage and strengthen relations with different partners and stakeholders: technology providers, agri-businesses, development organizations, non-profits and other service providers and implementation partners to facilitate scale-up of the PAD service

- Understand end user's requirement and support the development of the optimum product

- Support the development and implementation of the technology platform to deliver the product

- Build and implement a capacity building plan that facilitates the transfer of system management to government

- Lead the overall hiring, training and management of staff across verticals

- Manage contracts, grants and sub-partner monitoring functions at the state level including managing deliverables and spending rate

- Preparation of progress and expense reports for the funders

- Operationalize the - Management Information Systems (MIS)- at the district and state level, undertake periodic analysis and report progress to senior leadership

- Be responsible for submission of project reports, invoices/bills or any other documents to the concerned stakeholders

- Represent PAD in Coffee Board meetings and different state planning meetings and committees

- Follow relevant trends in precision agriculture, innovations and best practices in government extension services

- Participate in relevant research and knowledge generation activities and exchange learning and tools with other PAD entities, partners in India, South Asia, and Sub Saharan Africa

- Carry out any other responsibility as assigned by the India Country Director and the global management team

Desired Qualifications -

- Bachelors/Master's in Technology or Master's in Business Administration or an equivalent degree/experience

- Proven professional experience leading large programs and, bringing individual projects to scale

- Experience in product development, product management and/or coding software(s)

- Self-motivated, with a strong ability and drive to lead the project independently

- Ability to work effectively with Government departments and officials at all levels, with the energy, patience and proactive problem solving needed to overcoming obstacles and co-creating a customer (farmer) centric service

- Experience working with start-ups and high-growth environment preferred

- Experience in agricultural sector and Coffee production, in particular, is a strong plus

- Excellent managerial, liaison and negotiation skills

- Willingness to travel across Coffee growing states based on requirement

- Excellent communications, written and presentation skills in English

- Strong reporting and upward management skills

Location: Bengaluru, India

Compensation: We offer highly competitive compensation according to experience

Start Date: Immediate