Director of Technical Practice Operations

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe's work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.

Overview:

Over the past several years, TechnoServe has placed an increased emphasis on technical expertise in the domains where we operate. This has resulted in substantial growth in the number of technical practices, now numbering six.

1. Regenerative Business
2. Gender and Youth
3. TechnoServe Labs (technical innovations)
4. Entrepreneurship and Jobs
5. High-Margin Agriculture
6. Food Systems and Food Processing

These technical practices-each led by a Practice Leader-help us to enable a more effective program design process, ensure higher quality implementation across our portfolios, and provide internal and external thought leadership. The practices also identify and disseminate best practices and lessons learned to the wider organization. TechnoServe's practices also support donor cultivation and lead generation in close collaboration with Regions, other Practices, and the Program Development team.

The Director for Technical Practice Operations is responsible for ensuring that our project and country teams have access to the internal technical expertise and knowledge of our practices, allowing them to do consistently great work.

Many of TechnoServe's projects are increasingly large and complex and increasingly need to draw on multiple technical practices at the same time. This trend, has created new internal challenges, especially around the coordination, prioritization and budgeting of our technical practices. While it was not so long ago that a TechnoServe project was either a coffee project or entrepreneurship project, today it is rare to find any TechnoServe project that does not draw on more than one of our technical practices at the same time. We are seeking someone who can identify and resolve specific pain points related to the involvement of multiple practice areas in our project, countries, and regions.

Although the Director of Technical Practice Operations will work most closely with Practice Leads, Country Directors (CDs), and other senior managers, the position will report to the CEO, given the importance of this position and the likely need for decisions on sensitive resource-allocation topics.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

The Director of Technical Practice Operations will:

• Serve as a "one stop shop," where CDs and business development staff can request assistance from multiple practices. Currently, a CD who needs help from three practices must reach out and coordinate across the three different practices herself, often creating a bottleneck. In the future, she will simply be able to make her request to the Director of Technical Practice Operations, who will be able to coordinate and prioritize across the three practices as needed
• Work closely with the Chief Program Officer (CPO) and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Practice Leads to prioritize any competing demands of the practices
• Using insights gained from CDs and others, the Director of Technical Practice Operations will support the practice leaders in identifying and prioritizing opportunities to create "products" and materials that can provide technical support to TechnoServe colleagues
• With support from the Finance team, develop annual first draft budgets for the practices drawing on budgeted technical assistance (TA) present in donor budgets. Assist in finalizing those budgets at year end and revising those budgets at mid-year, consistent with new guidance developed during the organizational review
• Establish guidelines for share of practice Level of Effort (LOE) to be dedicated to each major area of responsibility and associated budget guidance for the practices
• Establish guidelines for practice LOE to be included in program and annual budgets that will enable the practices to fulfill their responsibilities without creating unsustainable expectations of program budgets ;
• Ensure that expectations for practice deliverables and service delivery are aligned with budgeted LOE.
• Liaise regularly with approximately 25 CDs, (and a small number of PMs who oversee some of our larger and more complex projects) soliciting feedback on the quantity and quality of support provided by the technical practices. Gather input about anticipated future TA needs in order to simplify and streamline the planning of future TA from the practices
• Take over administration and interpretation of the annual practice quality survey
• Liaise regularly with the leaders of TechnoServe's six technical practices in order to share information about current and future demand for services from the practices on the part of CD and our business development group

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree plus at least 12 years working in international development in a senior capacity, preferably in a matrixed organization (or Master's degree plus 8 year's of experience)
• Experience developing and managing budgets
• English fluency required

Preferred Qualifications

• Spanish or French language skills preferred
• Experience working with technical experts preferred
• Experience in any of TechnoServe's key domains preferred

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• High EQ and an ability to use influence to achieve goals, since the CDs and the practice leads will continue to report to their existing supervisors.
• Strong communication skills.

Travel: Up to 20 % of international travel

This is a remote or hybrid position with a preference for candidates within a commutable distance to our Arlington, VA Headquarters (HQ), or within an African country where TechnoServe has operations. If the selected candidate is within a 50 mile radius from HQ, you will be expected to work from HQ approximately once a week, or as determined by your supervisor. Candidates must have work authorization from the country from which they are applying. TechnoServe will not sponsor work authorization for this position.

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.

Team Player - Works well as a member of a group

Entrepreneurial Spirit - Inspired to perform well by an ability to drive new ventures within the business

Bachelors (required)

Experience in any of TechnoServe's key domains (preferred)
Experience working with technical experts (preferred)
English fluency (required)
Experience developing and managing budgets (required)
8 - 12 years: Experience working in international development in a senior capacity, preferably in a matrixed organization (required)

Skills