Role

The Programme Manager Agricultural Livelihoods is responsible for funding and monitoring initiatives within our portfolio.

The programme team aims to spend available funding as responsibly and effectively as possible and to contribute optimally to the portfolio goals as well as the mission and vision of the IKEA Foundation.

Together with the other members of the Agricultural Livelihoods portfolio team, the Programme Manager gives interpretation to our portfolio strategy which seeks to turn agri-food systems into inclusive, regenerative and circular systems that benefit people and planet in key geographies in East Africa and South Asia.

As Programme Manager, you will be part of a small but enthusiastic team of people committed to make a difference. You will report to the Head of Portfolio and will work closely with the team’s support functions in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation, in Project Control and in Communications. The position is 38 hours, based at the Foundation’s office in Leiden, the Netherlands.

Responsibilities

• Source and shape grant programmes in line with the Agricultural Livelihoods strategy to build a pipeline of opportunities for the portfolio and successfully take them through the Foundation’s application and approval process
• Execute the grant-making and grant management for existing and new grants
• Participate in regular Agricultural Livelihoods portfolio strategy reviews, including activities such as developing and delivering workshops, expert interviews and desk research
• Actively participate in agri-food system affinity groups and fora both to represent and position the IKEA Foundation and to grow knowledge with relevant stakeholders
• Keep up to date with the latest evidence and developments in the field and proactively share this knowledge with relevant stakeholders
• Identify synergies between portfolios and coordinate where relevant
• Ensure that we have the right approach for each partner so they can successfully deliver within our portfolio strategy
• Actively work with partners and other stakeholders to promote evidence and learning from our programmes

Profile

You have:

• 7+ years of experience in working on agricultural livelihoods themes with a strong link to climate change and natural ecosystem management, preferably in Africa and/or Asia
• Strong affinity and experience with regenerative agriculture and circularity principles in agriculture
• Prior professional experience and knowledge in the specific field of agricultural livelihoods and alleviating poverty
• The ability to combine complex system-thinking with practical livelihood solution approaches
• Experience in grant-making, and a good understanding of the philanthropic sector
• Proven project management experience
• Genuine appreciation of applying measurement and learning to build and share portfolio learning
• Proven ability to build relationships with diverse external partners and stakeholders
• The ability to work with available information to identify patterns and trends and draw meaningful conclusions in order to make decisions and recommendations
• Experience working abroad and /or ‘in the field’ preferred

You are:

• Motivated by living and sharing the values of IKEA Foundation
• Purpose driven with a deep commitment to improving lives of people and protecting the planet
• An innovative problem-solver and natural network builder
• A collaborative team player who takes initiative; a natural connector
• Fluent in English, oral and written
• A confident and persuasive communicator
• Able to communicate in a simple, straightforward and inclusive manner
• Flexible and pragmatic, open to the ideas of others and willing to adapt to achieve results
• Able to capture the learning from challenges and failures and use it to improve outcomes and/or co-design better programmes
• Able to travel internationally up to 30%

A pre-employment screening as well as an online assessment will be part of the application process.

What we offer

We offer a dynamic working environment amongst co-workers from different nationalities. Amongst these nationalities, we share a single culture and set of values. You will be able to contribute to constantly improving the grant-making experience at the IKEA Foundation. In doing so, you will have the opportunity to work with innovative solutions and you will be challenged to come up with ideas for improvements in all areas. The better we can support our co-workers and partners, the more time and energy they can spend on the causes that we support!

How to apply

Interested applicants can apply by clicking here. Please submit your application as soon as possible but no later than 13 March 2023.