BACKGROUND:
 

The Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA) is a multi-stakeholder partnership platform initiated by Grow Asia, a regional platform for inclusive and sustainable agriculture development in Southeast Asia catalyzed by the World Economic Forum and the ASEAN Secretariat. Grow Asia’s goal is to reach smallholder farmers in ASEAN through its Country Chapters like the PPSA to build regional and country partnerships and broker market-driven solutions for more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia.

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PPSA was formally launched by Grow Asia together with the Philippine Department of Agriculture and through the collective efforts of various stakeholders. PPSA, with the Department of Agriculture and EastWest Seed as its Co-Chairs, has brought together more than 120 organizations, reaching more than 120,000 smallholders through commodity Working Groups (WGs) focused on Coconut, Coffee, Corn, Vegetables, and Fisheries as well as cross-cutting or thematic working groups on Agri-financing, Digital Agriculture, and the Learning Alliance.

 

As PPSA moves forward in positioning itself as the Enabler of multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable and inclusive food systems that empower and transform smallholder farmers and fishers to be self-reliant and resilient, we seek to harness the collective strength of agricultural value chain players towards transforming food systems to become climate positive and inclusive through market-driven solutions.

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THE ROLE:

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This position is an opportunity to contribute to the growth of the Philippine agriculture sector while creating social and economic gains for smallholder farmers across the archipelago.

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The position holder is expected to be: a collaborative leader with exceptional vision and partnership building skills; highly adept at program planning and balancing the needs and interests of individual stakeholders while defining a shared agenda; an experienced and competent manager of people, resources, and relationships; comfortable being hands-on in both the facilitation of Communities of Practice and supervising the management of people and finances; tenacious, with a ‘can do’ attitude.

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The position has overall responsibility for executing PPSA’s goals with key stakeholders, including agribusiness, government, development partners, and civil society. The role has the potential to grow with the PPSA and will involve engaging with the wider Grow Asia network across Southeast Asia.

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SCOPE OF WORK:

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The Country Director manages the PPSA and – while s/he takes strategic direction from Grow Asia – is ultimately accountable to the PPSA Core Committee. The position has overall responsibility for ensuring the PPSA’s goals are executed with key stakeholders including agribusiness, government, development partners, and civil society.

The Country Director is responsible for:

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• The establishment, governance, and overall effectiveness of the Working Groups.

• Stakeholder management - ensuring trust, alignment and collaboration between the PPSA’s partners towards a clear vision. This will entail engaging: private sector partners of all management levels; government officials, departments and ministries; potential donors; farmer organizations; international and local NGOs; other stakeholders relevant to agriculture value chains in the Philippines.

• Ensuring the effective management of the PPSA Secretariat, which includes overseeing a small team of staff, developing operating budgets, and leading the PPSA’s fundraising activities.

• Knowledge and information building and sharing through strategic data collection and the convening of knowledge sharing events.

• The recruitment and management of specialist consultants to support the activities of Working Groups.

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The successful candidate will manage the PPSA Secretariat by leading  communications/promotions, and technical assistance work to build the network and strengthen PPSA’s advocacy and activities. The candidate will closely work with Grow Asia’s Partnership Manager and Grow Asia’s Value Chain Development Consultant so that all the efforts—secretariat work and value chain projects’ technical assistance—are aligned and contribute towards the overall goal of PPSA.

The PPSA Country Director will have the opportunity to and strengthen its relations with partners. S/he will represent PPSA Secretariat and is consequently required to conduct him/herself in a respectful and professional manner.

Grow Asia and the co-chairs will assist the PPSA Country Director to develop an operating budget and a fundraising plan, to gather funds from PPSA partners. Successful fund-raising is critical to the future of PPSA.

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Essential duties and responsibilities include:

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• Planning: Working closely with the PPSA co-chairs and Grow Asia Secretariat to convene PPSA members, organize meetings, set agenda, and ensure follow up.

• Programs Planning and Performance Measurement: Oversee the implementation of the programs; Coordinate the collection of performance measurement data, including socio-economic and environmental data, from the individual Working Groups on a regular basis and liaise with Grow Asia on required performance measurement frameworks

• Working Groups or Communities of Practice: Support members of individual Working Groups and help them coordinate meetings, aims, objectives, work plans and responsibilities of  partners

• Stakeholder management and engagement: Engage with current and potential new partners who have a role to play in the development of agriculture in the Philippines and can further strengthen the activities of the Network.

• Financial management: Lead the solicitation of financial support from donors and PPSA members (i.e., membership fees, sponsorship and workstream funding), manage the PPSA’s annual workplan and budget, and oversee the maintenance of the PPSA’s accounts.

• Communicate and Promote: Oversee the development of communication material to highlight the accomplishments of the PPSA network and build reputational clout. This includes developing PPSA branding materials and guidelines, brochures, marketing kits, video, website, and reports.

• Representation: Represent the Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture at national and international events/meetings.

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Travel

 

The position holder should be prepared to travel on short notice to attend meetings, events and project sites, and represent PPSA in a diplomatic and professional manner. The PPSA Country Director will be required to attend the Grow Asia Country Partnership Secretariat Workshop (held once or twice  a year). S/he will also be required to attend the Grow Asia Forum, and is encouraged to participate in the activities of the other Grow Asia Country Partnerships, where appropriate.

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QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

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• University Degree, ideally in social sciences, international relations, development communication, economics, law, or public administration.

• At least 8 years’ experience, with demonstrated experience around network-building, relationship management and facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration in agriculture.

• Good knowledge of the structure and procedures of the Philippines’ bureaucracy.

• Ability to facilitate visits from abroad or domestically, also to rural areas.

• Excellent organization skills with the ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines.

• Flexibility and positive attitude. Self-organized and motivated.

• Computer literate with experience using Microsoft Office in English

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HOW TO APPLY:

 

Interested candidates should send their CV and cover letter to careers@growasia.org, keeping Amy Melissa Chua at amy@ppsa-ph.org in copy. The deadline for applications is on April 28, 2023.

 

Due to the volume of applications expected, only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

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As a multi-stakeholder platform we believe all voices matter, and we actively seek to bring them to the table. Aligned with this ethos, PPSA is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or gender identity.

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