Entrepreneurship in the territories: is it the right time?
Position Summary: The Project Manager (Women’s Economic Empowerment) plays a pivotal role in advancing the Climate Adaptation and Women’s Economic Justice Program by driving integrated, results-oriented initiatives that strengthen women’s agency and leadership in climate-resilient livelihoods. The role focuses on developing inclusive and sustainable green value chains, assessing market opportunities, and facilitating access to innovative and climate-responsive financing to support community-led climate action plans. Working closely with partners and communities, the Project Manager ensures effective project delivery, adaptive management, and high-quality implementation of MEAL systems to track impact, generate learning, and inform evidence-based decision-making. This position requires a strategic and collaborative leader committed to gender equality, climate resilience, and inclusive economic development.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Climate-resilient and inclusive value chain development (70%) - Lead the design and implementation of climate-resilient, market-driven, and gender-responsive value chains that enhance women’s economic empowerment and support community adaptation to climate change.
- Conduct value chain and market systems analysis to identify climate-resilient, high-potential sectors aligned with local contexts and women’s participation.
- Facilitate the co-creation of inclusive value chain strategies with women producers, community groups, private sector actors, and local authorities.
- Strengthen women’s agency and leadership across value chains, including decision-making power, access to productive resources, and control over income.
- Promote climate-smart and environmentally sustainable production practices (e.g., regenerative agriculture, circular economy approaches, low-carbon processes).
- Support market feasibility assessments, product development, and quality improvement to meet market standards and demand.
- Build and strengthen partnerships with private sector actors to improve market access, fair pricing, and long-term sustainability.
- Facilitate access to financial services and innovative green financing mechanisms (e.g., blended finance, community funds, microfinance).
- Integrate risk analysis (climate, market, social) into value chain design and support communities to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies.
- Ensure value chain interventions are inclusive of vulnerable and marginalized groups, particularly women and youth.
- Monitor performance and impact of value chain interventions, generating learning to inform adaptive programming and scaling.
2. Project management and results delivery (15%)
- Lead end-to-end project planning, implementation, and delivery, ensuring alignment with program goals, timelines, budgets, and donor requirements.
- Establish and manage MEAL frameworks, tracking progress, expenditures, and impact, and ensuring evidence-based reporting and learning.
- Drive adaptive management by analyzing data, risks, and changing contexts to adjust strategies and improve results.
- Manage partnerships and stakeholder relationships, including contracts, coordination, and capacity strengthening to ensure effective collaboration.
- Oversee financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, and compliance with donor and organizational standards.
- Ensure quality assurance, safeguarding, and timely reporting, while strengthening systems, tools, and processes for efficient and accountable implementation.
3. Program strategy and proposal development (15%)
- Identify strategic funding opportunities and generate innovative, program-aligned project ideas for internal go/no-go decision-making.
- Analyze donor priorities, grant requirements, and tender specifications to assess program fit, risks, and positioning.
- Lead or support the development of high-quality proposals, including Theory of Change, technical narratives, and budgets, in collaboration with program and finance teams.
- Coordinate across teams and partners to compile relevant data, evidence, and documentation to strengthen proposal quality and competitiveness.
- Conduct and integrate key assessments (e.g., gender analysis, partner capacity, environmental and climate risk) to ensure project relevance, feasibility, and compliance.
- Build and maintain strategic networks with donors, partners, and stakeholders to inform program design, foster collaboration, and position the organization for new opportunities.
- Other tasks as assigned.
