BACKGROUND:

Passing Gifts Private Limited (PGPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Heifer International USA and it provides services in educating, consulting, training, advising, and providing professional and technical services to individuals, associations, and entities in India and abroad, particularly those who support or are working in the areas of social advancement and sustainable development. This position may also require service agreements, secondment agreements, between entities, etc.

Heifer International through PGPL is partnering with Cargill Inc. and the International Poultry Council in the implementation of the Transformational Strategies for Farm Output Risk Mitigation or “TRANSFORM” in India. TRANSFORM is a USAID funded project and a critical part of the Health Security Program that seeks to advance market driven animal health solutions to increase global health security and increase access to safe, affordable, animal sourced nutrition while improving farm productivity and farmer incomes. TRANSFORM focuses on protecting human health by improving practices related to animal production through mitigation of antimicrobial resistance and prevent emerging infectious disease (zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases-TADs) while improving farmer livelihoods in India. Heifer is leading the deployment of biosecurity trainings to farmers and other value chain players through community agro-veterinary entrepreneurs (CAVEs) and farmer agrobusinesses, Social and Behavior Change awareness campaigns in biosecurity measures using different approaches, supporting farmer and value chain actors’ access to finance and market linkages to input suppliers, off-takers, and other actors in the market system.

PGPL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

FUNCTION:

The Project Manager will play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the USAID-funded TRANSFORM project in India, focusing on animal health, biosecurity, and farm productivity. Reporting to the Project Director, the Project Manager will lead a dedicated team, work closely with partners, and ensure compliance with donor requirements and internal regulations.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES: (including approximate percentage effort) Project Management and Program Effectiveness (40%):

• Provide leadership and operational support for the day-to-day management and implementation of project activities;

• Collaborate with project team members, partners, and functional heads to develop and operationalize annual workplans and budgets;

• Coach and manage project staff to achieve individual and project targets;

• Ensure timely review, submission, and dissemination of project information and reports.

Project Planning, Monitoring, and Reporting (30%):

• Ensure compliance with donor requirements and internal policies;

• Accountable for quality and timely reporting, project reviews, and documentation;

• Oversee documentation and dissemination of project success stories and lessons learned;

• Conduct regular audits and global indicator monitoring and evaluation reports.

Relationship Building and Representation (15%):

• Build and manage relationships, representing the organization and the project at the state and district levels;

• Maintain regular communication and engagement with local government, private sector, and other partners;

• Facilitate knowledge sharing through appropriate forums for multi-stakeholder engagement.

May perform other job-related duties as assigned (5%)

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• Bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine, animal science or animal health, project planning and management, agriculture, agribusiness, business administration, enterprise development and other relevant qualification from a recognized Institution;

• Seven (7) years relevant experience in veterinary /animal health sector, animal health production, program management, extension, and community development work, with at least four (4) years of supervisory/managerial experience;

• Master’s Degree in relevant professional discipline with 4 years of experience;

• Substantial experience in implementing animal health intervention and managing projects funded by USAID and or other donors;

• Substantial experience building public/private partnerships, preferably in the agriculture/ veterinary/animal health sector;

• Thorough knowledge of programming processes, systems and principles, and the ability to provide leadership and support to staff working at community level;

• Strong poultry value chain and livestock sector experience;

• Strong background and experience in the capacity building of producer organizations including poultry cooperatives;

• Partnership management experience and working through partnership structures, consortiums, and private sector partners;

• Sound business knowledge especially in the agricultural and agribusiness sector;

• Solid knowledge in proposal development, financial and budgets management and project management cycle;

• Sound knowledge of value chain development on various agricultural commodities including the Poultry value chain.

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES:

• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to navigate challenging situations to achieve goals and deadlines;

• Demonstrate a high degree of honesty and integrity;

• Motivated to work responsibly with little supervision;

• Ability to meet and deal with others in a courteous and tactful manner;

• Ability to work with sensitive information and to always maintain confidentiality;

• Ability and willingness to work a flexible schedule;

• Fluent in Hindi, English, and Local Language spoken as well as written;

• Have an interest in animals/agriculture community development;

• Willingness and ability to travel locally and internationally;

• Knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, web designing, collaboration platform and tools, and electronic mail software (Microsoft preferred);

• Constant sitting, standing and walking, with occasional bending and lifting; may work at a computer for extended periods of time.