Agriculture manager, africa

Are you an experienced leader ready to strengthen sustainable agriculture across Africa? Do you enjoy developing teams, building client relationships and turning market opportunities into positive impact? If so, this role could be the right fit for you.

What you can expect:

Preferred by Nature is looking for a Agriculture Manager, with responsibility across Africa. You will dedicate 70% of your role to leading agriculture services and 30% to serving as Regional Engagement Lead. Reporting to the Director Agriculture, with dotted-line reporting to the Director Regional Engagement for the engagement component, you will combine service delivery, people leadership and technical oversight with business development, marketing and external representation.

Working with us is never routine, so in your first year you can expect the following areas to be central to your work.

• Lead agriculture services across Africa, ensuring quality, timely delivery and compliance with accreditation requirements.
• Manage regional performance, resources and budgets, supporting financial targets and effective operational processes.
• Lead and develop geographically dispersed teams through clear goals, coaching, workload planning and performance reviews.
• Strengthen relationships with clients, certification schemes, auditors and other regional stakeholders.
• Identify and mitigate business, operational and certification risks, including dispute resolution and crisis response.
• Provide technical expertise through auditing, task management and report review within your qualification scope.
• Pursue business opportunities, support marketing and promotion, and share market intelligence to inform regional priorities.
• Represent Preferred by Nature externally and collaborate across teams to strengthen regional visibility and impact.

Your first year with us:

Within three months, you will:

• Understand Africa’s agriculture portfolio, team capacity, accreditation requirements and operational priorities.
• Establish team and stakeholder relationships, with clear goals and regular staff check-ins.
• Agree agriculture and regional engagement priorities with both directors, reflecting the 70% / 30% allocation.

Within six months, you will:

• Lead regional agriculture delivery, managing quality, timeliness, resources, budgets and risks.
• Coach the regional team and provide technical guidance, auditing and review within qualification scope.
• Advance priority business opportunities and regional promotion, sharing market intelligence with colleagues.

Within twelve months, you will:

• Deliver against agreed regional service, quality and financial targets, with effective risk management.
• Demonstrate progress in client retention, service growth and regional visibility through stakeholder engagement.
• Review team performance and development, and agree priorities for the following year with both directors.

Important that you:

• Hold a graduate or postgraduate degree in Agriculture, Forestry, Natural Resource Management, Natural Sciences or Environmental Science.
• Bring 6–10 years of leadership experience, including business development and leading dispersed or multicultural teams.
• Have a good working knowledge of English and strong client, stakeholder and public communication skills.
• Have managed operational performance, budgets and business growth in certification, assurance or sustainability environments.
• Have experience in sustainability certifications, such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, RSPO, FSC, ISO, Organic or Carbon.
• Bring strategic planning, networking, sales and marketing skills, including proposals, negotiation and closing deals.
• Have an established network across NGOs, business, donors and the public sector, and a commitment to our mission and values.

Would also be great, but not necessary, if you:

• Speak French, Swahili or Amharic, or have exposure to sustainability projects and advisory services.

If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you!

What Sets Us Apart:

• Global work culture
• High degree of flexibility - remote work, work from home.
• An in-depth onboarding and professional training that prepares you with the right skills and knowledge to thrive in this role.
• Excellent opportunities for growth and professional development
• Potential future international travel opportunities
• A friendly, international team of colleagues, with a pleasant work environment
• Start with 20 days of vacation leave per year

Preferred by Nature

Preferred by Nature is a non-profit, mission driven organisation that works for sustainable land management and climate-friendly solutions. With 350+ employees and a network of local experts, we develop practical solutions to drive positive impacts in production landscapes and supply chains in 100+ countries. We focus on forest and climate impact commodities and related sectors.

How to apply:

If you feel you meet the requirements of the role, please submit your application, including salary expectations, via the application form below. Application pre-screening will be conducted during the application period. Preferred by Nature wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.