Director of International Programmes

About Bonsucro

Bonsucro is the leading global sustainability platform and standard for sugarcane, one of the world’s most important crops. Our purpose is to collectively accelerate the sustainable production and uses of sugarcane. We convene over 320 members from across the global sugarcane value chain and from more than 50 countries to address critical challenges in the sugarcane sector and drive both performance and impact through our system of sustainability standards. We work across all sugarcane products and derivatives – sugar, ethanol, molasses, and bagasse in traditional and newer market sectors, from sugar and alcohol to biofuels and bioplastics.

Our 2021-2026 strategic plan reflects our confidence in the future of sustainable sugarcane and the contribution we will make to the UN Global Goals and climate action. The strategy sets out our ambitions to collectively accelerate the sustainable production and uses of sugarcane through three strategic aims:

• Create shared value across the supply chain
• Improve the environmental impact of sugarcane
• Strengthen human rights and decent work in sugarcane farming and milling.

These aims are underpinned by six main activities: certification and assurance, communications and influencing, impact projects, membership development and market development. We use the combined strength of our global membership to create a powerful force for change. Bonsucro is ISEAL Code Compliant – a globally recognised framework for effective, credible sustainability systems and standards.

We are looking for our next Director of International Programmes to lead our work in sugarcane producing countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Africa.

Job Summary

The role of Director of International Programmes leads Bonsucro’s work in sugarcane producing countries, delivered through its regional teams. The role is pivotal to maximising the programmes collective impact to deliver on the objectives of the Bonsucro Strategic Plan 2021-26.

Working for a dynamic, purposeful, multi-stakeholder organisation, this is a senior leadership role, reporting directly to the CEO and part of the Global Leadership Team (GLT), with significant input to the creation of organisational strategy, policy and plans.

The International Programmes function is the interface between the organisation and its members and stakeholders in sugarcane producing countries. This role leads, develops and works within and across the regional teams to maximise their collective impact and deliver on the objectives of the Bonsucro Strategic Plan. This is a key role, devising and driving the strategies, programmes, and partnerships for Bonsucro’s work in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Africa; including securing and mobilizing resources and making key decisions to drive success of the organisation and its people.

Purpose

• Integrate and collaborate with others in the GLT create and implement organisational strategies and actions to ensure successful outcomes for its mission, purpose and global strategy. Advocate for pragmatic result driven outcomes and challenge barriers that may be in conflict with our principles and culture.
• Collaborate to continuously evaluate, manage and reduce/resolve key organisational risks in accordance with risk policies.
• Lead the development and delivery of the regional and departmental plans, partnerships, and programmes, to deliver targets and measurable impacts in accordance with the strategic plan, working to agreed timescales and budgets. Direct the IP department and coordinate across the regional teams to manage alignment, prioritisation, resourcing and knowledge-sharing.
• Lead the scaling up of Bonsucro’s organisational capacity in key sugarcane origins and support delivery of growth plans.
• Direct and oversee the management of the Bonsucro Impact Fund and its reporting on the impact of its grant-making in accordance with the organisational and donor policies and procedures.
• Integrate and strengthen monitoring, evaluation and learning and embed strong systems and impact measurement in Bonsucro’s international programmes and the Bonsucro Impact Fund.
• Deputize for CEO when required to ensure continuity and consistency.
• Lead efforts to develop and implement the fundraising strategy to increase and diversify income from institutional and corporate donors for impact partnerships.
• Manage the identification, evaluation and piloting of innovations with potential to scale up and accelerate action on climate change, regenerative agriculture, water, smallholders, and workers’ rights.
• Working collectively to significantly increase and diversify the income pipeline through membership fees, consultancy, events, training, credit trading, and developing new data and analytical products.
• Oversight for delivery of quality and timely reports for projects and partnerships delivered by the IP team.
• Lead/support on thematic projects, as and when required, to deliver the strategic objectives.
• Collaborate internally to further digitise Bonsucro products and services and strengthen internal systems, including proper stewardship of data policies.

Engagement

• Build and maintain effective relationships within GLT to create a base of trust where challenge, conflict and results are managed successfully and seen as joint accountability.
• Advise colleagues and others on organisational risks and sector trends which will impact the organisation.
• Provide regular, consistent and timely coaching, feedback, guidance, and direction as needed: ensure that this culture trickles down through the direct report managers to the staff.
• Motivate, mentor, empower and support the regional teams to engage stakeholders and members to ensure achievement of strategic goals and departmental KPIs in adherence to organisational culture, role modelling best practice.
• Leading by example, to maintain a positive working environment and culture in accordance with the core Bonsucro principles of inclusiveness, adaptability, collaboration, and credibility.
• Represent Bonsucro externally at a senior level to build the profile and influence of the organisation, to negotiate new partnerships and funding and develop new initiatives.

Delivery

• Drive effective input to and review of recommendations to the CEO and decision making (as appropriate) within the GLT, holding self and others to account for the effectiveness of the GLT and its decisions.
• Provide timely updates to the CEO on relevant aspects of the department work plan, including submissions for quarterly CEO reports and prepare recommendations and inputs to the Board and Members Council meetings.
• Monitor risks and matters arising from the international team on an ongoing basis and highlight exceptions and risk immediately to the CEO and Finance Risk Manager and proactively propose solutions to mitigate these and stimulate organisational learning.
• Work together with the Director of Corporate Services and take ownership of the departmental budget planning and resource management and liaise with the Finance team to conduct monthly reviews of departmental expenditure and annual/quarterly budgeting.
• Seek feedback and input from stakeholders and constructively sharing learning within the GLT to ensure continual improvement and ongoing success.
• Work as part of the GLT to execute the company’s growth plans to agreed KPIs.
• Create systems for the implementation of organisational policies and frameworks in the in alignment with the agreed overall frameworks.
• Design, develop and organise IP input to the regular internal reporting to GLT and the Board to inform progress reports against AOP and KPIs.

Key Qualities

• An emotionally intelligent leader who can support, facilitate and coach competent programme/regional leaders.
• A professional who is motivated to accelerate the sustainable production and uses of sugarcane and understands the ecosystem of drivers and transition pathways for the industry and wider stakeholders.
• An individual who is highly culturally attuned, with experience of working overseas and managing programmes and staff remotely, in both the Global North and South and can deploy programmes in these environments sensitively and effectively.
• A competent programme director comfortable with matrix working. Someone with a good network and reputation. An inspiring leader who can influence others to effect change, with a positive mindset and approach.
• An individual with financial/commercial acumen and excellent business partnership and resource mobilisation skills.

Knowledge, Training & Qualification

Substantive Knowledge

• Postgraduate degree, or equivalent level of experience in a relevant subject.
• A collaborative and inclusive leader with extensive senior management experience and expertise in an international role.
• Applied experience of sugarcane production, its global value chains and markets, or equivalent tropical agriculture system and markets.
• Experience working in some of the countries of origin important to Bonsucro.
• Knowledge and experience in at least two of the following thematic areas: climate action, water stewardship, regenerative agriculture, human rights.
• Excellent written and spoken English skills. Portuguese, Spanish, French language skills advantageous but not essential.
• Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to engage a diversity of stakeholders and to motivate and bring others along.
• Strong financial management, planning and project management skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission and principles of Bonsucro.
• Ability to travel internationally circa 20% of time

Desirable criteria

• Networks within the global sustainable agriculture and sugar industry.
• Ability to speak other languages, in particular Portuguese and Spanish.

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