AGRA is inviting applications for the position of Associate Partnerships Officer – Institutional Partnerships. This role presents an opportunity for qualified professionals to contribute to the advancement of inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa. AGRA is an African-led institution committed to supporting the continent’s smallholder farmers by facilitating access to resources, knowledge, and markets that enable farming as a sustainable and profitable business.
Agriculture remains the backbone of many African economies, but farmers continue to face challenges such as low productivity, climate vulnerability, and limited access to markets. AGRA addresses these issues by providing solutions tailored to Africa’s unique contexts, ensuring food security, resilience, and increased incomes. The organization works in close alignment with governments, the private sector, civil society, and development partners, focusing on policies, seed systems, sustainable farming, inclusive markets, and youth and gender inclusion.
The Associate Partnerships Officer – Institutional Partnerships will support the Partnerships Unit in building, managing, and strengthening strategic alliances with diverse partners across national, regional, and international levels. This position is crucial to AGRA’s strategy, as partnerships remain a central delivery mechanism for scaling impact and achieving sustainable transformation in African food systems.
About AGRA
AGRA’s mission is to transform African agriculture into a sustainable, inclusive, and profitable sector. The organization works with 33 million smallholder farming households across Africa, aiming to transition their livelihoods from subsistence-based survival to growth-oriented enterprises.
Key focus areas include:
- Policy and state capability: Supporting governments to create enabling environments for private sector investment and agricultural growth.
- Seed systems: Enhancing access to improved and high-yielding seed varieties for increased productivity and food security.
- Sustainable farming: Supporting farmers to build resilient systems through irrigation, mechanization, and other modern agricultural practices.
- Inclusive markets and trade: Linking farmers with market actors to encourage commercialization and reinvestment.
- Youth, gender, and inclusiveness: Promoting equitable participation of women and youth in agriculture.
Through these interventions, AGRA fosters alliances that drive transformation, with a strong commitment to integrity, respect, innovation, stewardship, and equity.
The Position: Associate Partnerships Officer – Institutional Partnerships
The Associate Partnerships Officer – Institutional Partnerships will provide direct support to AGRA’s leadership in advancing its decentralized partnerships approach. This role will ensure strategic engagement with more than 250 priority partners, including governments, research institutions, the private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations.
The officer will work closely with the Chief of Partnerships and the wider Partnerships Unit to strengthen AGRA’s institutional relationships, enhance resource mobilization, and position AGRA as a trusted partner in agricultural transformation.
Detailed Job Description
The responsibilities of the Associate Partnerships Officer will cover multiple dimensions of partnership building, management, monitoring, and reporting.
- Partnership Strategy and Planning
- Support division and unit leadership in the development of an annual partnerships engagement strategy and action plan.
- Work in consultation with country teams and technical centers to ensure alignment of strategies with country priorities and AGRA’s overarching goals.
- Assist in translating partnership concepts into actionable plans that enhance AGRA’s influence and visibility.
- Partnership Development and Mobilization
- Support the design and implementation of partnerships with high-priority partners at regional and global levels.
- Contribute to mobilizing new engagements that lead to transformative, multi-year partnerships enhancing AGRA’s funding and technical capacity.
- Assist in aligning partners with AGRA’s strategic initiatives and platforms, such as climate action engagements during COP processes.
- Partnership Management and Systems Strengthening
- Support the management and enhancement of AGRA’s partnership management system, dashboards, and relationship tracking tools.
- Continuously update and improve tools to ensure effective use by staff in structuring and managing partnerships.
- Provide guidance and training to staff at headquarters, regional, and country levels to build their capacity in partnership management.
- Monitoring, Reporting, and Knowledge Management
- Contribute to quarterly and annual monitoring and reporting on partnerships activities.
- Support the preparation of reports for management, the Board, and funding partners, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Track progress of partnerships and document lessons learned, success stories, and case studies for internal and external communication.
- Maintain a partnership development and relationship management database to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness.
- External Engagements and Representation
- Support AGRA leadership in preparing for, executing, and following up on external engagements, meetings, and conferences.
- Participate in coordination meetings, working groups, and multi-stakeholder platforms to represent AGRA’s interests and add value to discussions.
- Contribute to AGRA’s visibility by supporting participation in milestone events, including the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, the Africa Food Systems Forum, UN General Assembly week, and COP.
- Resource Mobilization and Proposal Development
- Support the development of partnership-related grants, technical assistance packages, and third-party funding proposals.
- Collaborate with the Development Cooperation team and division leadership to identify opportunities and develop proposals aligned with AGRA’s strategic priorities.
- Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing
- Facilitate the diffusion of best practices across the institution to improve the effectiveness of partnerships.
- Provide written inputs and reviews for partner strategies, initiatives, and briefs.
- Develop communication materials that articulate AGRA’s partnership value proposition.
- Event Coordination and Campaign Support
- Actively contribute to the planning and delivery of partnership events and campaigns.
- Coordinate meetings with partners, document outcomes, and ensure follow-up on agreed action points.
- Support campaigns aimed at mobilizing partners to advance food systems transformation in Africa.
- Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
- Monitor indicators and outcomes of partnership activities to assess their effectiveness.
- Conduct partnership surveys and evaluations to measure impact and inform future improvements.
- Prepare regular updates and reports to inform strategic decision-making.
Application Process
Interested candidates should submit their application, including a detailed CV with email and telephone contact information, to [email protected]. Applications must quote the job reference number APO/INSP/09/2025 in the subject line of the email.
The deadline for applications is September 15, 2025, at 5:00 pm. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
