You will play a critical role in developing a unique poverty graduation product that solves the world’s biggest problems. We are putting innovation to work to improve people's lives and we want YOU to be a part of it. The Product and Service Senior Director will lead Village Enterprise Innovation Lab. Taking Industry knowledge, trends, and evidence to build a robust poverty Graduation product that meets the needs and empowers Village Enterprise entrepreneurs to respond to the increasing global crisis. 

Primary duties and responsibilities

Product Design 40%

• Set a holistic innovation strategy for assigned products in collaboration with TAs, CDs, MEL, and field teams, identifying new growth areas and championing current products to completion.
• Drive technical delivery on VE Graduation products with a sense of urgency and knowledge of the industry to enable timely product design and rollout using HCD,  Lean Impact, and other relevant processes for testing new products. 
• Build external partnerships with academia, program labs, and industry to accelerate new material and process developments to scale products
• Drive program adaptations to meet the needs of specific projects in different countries and contexts. 

Deliver Program Results: Outputs and Outcomes Achieved (30%)

• Lead Village Enterprise Product and service team and design quarterly objectives and key results to track progress 
• Oversee the design and implementation of activities which develop the capabilities and increase performance towards achieving outputs and outcomes of the Poverty Graduation model 
• Collaborate with TAs, ESLs and CDs to capacity build staff to deliver on quality programming that allows Village Enterprise entrepreneurs to thrive. 

Business Owner Success and Satisfaction (10%)

• Ensure Village Enterprise is building sustainable relationships with our business owners based on trust through open and interactive communication
• Lead organization in identifying and assessing business owner needs ensuring that program activities provide value 
• Ensure participants can engage with activities and Village Enterprise staff in a safe and healthy environment that aligns with Village Enterprise safeguarding standards.  

Support Global, Regional, and Local Development of the Village Enterprise Program (20%)

• Work with TAs to support the development of partnerships and proposals on technical areas. 
• Nature and build relationships with like-minded organizations that foster shared learning, and collaboration and drive policy work for the global discussion on Graduation. 
• Collaborate with the MEL on building evidence and being a thought leader in the space. 

Required experience. 

• Proven record of accomplishments of leading innovation programs in a development industry
• 7+ years of experience in new product development and innovation
• At least 3 years leading diverse teams of technical staff and attracting, recruiting, and retaining talent.
• At least 3 years using HCD, Lean Impact, and other design tools to develop viable products that solve the world's toughest challenges. 
• Experience collaborating with cross–functional and external partners to help set the innovation strategy and work.
• Proven record of accomplishment and passion for developing products for the bottom of the pyramid. 
• Passionate communicator that inspires others, conveying clarity on programs to teammates and stakeholders alike. 
• A Master’s degree in design thinking, program development, or a related field is required.
• Village Enterprise Values

The Village Enterprise team is composed of 400+ staff across various teams consistently working to increase the impact and scale of the Village Enterprise Graduation model and the Country Director’s role is to ensure the successful implementation and results from the model.  The CD will be expected to provide direct oversight and management of the field operations and will work closely with other cross-functional teams to ensure high-quality and timely delivery of Village Enterprise goals. The Country Director will engage in coordination and relationship management with key stakeholders. Village Enterprise prides itself on supportive, positive management, and the Country Director is core to this culture within Village Enterprise.

Job Description

Key Result Areas

• Lead and Manage Country Teams
• Program Quality
• Project management
• Cross-functional Team Coordination
• Financial Oversight and Control
•  Safeguarding
• Other assigned responsibilities

Lead and Manage Village Enterprise Country Team

• Establish strong working relationships with managers and maintain high levels of motivation across multiple levels of country programming. 
• Support the building of organizational culture and the necessary systems that perform well across the completion of activities, scaling the program, delivering outcomes, and meeting goals.  
• In coordination with people and culture support in the recruitment, mentorship to staff,  regular feedback, performance appraisals, staff development, and other management issues.
• Policy Development and Implementation: Accountable for ensuring the successful design and implementation of necessary policies across relevant areas of operation.  This may include financial, human resource, operational, and safeguarding policies.  
• Assist in program development for Village Enterprise by identifying additional needs and contributing to the development of project proposals.
• Develop the capacity of staff to deepen their understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where the whole team strives to achieve excellence.
• Develop and implement an annual operations plan for the country program and ensure field implementation goals are met. 

Program Quality

• Build a culture of accountability and performance that allows for exceptional delivery of the program
• Assist Regional Managers, Field Coordinators, and Field Associates with information, tools, and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Strategize and implement processes and activities which increase the impact of the Village Enterprise model across the different geographies of implementation. 
• Use the Adaptive Management System to capture program successes and challenges that will inform internal learning and program improvements and innovations. 
• Proactively identify and share real-time learning from the program implementation to inform potential changes in program design and support the influencing agenda
• Regularly conduct quality control visits to program implementation regions to identify areas for potential changes or course corrections; share out key findings with Village Enterprise internal team. 

 Project Management

• Collaborate with project teams to deliver on project milestones and outcomes
• Updates Wrike Project Management tool upon completion of tasks 
• Fulfill assigned roles on projects across the organization.  
• Ensure and support the implementation of the Village Enterprise Project Management Guide for projects in the country.  
• Meet with the Chief Programs Officer and COO every quarter to review Country goals 

Cross-functional Team Coordination

• Work closely with functional teams to ensure smooth implementation of the program
• Coordinate with the MEL team on data, learning, and documentation for program improvements 
• Collaborate with Finance team to develop, manage and oversee country's-budget
• Collaborate with chief governments officer, partnerships teams, and regional managers to build a relationship with the government, NGOs, and other stakeholders. , 
• Coordinate with the HR Coordinator to ensure adequate staffing at various levels of implementation.

Financial Oversight and Control

• Responsible for designing and developing annual budgets.  
• Accountable for the adherence to budget over the fiscal year.  
• Accountable for the implementation of systems and processes for financial accountability.
• Participate in budget reviews quarterly
• Approve budget expenditures for the country based on the matrix. 
• Support FA on the country and international audits. 

Safeguarding

• Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility at VE, and it begins with me
• Communicate and uphold VE safeguarding standards at the country level for all field employees, partners, and program participants.
• Ensure compliance with VE’s safeguarding policies 
• Report any incident of safeguarding in program operations for appropriate action/follow-up.
• Support in investigations and input as required during safeguarding disciplinary processes

Other Assigned Responsibilities

• May be called to support the development of new projects by participating in project design workshops, and providing key inputs such as writing technical sections and supporting budget development. 
• Represent Village Enterprise at conferences, events, and the government level when needed
• Assist with the roll-out of new initiatives, processes, and procedures from functional teams
• Ensure compliance with the country governments on registration, tax, and reporting to the different stakeholders.

The Country Director will:

• Have the necessary experience to succeed in their role.  This includes:
  • An in-depth understanding of our business owners and the challenges/opportunities they face.
  • The educational background that has created a base of understanding to be applied in the role.  This will be a combination of university-level degrees and a background in strategic management.  
  • Professional experience which demonstrates excellent performance and the ability to excel in the Country Director Role
• Will bring skills to provide strategic direction and manage the successful implementation of country-wide activities.  
  • Ability to set strategic direction within the context of Graduation programming 
  • Ability to manage and oversee the successful implementation of operations.  This includes designing operational plans and managing their execution.
  • Experience and ability to identify and implement activities with staff, participants, and external stakeholders using systems thinking in complete activities, achieve scale, and deepen the impact.  
  • Proven experience managing in a cross-functional team environment
• Enhance the Culture of Collaboration that Village Enterprise is based on.  

Key Performance Metrics include

• Timely, innovative, and high-quality implementation of the Village Enterprise Model to achieve outcomes
• Team members become increasingly effective and efficient implementers as a result of mentoring and coaching, driving impact and scale.
• Leadership and commitment to a culture of accountability and learning within the Country team
• Completion of Country Operations Plan
• Successful delivery of projects across the country.
• Village Enterprise becomes an increasingly significant player in the global graduation space as a result of innovative and effective implementation on the ground.