Program Manager

Title: Program Manager

Reports to: Director of Mission Engagement

Location: The Americas, remote

Hours: Full-Time, Exempt

Job Summary

The Program Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of CQI projects; works with department leadership and a broad range of external stakeholders to identify and seize opportunities to advance the CQI mission; monitors and evaluates the effectiveness and impact of CQI’s project activities and investments; and supports the Director of Mission Engagement in the management of the CQI Global Fund.

The ideal candidate will be a multi-lingual self-starter with field-level experience at international development agencies on projects funded by public donors, foundations, or corporations, or will have substantial project management experience on behalf of coffee companies that invest meaningfully in the communities where their coffees are grown.

About CQI

CQI is a nonprofit organization working since 1996 to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of the people who produce it. We deliver our mission through education in cupping, sensory evaluation, and post-harvest processing, creating a common language for quality and helping to turn improvements in coffee quality into improvements in the lived realities of the people who produce coffee. CQI is committed to building and maintaining a diverse team that looks like the coffee sector we serve, creating opportunities for members of historically disadvantaged groups, and creating a welcoming working environment for everyone.

CQI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of the Program Manager include, but are not limited to:

Program Management (60%)

• Under the guidance of the Director of Mission Engagement, lead the design and delivery of program activities, whether funded by external donors, CQI’s Global Fund, or both;
• Lead implementation of the full project cycle, including but not limited to, concept and program development, proposal writing, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, contracting, logistics, reporting, invoicing, and close-out of all program activities;
• Coordinate project-level engagements across a broad range of external stakeholders, including donors, implementing partners, consultants, volunteers, industry allies, and others;
• Support department and organizational leadership in the identification of strategic investment opportunities for the CQI Global Fund;
• Recruit, hire, and manage consultants and volunteers for short-term technical assistance assignment in connection with CQI’s project work;
• Track program expenditures and CQI in-kind contributions, in cooperation with Director of Finance, to ensure CQI implementation stays on budget and meets contractual requirements;
• Develop and maintain systems to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of CQI project activities and investments, on both the project and program levels;
• Produce required documentation and reporting, including scope of work, trip reports, quarterly reports, semi-annual and annual reports;
• Serve as primary operational liaison with donors/investors, and ensure compliance with contract/agreement policies, terms, and conditions; and
• Serve as an internal reference for colleagues regarding CQI, donor, contract policies and procedures, and implementation logistics, especially as they relate to overseas project work.

Business Development (30%)

• Support strategic engagement with external stakeholders in the public, corporate, foundation, and non-profit sectors to identify and seize opportunities to advance the CQI mission;
• Support business development efforts by researching new business opportunities, tracking the business development pipeline, gathering key information required for proposals; supporting proposal writing and budgeting, and other tasks as needed;
• Represent CQI as needed at external events, including trade shows, conferences, and networking events; and
• Support the Director of Mission Engagement in building and maintaining collaborative relationships with coffee-sector organizations, government agencies, NGOs, producer organizations, local partners, private and public-sector donors, industry allies, etc.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (10%)

• Coordinate the development and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems for CQI projects and at the program level;
• Collect, analyze, and mine project data to support continuous improvement efforts, donor reporting, and external communications.
• Design and ensure maintenance of tools and templates used for the collection and analysis of program results; and
• Work with the Marketing and Communications team to support external communications related to CQI’s project work and impact.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• None.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in economics, international development, agriculture, program management, or related field;
• Extensive experience with the full project cycle, including concept and project development, grant writing, budgeting, contracting, operations, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, etc.;
• Track record of participation on winning proposal development teams;
• Experience with public, corporate, and/or foundation donors, especially USG donors;
• Track record of success in turning strong concepts into strong projects;
• Experience in the design, implementation, and management of monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems;
• Demonstrated commitment to project and program quality;
• Experience working with and through implementing partners;
• Experience in coffee, or smallholder or tropical agriculture;
• International experience, especially in Africa, Asia, and/or Latin America;
• Fluency in multiple languages, including English and Spanish, Portuguese, French, or other languages relevant to CQI project work;
• Experience with all Microsoft products including Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, etc.;
• Strong writing skills, including both technical writing for project proposals and reports and writing for general audiences;
• Strong analytical ability, experience mining project data and synthesizing findings for project and program improvement, reporting, and other communications efforts;
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a cross-departmental team;
• Demonstrated ability to thrive while working in a remote/virtual environment;
• High attention to detail and exceptional customer service, both internally and externally;
• Experience in mission-driven organizations and willingness to address needs as they arise to serve the CQI mission, even if they are beyond the scope of the normal responsibilities of the role; and
• Demonstrated commitment to CQI mission.