Director of SA Independent Development Fund at PepsiCo

About The South Africa Independent Development Fund

• As part of the merger conditions to PepsiCo’s acquisition of Pioneer Food Group, PepsiCo is required by the South African Competition Tribunal to make available an aggregate amount of R600 million to seed a Development Fund for investment in programs in South Africa with respect to education, SMMEs , enterprise and agricultural development over and above any pre-existing planned corporate social investment expenditure on the part of Pioneer Food Group. Of this fund, R300 million will be invested in developing the capacity of emerging farmers and expanding emerging farmer participation in the supply chain of the merged company. R200 million will be invested in education, which shall include funding scholarships for historically disadvantaged engineering, agronomy, and nutrition science students. R100 million will be invested in developing SMMEs and other enterprises.

About The Role

• The Executive Director, under the leadership of the Board of Directors, is responsible for overseeing the operations of the fund, delivering the promise of the fund’s mandate, fundraising to increase fund size and managing relationships with various stakeholders. The Executive Director will work with the Board of Directors to set the strategic vision of the fund as well as lead their management team, partners and identified beneficiary groups to develop, enhance and execute the fund’s strategic vision. The Executive Director will build a team composed of 2-3 managers and 1-2 analysts to manage. Members of this team will manage a varied portfolio of projects, linked by a common theme of moving forward strategic priorities across the fund. This will include the monitoring and evaluation of partnerships and projects for agriculture, small businesses, innovation and education. As the fund grows, our Executive Director will be increasingly focused on a diverse set of priorities across the operation – from how the fund delivers impact in serving beneficiaries, how technology transfer and innovation is realized, agricultural programs and value chains are leveraged to enhance economic empowerment and business value, to fiduciary duties, to managing the founder-fund-board interface, to improving the staff experience and to aligning programs to key government priorities as required. In addition, the executive director will partner with the fund management organization appointed in terms of business case development and feasibility, due diligence, risk management and risk mitigation. The Executive Director will be the “face and voice” of the Development Fund to all its stakeholders. Strategic stakeholder alignment is a key success factor for the fund.
• Experience in setting up industrial parks and innovation hubs / accelerators would be advantage in terms of the Food Innovation Valley focus. In addition exposure to development agencies and development funds both national and international would be preferred.
• Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will lead and grow the fund size from the initial R600 million seeded by PepsiCo over 5 years to an evergreen fund with recurring capital commitments from both local and foreign direct investors to grow the fund’s impact on the agricultural ecosystem and value chain.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Establish and execute against a strategic vision for the fund’s direction and programs in the years to come. This role will encompass the strategic development and concomitant implementation plan for each of the streams: Agriculture, Agri-processing, Innovation and Incubation. This person will work with the Board of Directors, staff, and external stakeholders to evaluate future opportunities to strategically serve and lead, pursuing thoughtful growth and overseeing the financial health of the organization. . Investigate and propose wider geographic scope beyond South Africa as part of the strategic journey and strategy development horizons.
• Operational Leadership: Build the necessary infrastructure needed to manage and support a growing fund with diverse stakeholders of developmental partners, fund manager and a diverse beneficiary base. Create a monitoring and evaluation and KPI system for projects with aligned budgets to manage programs and initiatives. Ensure legal and financial compliance and a strong, transparent fiscal position. Ensure a robust monitoring, evaluation and impact measurement approach is embedded for all programs. Integrated and bi-annual reporting of fund activities. Integrated project and program management oversight. SME management. B-BBEE touchpoints and alignment as well as other regulatory frameworks
• Financial Management: Build fund operational budget via capital allocation of R600 million over 5 years. Optimize operations and budget through effective utilization of resources. Provide leadership that diversifies and grows fund capital, maintains financial health, manages risk, meets reporting and auditing requirements and plans with the future in mind. Governance process and platform development and implementation for additional funding streams. Budget management.
• Ability to scale funding.
• Organizational Culture and Team Leadership: Pursue a commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the organization, including hiring and partnership building.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Management: Actively engage the Board of Directors and partners who collaborate with funded projects. Administer Board of Director meetings and maintain effective communications with the Board. Design the Development Fund communications strategy to share stories and learnings in compelling ways to increase awareness and expand the fund. Support of an actively engaged Board of Directors. Relationship management across the different provinces within South Africa with respect to government engagement and relations as well as national government engagement.
• Partnership-Building and Fundraising: Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy for the Development Fund – this can include soliciting gifts from major donors, foundations and government grants, corporate sponsorships, partnership investments and other financial opportunities. Identify and cultivate partnership solutions that align with the fund’s sustainable business and transformation strategies. Build and manage relationships with external resource, funding, research and implementing partners and key stakeholders (including Government of South Africa officials).

Qualifications/Requirements
Qualifications

• Experience in any combination of the following fields:
• Agri-sector value chain empowerment through small scale farming and commercial farming partnerships
• Agri-processing empowerment programs
• ESD/SD
• SME programs
• Development finance and funding
• Innovation
• Incubation and incubator programs
• Sustainability in agriculture
• Proven visionary leader with collaborative style and ability to build strong relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience growing and sustaining an organization or program
• Highly independent, proactive and entrepreneurial with experience in managing and growing an organization
• 6-10 years in senior leadership and supervisory roles with progressively increasing responsibility and impact, in areas including developing and executing business/strategic plans and successfully implementing new projects and/or growing existing major projects
• Fluency with effective organizational and operational practices, particularly on budgeting and financial management
• Strong fundraising, marketing, and public relations experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures
• Direct institutional donor cultivation among diverse philanthropic organizations
• Donor program management in terms of governance, impact and program reporting requirements
• Ability to access funding streams in both private and public sector to scale the fund
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field as a minimum qualification, with MBA, Master’s degree or equivalent preferred