Senior Manager - Agroforestry Operations

Job Description

• Lead the planning, execution, monitoring, and closure of multi-donor agroforestry projects across 3–4 clusters, ensuring implementation is completed as per SOPs, within approved budgets, timelines, and quality standards.
  

• Develop annual, seasonal, monthly, and weekly implementation plans, monitor Plan vs. Actual progress and budgets, and ensure timely achievement of operational targets.
  

• Manage, mentor, and monitor Field Managers and field teams, ensuring adherence to implementation models, effective planning, timely execution, and a plantation survival rate of over 90%.
  

• Recruit, onboard, train, motivate, and evaluate field teams, conduct regular review meetings, resolve implementation bottlenecks, and manage employee lifecycle activities.
  

• Drive large-scale farmer outreach, mobilization, stakeholder engagement, and post-plantation maintenance activities, including monitoring at least 25% of current and previous years' plantation sites by self.
  

• Prepare cluster-wise and project budgets, monitor expenditures, optimize costs, and ensure compliance with organizational financial procedures, procurement SOPs, and donor requirements.
  

• Oversee stock supply unit operations, inventory management, procurement planning, vendor identification, and timely delivery of saplings, drip irrigation systems, compost, and other project inputs.
  

• Ensure timely and accurate completion of all operational documentation through FieldHQ, Kobo, and other designated platforms while enforcing data validation, quality assurance, and compliance with internal and donor audit requirements.
  

• Establish robust monitoring and reporting systems, prepare project reports, dashboards, and donor submissions, and use advanced Excel/Google Sheets for costing, tracking, and performance analysis.
  

• Coordinate effectively with cross-functional teams including Technology, Data, Finance, HR, Admin to ensure seamless project implementation.
  

• Drive operational excellence by strengthening processes across procurement, implementation, monitoring, documentation, and reporting, proactively resolving operational challenges and ensuring continuous process improvement.
  

• Ensure strict compliance with organizational SOPs, quality standards, statutory requirements, and project guidelines while performing any other responsibilities assigned by the management in support of organizational objectives.
  

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Management, Environmental Science, Project Management, or a related field.
  

• Minimum 6–8 years of experience in large-scale project management, operations, or implementation, preferably in agroforestry, rural development, natural resource management, CSR or other field-based development projects.
  

• Demonstrated experience in end-to-end on-ground project execution, including planning, implementation, monitoring, budgeting, and project closure.
  

• Proven experience in leading and managing cross-functional and geographically dispersed field teams.
  

• Experience in stakeholder and client relationship management, including coordination with donors, government agencies, NGOs, FPOs, vendors, and community institutions.
  

• Strong budgeting, financial planning, cost estimation, and expense monitoring skills.
  

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets and digital documentation and data collection platforms.
  

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills with high attention to detail.
  

• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills with fluency in English; proficiency in Hindi is preferred, and Marathi will be an added advantage.
  

• Comfortable with frequent travel across multiple project locations and working in rural and remote areas.
  

• Self-driven, adaptable, and capable of working effectively in fast-paced, dynamic, and multicultural environments.
  

• Demonstrates high integrity, accountability, professionalism, and alignment with the mission and values of Farmers for Forests.
  

Benefits

Salary Range: INR 4.8 - 7.2 LPA


Requirements
Minimum 8 to 10 years of experience in large-scale project management or operations, preferably in the environmental, rural development, or sustainability sector Experience in managing cross-functional teams, client relations, budgeting, and on-ground execution MBA in operations or prior experience in afforestation or community-based projects will be an added advantage