Director, Agriculture and Food Systems

About EDI Global

EDI Global provides world-class data collection, research, and monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) services to a variety of international development clients in Africa. From our offices in Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam and London, we provide evidence and measurement services to a broad range of donors, universities, research institutes and philanthropic foundations.

Since our foundation in 2002, EDI Global has grown to become one of East Africa’s most respected MERL consultancies with a strong reputation for high-quality survey design and data collection aimed at assessing international development programme impacts, measuring results, and evaluating potential solutions to poverty. We work across multiple sectors and have conducted numerous research projects in agriculture, economic development, education, health, social protection, and water and sanitation.

In late 2018, EDI Global became part of Mathematica. Mathematica applies expertise at the intersection of data, methods, policy, and practice to address complex social challenges and improve well-being around the world. Mathematica creates and uses evidence to help bilateral and multilateral donors, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and philanthropic and private sector actors improve programmes, refine strategies, and advance knowledge.

Over the past two decades, Mathematica has developed a large portfolio of international development work that spans more than 50 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. Mathematica’s work provides actionable learning to guide decision-making and improve outcomes in a range of policy areas, including health, agriculture, climate change, energy, education, and workforce development.

In 2023, Mathematica and EDI Global launched the ‘Mathematica Global’ brand which combines the strengths and expertise of both businesses to offer deep sector expertise, contextual knowledge and extensive experience providing MERL services to our global client base.

Job Summary

A key strategic priority for Mathematica Global is to expand our engagement, research, and impact on agriculture, food systems, and related climate issues in East and Southern Africa (ESA), as well as globally. To support this, Mathematica Global’s ESA-based subsidiary, EDI Global, seeks a versatile and visionary Director, Agriculture and Food Systems to help grow, shape, and support its agriculture portfolio in ESA, which includes efforts to strengthen agricultural markets and systems and address related employment, nutrition, climate change, gender, and youth issues. The Director, Agriculture and Food Systems will be a part of a multidisciplinary global practice and collaborate closely with Mathematica Global’s U.S.-based and international agriculture experts and researchers. Our current agriculture portfolio is diverse and includes evidence-informed strategy advising; performance monitoring and learning to guide strategies, programs and decision-making; a wide range of evaluations and assessments of global, multi-country, and country initiatives and programs; and full-service measurement, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) partnerships with foundations and global multi-funder initiatives.

The Director, Agriculture and Food Systems will provide strategic, technical, and managerial leadership to support Mathematica Global/EDI’s growing portfolio of work in agriculture. They will lead and support teams of EDI staff, international consultants, and global and in-country partners to generate and distill evidence to guide our clients’ and partners’ strategy, program improvement, and policy efforts. This may involve leading evaluations and research, developing MERL frameworks and plans; developing new and improved approaches to using real-time data, evidence, and learning to inform decision-making; and serving as a trusted learning partner and advisor to our clients and partners. In addition to leading project teams, the Director will contribute to efforts to expand Mathematica Global’s portfolio and presence in the agriculture, climate and food systems space, with a focus on ESA. They will help identify and respond to emerging opportunities to grow and disseminate our work, and engage with bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and implementing organizations to identify their evidence and learning needs and craft a tailored strategy for meeting these needs that leverages Mathematica Global’s wide-ranging capabilities and expertise.

The Director, Agriculture and Food Systems will have a strong track record of expertise in agriculture; an entrepreneurial spirit; and deep experience using MERL to drive strategy and decision-making for a range of partners. The ideal candidate will have a passion for using data and evidence to drive social change; a talent for conceptual and strategic thinking; an entrepreneurial mindset and the soft skills needed for effective business development and an ability to produce high-quality work in a context of compressed timelines and changing circumstances. They should also have substantial content knowledge across a range of issues, including agricultural market systems development, climate adaptation, land management, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, gender responsive agriculture, agricultural policy development, and a high comfort level engaging with other thought leaders, clients, and decision-makers. The Director, Agriculture and Food Systems should exemplify Mathematica Global’s mission and commitment to innovation and quality.

Technical leadership & quality assurance

• Lead large and complex MEL, evaluation, and research projects in agriculture and serve as a trusted advisor and learning partner to clients.
• Represent project teams in collaborations and meetings with senior-level leaders at organizations, such as the Gates, Mastercard and other Foundations, AGRA, USAID, Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), non-profits, and other organizations.
• Develop MERL frameworks for complex strategies and programs, including theories of change (ToCs), results frameworks, learning agendas, and key performance indicators.
• Facilitate group learning and reflection sessions to discuss the results and implications of evaluations and other learning products.
• Offer technical assistance to on-the-ground partners, including support for MERL frameworks, monitoring dashboards, and evaluation designs.
• Provide thought leadership and support across Mathematica’s agriculture portfolio to ensure technical excellence and responsiveness to client and other stakeholders’ learning and decision-making needs.

Strategy & portfolio development

• Support the development and operationalization of a strategy for advancing Mathematica Global’s position as a leader in the generation and use of data and evidence related to agriculture, food systems and climate change in Kenya, the region and internationally.
• Contribute to an agriculture and food systems portfolio development approach that is systematic, strategic, and forward thinking in its ability to anticipate future trends and funding priorities across clients focused on agriculture in ESA.
• Deepen and cultivate relationships with key philanthropy, government, multilateral, and other actors in the agriculture, food systems and climate change arenas.
• Create and pursue opportunities to present and discuss Mathematica’s work to funders, policymakers, implementers, and other stakeholders.
• Expand Mathematica Global’s body of work in agriculture in ESA, with an initial focus on East Africa.

Thought leadership & capacity-strengthening

• Help deepen and expand staff expertise and know-how related to developing MEL frameworks for complex strategies and programs; such processes could include technical review of outputs and products, internal staff mentorship, and informal knowledge exchange among staff members.
• Support dissemination of Mathematica’s research and work through articles in peer-reviewed journals, gray literature publications, conference papers, blog posts, social media, and other dissemination channels.
• Participate in key conferences and other forums, as well as expert groups and advisory committees, to engage with key players in agriculture and food systems, keep abreast of critical trends, and share Mathematica’s work where it is most useful.
• Mentor and develop junior staff and advise leadership on talent needs.

• At least 10 years of experience leading initiatives and projects that use measurement, evaluation, and learning to drive strategy development, program design, and decision-making for bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, and/or other organizations.
• PhD or Master’s degree with equivalent experience in agriculture, agricultural economics, environmental economics, resource economics, public policy, or a related discipline.
• Specific experience leading evaluations, either as a principal investigator or project director in agriculture, foods systems, climate change and/or related sectors is required.
• Understanding of the agriculture, food systems and climate change funding landscape and a track record of securing contracts and/or grants from USAID, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and/or other organizations.
• Excellent qualitative and quantitative analytical skills, including a strong understanding of theory-driven, mixed methods research and expertise in evaluating the impact of systems and agricultural interventions.
• Excellent conceptual thinking skills, including an ability to put parameters on nebulous concepts and create insightful conceptual models.
• A demonstrated track record of success meeting the strategy, evidence, and learning needs of foundations, corporate philanthropies, nonprofits, and/or bilateral and multilateral donors.
• Established research record (contributions to peer-reviewed journals and gray literature publications and presentations at conferences and other expert forums).
• Understanding of the agricultural funding landscape and a track record of securing contracts and/or grants from foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and/or other organizations.
• An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas and approaches that will help advance the organization in the agriculture and food systems space.
• Strong commitment to client-centered approaches that prioritize client needs and goals.
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic thinking, relationship-building, and management skills.
• Proven capability in successfully developing and leading new areas of work and managing teams to perform that work.
• Stellar written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to (1) convey complex technical issues to non-expert audiences and (2) present and share research results in a way that resonates with clients, practitioners, and policymakers.
• Experience with foundations, USAID, in the sub-Saharan Africa region is preferred.
• Ability to travel internationally.
• Fluency in at least one language in addition to English preferred.

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