Team Leader

Exciting opportunity to live and work in the young, South East Asian nation! Are you an experienced Team Leader with experience in agriculture, rural development, market systems, and food security and nutrition? Do you have a passion for inclusive community development? Do you thrive in multi-disciplinary team environments? If yes, then this could be the role for you!

TOMAK is the Australian Government’s flagship agricultural livelihoods program, with a reputation for high quality program delivery and strong partnerships with the Government of Timor-Leste, NGOs and the private sector. The program is entering its second phase of implementation (2022-2026) and is seeking a long-term Team Leader to be part of the TOMAK leadership team and oversee the development and implementation of the second phase of the program.

Duties and responsibilities

• Lead the overall management and strategic direction of TOMAK, and ensure that the program achieves its intended objectives and outcomes;
• Provide sound support and guidance to technical and operational leadership within the program, working collaboratively to mitigate risks, respond to challenges/opportunities, and resolve problems;
• Lead the preparation of key outputs including annual plans and budgets, progress reports, and other outputs as detailed in the program contract, anticipating and driving changes in program direction as necessary throughout the evolution of the program;
• Oversee the delivery of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan and work with technical teams to ensure data and learnings are used for adaptive programming. Liaise with DFAT’s M&E personnel to ensure the delivery of relevant results measurement information to feed into DFAT’s own performance monitoring and reporting;
• Review and quality assure all outputs that are submitted to DFAT, working to ensure consistency and logical alignment throughout these outputs;
• Build and lead a strong and motivated team within TOMAK, with appropriate capacity-building, mentoring and performance management activities;
• Develop effective coordination and communication strategies and productive relationships with DFAT, existing DFAT programs in Timor-Leste and other stakeholders, including GoTL agencies, development partners, NGOs, and the private sector;
• Provide strong leadership on GEDSI, women’s economic empowerment and inclusive development generally, and ensure compliance with DFAT’s policies;
• Maintain and further develop TOMAK’s strong reputation in Timor-Leste (including by representing the program in a confident, professional manner at public events and in coordination forums) and ensure that DFAT ownership of the program is always visible and acknowledged;
• Support best practice management and business processes and procedures within TOMAK, including planning, reporting, procurement, financial management, contracting and administration and ensure that they are carried out effectively, adhering to DFAT compliance policies;
• Lead the identification, assessment and mitigation of risks, ensuring that all program risks are managed effectively and communicated with DFAT as required;
• Act as primary local contact in the event of any safety or security event(s) and be responsible for the implementation of any Standard Operating Procedures in response to such events;
• Oversee the development and negotiation of agreements with advisers and sub-contracted organisations, and ensure that organisations and advisers contracted by the program fulfil their responsibilities, contributing competently to the achievement of program and DFAT’s objectives;
• Oversee the development of communications strategies to ensure that the work of the program is widely disseminated and represented in local and international development forums; and
• Build a strong understanding of GoTL policy areas that are relevant to the program team and delivery of the program, and play an active role in supporting the program’s institutional strengthening objectives;
• Participate in relevant networks (including those convened by DFAT) to ensure regular communication and coordination with other programs, organisations and agencies.

Skills and experience required:

1. Ten to fifteen years demonstrated experience working in international development (agriculture, rural development, health, etc.), with at least 7 years experience in senior management (especially in the development and implementation of complex multi-sectoral programs);
2. Outstanding performance history as a Team Leader and/or senior manager with demonstrated capacity to lead and coordinate large, multi-location teams;
3. Demonstrable technical knowledge in at least two of the following areas: agricultural economics, market systems development, rural development, food security and nutrition, social and behaviour change, communications (particularly cross-government coordination), and/or GEDSI and women’s economic empowerment;
4. Demonstrated ability to develop and nurture productive relationships with critical stakeholders including governments/departments, DFAT and other bilateral/multilateral-funded programs, and to manage effective partnership arrangements (existing relationships in Timor-Leste would be an advantage);
5. Demonstrated high level organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks, competing priorities and complete assignments within timeframes;
6. Excellent strategic communication skills, analytical and report writing skills, with experience in influencing policy or communicating effectively with governments;
7. Exceptional interpersonal and cross-cultural skills and the ability to develop highly productive relationships within a large team and across key stakeholders;
8. Commitment to gender equality principles and ability to apply these within complex projects;
9. Post-graduate qualifications relating to international development, nutrition, agriculture, rural/development economics, or similar