Program Lead (PMU) - Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra

The Program Lead at Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) in Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, will oversee the ProRISE Phase II project, ensuring strategic leadership, project implementation, and stakeholder engagement. Responsibilities include managing project outcomes, compliance, and team performance while fostering partnerships with various organizations. The role requires travel to project districts and emphasizes agribusiness understanding and rural development experience.
Hiring for: Program Lead (1 Position)


Location: Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, India (with frequent travel to project districts)


Position Overview The Program Lead will provide overall strategic, managerial, and technical leadership to ProRISE Phase II. The position will be responsible for ensuring successful implementation of the project across participating FPOs, achievement of project outcomes, donor compliance, team performance, stakeholder engagement, and institutional partnerships.


The Program Lead will serve as the principal liaison between WOTR, the donor agency, participating FPOs, government agencies, financial institutions, market actors, and other ecosystem partners. The role requires strong leadership, programme management, agribusiness understanding, and experience in managing large-scale rural development and FPO strengthening initiatives.


Key Responsibilities

Provide overall leadership and direction for planning, implementation, monitoring, and successful completion of ProRISE Phase II.

Ensure alignment of project activities with approved objectives, logframe, KPIs, budgets, and donor commitments.

Lead preparation of quarterly and annual implementation plans, work plans, budgets, and performance reviews.

Ensure effective coordination between PMU, DPMUs, FPOs, consultants, and partner institutions.

Guide adaptive management and strategic decision-making based on implementation learnings and emerging opportunities.

Provide strategic oversight for FPO strengthening, governance improvement, business planning, market integration, and enterprise development.

Guide development of sustainable and scalable business models for participating FPOs.

Support expansion of input businesses, aggregation systems, value-addition enterprises, and market-led production systems.

Monitor business performance indicators including turnover, profitability, member participation, and market outreach.

Provide strategic guidance on climate-resilient agriculture, residue-free production systems, certification initiatives, and sustainable value chains.

Ensure integration of climate resilience, natural resource management, and ecological sustainability within FPO business plans.

Promote adoption of innovative technologies and market-linked sustainability standards.

Serve as the primary point of contact with Walmart Foundation and other funding partners.

Ensure timely submission of technical reports, financial reports, impact assessments, and donor communication materials.

Maintain compliance with donor requirements, grant conditions, reporting standards, and visibility guidelines.

Lead project review meetings, donor visits, evaluations, and learning events.

Lead and mentor PMU experts, district teams, consultants, and project staff.

Establish performance management systems and provide regular guidance to team members.

Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning.

Identify capacity-building needs and support professional development of project personnel.

Develop and strengthen partnerships with:

Farmer Producer Organizations

Government departments

Financial institutions

Private sector companies

Research organizations and universities

NGOs and development partners

Represent WOTR in strategic forums, policy dialogues, conferences, and stakeholder consultations related to FPOs, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods.


Monitoring, Learning and Knowledge Management

Ensure robust monitoring systems and effective use of project data for decision-making.
Oversee implementation of KPI tracking, outcome measurement, and impact assessment frameworks.
Guide documentation of best practices, case studies, success stories, and research outputs.
Promote dissemination of project learnings and evidence to wider FPO and development ecosystems.

Desired Qualifications

Master s Degree or higher in Agriculture, Agribusiness Management, Rural Management, Development Studies, Rural Development, Economics, Management or related disciplines.
MBA in Rural Management, Development Management or equivalent qualification will be preferred.
Additional training in project management, leadership, climate resilience, value chain development or institutional development will be an advantage.
Women candidate preferred.

Experience Required

Minimum 15 years of progressive professional experience in rural development, agribusiness, FPO/FPC promotion, livelihoods, climate resilience, gender inclusion or agricultural value chain develop