Role purpose

The Chief of Staff & Strategy reports directly to the AGRA President and functions as a vital strategic partner, trusted advisor, and operational leader. This senior strategic role supports the President, oversees the Office of the President, and facilitates seamless communication while navigating strategic decisions, institutional priorities, and high stakes external engagements. As a key member of the Executive Committee, it drives AGRA’s strategic planning and execution, stewarding the overall strategic architecture and bridging the gap between long-term vision and day-to-day operations.

The role leads the AGRA Transformation Office and has oversight of the Strategy, extending its influence organization-wide to orchestrate cross-functional collaboration and ensure alignment around corporate, regional, and country priorities. It designs, oversees, and tracks high-impact strategic and transformation programs that accelerate organizational performance and change, championing cohesive progress toward AGRA’s goals while supporting governance, stakeholder engagement, and internal management. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, exceptional communicator, and experienced transformation leader capable of turning complex challenges into clear, actionable roadmaps and institutional results.

Role Summary

The Chief of Staff & Strategy is a senior strategic partner to the AGRA President and executive team, responsible for driving enterprise-wide transformation, organizational alignment, and strategic execution. This role acts as a force multiplier for leadership—supporting the President, overseeing the Office of the President and the Strategy, ensuring priorities are executed effectively, cross-functional initiatives advance seamlessly, and the organization stays focused on its long-term mission.

Leading the Transformation Office, this role orchestrates strategic planning, stewards AGRA’s strategic architecture, and designs and tracks high-impact strategic and transformation programs. It enhances executive decision-making and serves as a critical connector across teams—providing clarity, structure, and momentum to accelerate performance and change. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, exceptional communicator, and proven transformation leader who turns complex challenges into actionable roadmaps.

Key Measures of Performance

The performance of this role holder will be assessed based on the achievements made on:

• Strategy & Transformation Delivery – On-time, on-scope delivery of President/Board-approved strategic and transformation initiatives with targeted outcomes achieved.
• Strategic Planning, Architecture & Governance – Coherent corporate, regional, and country strategies with clear goal/KPI cascade and effective governance and performance dashboards.
• Organizational Alignment & Execution – Strong cross-functional collaboration and timely delivery of institutional priorities with minimal duplication and positive ExCo/Management feedback.
• Executive Decision Support & Strategic Products – High-quality, timely strategic briefs, analyses, and presentations that strengthen leadership, Board, and donor confidence and minimize rework.
• President’s Office & Stakeholder Confidence – Efficient, responsive President’s Office operations and strong, trust-based relationships with key partners, donors, and the Board.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose – Advance

• Direct the operations of the President’s Office and maintain a close interface with the Executive Committee to proactively surface and address key institutional issues.
• Lead the corporate strategy and business planning cycles, ensuring clear institutional priorities, explicit trade-offs, and aligned unit business plans with defined targets and resource implications.
• Steward AGRA’s strategic architecture and portfolio by maintaining a coherent corporate, regional, and country strategy framework that guides focus-country and thematic choices and aligns with the institution’s mission.
• Lead the annual and multi-year strategic planning processes, ensuring goals, KPIs, and organizational priorities are clearly defined, cascaded, and integrated into transformation and business plans.
• Shape high-level strategic recommendations for the President and Board by synthesizing internal insights, evaluations, and external intelligence into robust options and scenarios for major organizational decisions.
• Champion organizational learning in strategy by embedding reflection, evidence, and lessons from implementation and evaluations into strategic reviews, portfolio adjustments, and future designs.
• Own key strategic governance forums by designing and running core strategy, portfolio, and transformation review mechanisms that clarify decision rights, ensure follow-through, and align with broader governance structures.
• Establish and lead the Transformation Office to ensure disciplined execution of strategic initiatives, overseeing the design, rollout, and monitoring of transformation programs (e.g., digital, operating model, culture, cost optimization, sustainability).
• Serve as project lead or Executive Sponsor on cross-institutional initiatives and taskforces prioritized by the President, ensuring effective cross-functional coordination and delivery.
• Lead organizational change initiatives, including major transformation projects, restructures, culture initiatives, and innovation efforts that advance AGRA’s strategic direction.
• Develop data analysis and executive-level reports and briefs (including financial, risk, programmatic, and country insights) for decision-making by the President, Board, and Executive Committee, managing highly privileged and confidential information.
• Drive the formulation, communication, and rigorous implementation of the President’s priorities within the organization and with external partners, ensuring alignment and clarity of expectations.
• Serve as a thought partner to the President and executive team on strategic choices, organizational challenges, and long-term direction, including the use and commissioning of independent and program evaluations to inform strategy.
• Work with the President to manage critical grantee, partner, and Board relationships, and represent AGRA at selected meetings, events, and forums to build strategic partnerships and advance institutional priorities.

Engagement – Position

• Serve as the President’s representative and proxy on internal committees, leadership forums, and select external engagements, advancing institutional priorities and positions.
• Manage the flow of internal and external communication from the President’s Office, ensuring consistent, timely, and responsive messaging and supporting the President in internal communication and change management.
• Drive the effectiveness of Executive Committee, Management Team, and all-staff meetings by setting agendas, coordinating preparation, summarizing discussions, and tracking follow-up actions.
• Monitor and coordinate cross-cutting assignments and projects involving multiple senior executives and teams, ensuring alignment, clear ownership, and effective use of organizational resources.
• Maintain a high-level awareness of organizational activities, removing barriers to inter- and intra-departmental collaboration, building connections across workstreams, and fostering a collegial culture aligned with AGRA’s values.
• Work with the Board Secretary to ensure that Board products are of high quality, and provide strategic support and counsel to the President across meetings, trips, strategy and grant reviews, working groups, and key correspondence.

Delivery – Corporate Planning 

• Provide strategic direction to AGRA’s communications team on high level press releases, statements, and briefings, ensuring the President is well prepared for key donor and external engagements.
• Oversee AGRA’s adaptive strategy processes, including the continuous updating of corporate and country strategies and business plans, and the review and finalization of annual institutional goals with the Executive Committee and Management Team.
• Lead the design and quality assurance of executive-level presentations and materials for Board meetings, key donor discussions, and enterprise-wide conversations, translating strategic objectives into clear, actionable narratives.
• Support the development and use of models, tools, analytical frameworks, and governance structures (including KPIs, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms) that enable rigorous strategy implementation and tracking of transformation progress.
• Monitor progress on strategic and transformation initiatives, conducting analysis, research, and scenario planning to identify risks, gaps, and opportunities, and recommending actions to keep the organization on track while ensuring accountability across teams.

Profile 

Education

MBA or advanced degree in business, public policy, organizational leadership, or related field.

Certification

Any additional professional qualification in that enhances proficiency in analytical research, communication, leadership, and strategic planning or execution.

Relevant Experience

• 12+ years of progressive experience in strategy, operations, management consulting, or executive leadership roles.
• At least 7 years of experience in a senior leadership role.
• Proven success in managing strategic planning and complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and structured thinking skills.
• Exceptional communication skills—written, verbal, and interpersonal.
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and manage sensitive information with discretion.
• Experience working with senior leaders, boards, and executive teams in fast-paced environments.
• Background in Agrifood systems transformation
• Experience leading organizational effectiveness, OKR/goal-setting, or change management processes.

Values & Behaviors

Core Values, I-RISE

• Integrity: Uphold moral convictions and always doing the right thing.
• Respect: Value differences and embrace diversity and inclusion.
• Innovation: Strive for excellence and embracing continuous improvement, bold creativity, and change.
• Stewardship: Be responsible for actions undertaken and resources entrusted.
• Equity: Be governed by fairness in all undertakings.

Values-Driven Behaviors, The AGRA We Want

• Deeply Collaborative: through inclusive and agile teaming, breaking silos, sharing information celebrating joint successes.
• Execute Excellently: in delivering high-quality work at speed, committing to decisions, increasing our accountability impact on scale. 
• Sincerely Constructive: as we interact with one another with trust, sincerity and care in recognition of our joint purpose.
• Increasingly Entrepreneurial: by breaking hierarchies, embracing learning and innovation to unlock the potential of our diversity and ideas.

Competencies

Core Competencies

• Accountability: Demonstrates dependability in all aspects of own work and takes responsibility for own words and actions and can be relied upon consistently.
• Adaptability and Agility: Ability to remain flexible, resilient, and responsive when faced with new challenges and opportunities.
• Results Focus: Ability to set ambitious, measurable goals and prioritize accordingly to meet desired outcomes and results that lead to organizational success.
• Service and Stakeholder Focus: Ability to establish relationships and cross-functional partnerships, identify and respond to current and future stakeholders’ needs; providing service excellence to internal and external stakeholders.
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement: Ability to identify and address own strengths and weaknesses, developmental needs and changing circumstances to enhance personal and organizational performance promoting a learning culture.

Functional Competencies

• Executive Presence: Trusted advisor who brings calm, clarity, and confidence to leadership discussions.
• Analytical and Reporting Skills: Proficient in quantitative analysis, data-driven decision-making, and developing high-quality reports in collaboration with Strategy & Analytics teams to support executive and board-level decisions.
• Planning and Organizing: Strong capability in devising actionable plans with clear milestones and resource allocation, managing multiple priorities efficiently, and ensuring rigorous execution of AGRA’s strategic and programmatic goals.
• Communication and Relationship Management: Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to represent AGRA effectively in various forums, manage internal communications, and develop strong relationships with partners, grantees, and senior leadership.
• Change Management: Skill in leading and managing complex change and transition initiatives within a multicultural and evolving organizational environment, promoting agility and innovation.

Leadership Competencies(For Team Leads Only)

• Strategic Perspective: Ability to develop and inspire commitment to a vision of success; supporting, promoting and ensuring alignment with the AGRA’s vision and values.
• Driving & Managing Change: Managing, leading and enabling the process of change and transition while helping others deal with their effects.
• Decisiveness: Forms sound, evidence-based decisions, makes choices, assesses risks to delivery, and takes ownership for outcomes.
• Leading & Empowering Others: Inspires others toward a common vision and fosters trust and ethical behavior, and development of others by providing a supportive environment for enhanced performance and professional growth.
• Managing Performance: Creates a positive work environment in which teams and individuals are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities and achieve results.

Terms of Appointment

2-year contract renewable based on funding availability. 

Role Location

Based in Nairobi, Kenya with frequent travel at international level, approximately 25% per month/year.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please ensure you complete the Application Form provided below by 03 August 2026 (23:59 hrs, GMT +3). It is essential that you submit your CV in English, specifically in Microsoft Word format (.doc/.docx), not exceeding 10MB.

Applications in other languages or formats will not be considered.

Rest assured, all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.

SRI Executive is exclusively retained by AGRA to undertake this assignment.