Program Coordinator

ACCESS Development Services; Delhi; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

ACCESS Development Services invites applications for a Program Coordinator to oversee empaneled Technical Agencies delivering mentoring and advisory services to Farmer Producer Companies and SMEs under IAVCP-GAP Fund. The role ensures TA-led interventions translate grant investments into measurable governance, business and value-chain outcomes with cross-functional collaboration.

The position requires minimum 5 years of project coordination experience, strong stakeholder management, and

Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree in Agri-Business Management, Rural Management, Agricultural Economics, Development Studies, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in Project Coordination, enterprise strengthening and development, incubation and acceleration programs.
• Experience in an agri-value chain project with FPCs and SMEs, rural livelihoods, or development-sector grant/fund management.
• Demonstrated experience in managing external consultants, technical service providers, or implementation partners.
• Exposure with monitoring & evaluation systems, results frameworks, and deliverable-based contracting is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate empanelled Technical Agencies delivering support to grantees (FPOs/ Cooperatives/SMEs).
• Onboard new TAs — orient them on GAP Fund objectives, beneficiary profiles, deliverables, reporting protocols, and code of conduct.
• Facilitate mapping of TAs to FPO/SME clusters based on domain expertise, geography, and value-chain focus.
• Convene periodic review meetings, workshops, and field visits with TA teams.
• Review TA’s invoices and deliverable-linked payment claims; verify against milestones.
• Maintain documentation and audit-ready records for contracts and reports.
• Travel extensively (approx. 40–50%) to project geographies.

Skills

Project coordination

Stakeholder management

Report writing

Education

Post-graduate degree in Agri-Business Management or related field

Tools

MS Office

MIS/dashboard tools

Job description

POSITION: Technical Agency Oversight, Enterprise Acceleration and Strengthening
REPORTS TO: VP/ SVP

About ACCESS:
ACCESS Development Services is a national livelihoods promotion organization with a focus on incubating innovations and developing sustainable models for livelihoods promotion of the poor. To this end, ACCESS is structured uniquely to work at all levels of the value chain – implementing programmes on the ground (Tier I), working with Civil Society Organizations, Government Departments, Corporate sector, and Multilateral / Bilateral Agencies (Tier II) as also undertaking national initiatives to influence and support policy initiatives and strengthening the enabling environment (Tier III). ACCESS, with its head office in New Delhi has a pan-India presence having state offices in 9 states and 26 project offices. More at www.accessdev.org

Project Summary:

ACCESS is implementing project Investment in Agri-value Chain Project (IAVCP) as Fund Manager, supported by IFAD. The Investments in Agroecology Value Chains Project (IAVCP) seeks to strengthen agroecological enterprises, producer-owned enterprises, and Agri-MSMEs by addressing persistent gaps in governance, market readiness, compliance, risk management, and investment alignment. While several enterprises demonstrate strong production and social foundations, they require structured incubation and acceleration-type support to become institutionally robust, market-validated, and investment-ready.

As on date, ACCESS has sanctioned 72 grants to enterprises including FPC/ SMEs/ Cooperatives. The enterprises are located on Pan India basis. Of the 72 enterprises, 30 falls under SME categories and 42 falls under Farmers Producers Companies. The approved grant for the enterprises is approximately Rs. 70 Cr. and about Rs. 40 Cr. has been disbursed. Total estimated grant approval under the IAVCP is approximately 92 Cr., under the IAVCP with estimated number of entities to be benefitted range between 92-100.

Position Summary:

ACCESS is seeking a self-driven and detail-oriented professional as a Program Coordinator as the primary point of contact and oversight authority for empaneled Technical Agencies (TAs) engaged to deliver mentoring, hand-holding, and technical advisory services to Enterprises including Farmer Producer Companies/ Cooperatives and Small & Micro Enterprises (SMEs) that have received grant support under the IAVCP-GAP Fund. The role ensures that TA-led interventions translate grant investments into measurable business, governance, and value-chain outcomes for enterprises.

Responsibilities:

The Coordinator/Senior Coordinator will be responsible for assisting and supporting the team in the following areas:
1. Technical Agency Coordination & Management

• Serve as the single-window coordinator for all empanelled Technical Agencies delivering support to grantee FPCs/ Cooperatives and SMEs.
• Onboard newly selected TAs — orient them on GAP Fund objectives, beneficiary profiles, deliverables, reporting protocols, and code of conduct.
• Facilitate mapping of TAs to specific FPO/SME clusters based on domain expertise, geography, and value-chain focus (e.g., horticulture, dairy, millets, agri-processing).
• Convene periodic review meetings, workshops, and joint field visits with TA teams.
• Get associated with TAs in delivering the Technical Support towards strengthening the FPCs/SMEs
• Review and approve periodical work plans (quarterly/ semi-annually) submitted by each TA, ensuring alignment with enterprise specific business plans and IAVCP- GAP Fund milestones.
• Track deliverables against agreed timelines, milestones, and KPIs — including diagnostic reports, business plan refinement, market linkage support, compliance handholding, and capacity-building modules delivered.
• Verify quality of technical outputs (feasibility studies, DPRs, SOPs, MIS setups, governance training, etc.) before acceptance and payment recommendation.

3. Monitoring, Reporting & Quality Assurance

• Design and operationalise a monitoring framework to assess TA performance and enterprise progress.
• Undertake regular field visits to FPCs/ Cooperatives /SMEs to independently validate TA-reported progress and gather feedback from enterprises.
• Consolidate monthly and quarterly progress reports from TAs into a unified dashboard for management and donor reporting.
• Flag underperformance, delays, or conflicts early and recommend corrective action, including reassignment or termination where warranted.

4. Grantee (FPO/SME) Interface

• Act as a bridge between enterprises (FPOs/ Cooperatives/SMEs) and TAs — ensuring enterprise needs are heard, prioritised, and addressed through the technical support arrangement.
• Ensuring technical inputs are translating into business, financial, and governance improvements.
• Support grievance redressal and issue resolution between enterprises and TAs.
• Review TA’s invoices and deliverable-linked payment claims; verify against contractual milestones and recommend releases to Finance.
• Ensure adherence to contractual terms, service-level agreements, data confidentiality clauses, and reporting obligations by all TAs.
• Maintain complete documentation — contracts, deliverables, correspondence, evaluation records — in an audit-ready format.
• Capture case studies, best practices, and lessons from TA engagements across FPO/SME grantees.
• Facilitate cross-learning sessions between TAs and among grantees.
• Contribute to periodic programme reviews, donor reports, and strategy refinement of the GAP Fund.

7. Stakeholder Engagement

• Coordinate with internal IAVCP-GAP Fund teams (Investments, M&E, Finance, Legal), state-level project units, and external partners
• Represent the programme in relevant forums, TA review committees, and stakeholder consultations as required.

Education & Experience:

• Post-graduate degree in Agri-Business Management, Rural Management, Agricultural Economics, Development Studies, Business Administration, or a related field from a recognised institution.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in Project Coordination, enterprise strengthening and development, incubation and acceleration programs.
• Experience in agri-value chain development project with FPCs and SMEs, rural livelihoods, or development-sector grant/fund management.
• Demonstrated experience in managing external consultants, technical service providers, or implementation partners.
• Exposure with monitoring & evaluation systems, results frameworks, and deliverable-based contracting is highly desirable.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong project management and multi-stakeholder coordination skills.
• Sound understanding of FPCs and SMEs enterprise development pathway including governance, business planning, value chains, and rural enterprise development.
• Proficient in written and verbal communication — capable of producing high-quality reports, briefs, and correspondence.
• Analytical mindset with proficiency in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and MIS/dashboard tools.
• Negotiation, problem solving, team collaboration and diplomatic engagement skills.
• Willingness to travel extensively (approx. 50%) to project geographies, interacting with enterprises.

Travel Requirement:

Willingness to travel extensively (approx. 40–50%) to project geographies.

Compensation:

The salary range for this position is commensurate to industry standards and will be determined based upon experience set of the candidate and the HR policies of the organization.

ACCESS is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. ACCESS values diversity and inclusion, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, caste, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, marital status, age and disability.