VP - Operations

Farmers for Forests; Ranchi; Hybrid; Full time

Job summary

A social enterprise in forest conservation based in Ranchi, India, is seeking a VP Operations to lead afforestation projects. The role demands overseeing project execution, budget management, and cross-functional coordination, ensuring timely delivery of initiatives aimed at enhancing India's biodiversity. Candidates should have 8-10 years of project management experience in relevant sectors. An MBA in operations will be advantageous. Join a dedicated team committed to sustainable development and forest protection.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 to 10 years of experience in project management or operations.
• Experience in environmental, rural development, or sustainability sectors.
• Prior experience in afforestation or community-based projects is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Prepare overall block-wise budgets for agroforestry implementation.
• Monitor and track projects' progress and budget compliance.
• Coordinate between donors, investors, operations, field, and tech teams.
• Track expenses against the donor budget.
• Conduct weekly team calls to discuss progress and solutions.
• Create processes for documentation protocols during implementation.
• Prepare strategies to meet plantation targets.
• Identify innovative ways to scale operations.
• Ensure smooth procurement of necessary inputs.
• Communicate with vendors for documentation and payments.
• Identify new areas for expansion.

Skills

Project management

Budgeting

Cross-functional team management

Client relations

Education

MBA in operations

Job description

F4F is a Hybrid Social Enterprise working to protect and increase India’s biodiverse forest cover in close collaboration with rural communities. Founded in December 2019, F4F is one of the few organizations in India working in the forestry sector and using a payment-for-ecosystem services model for its environmental protection and restoration activities.

We have also featured on DW TV and Scroll's Eco India series as well as DW Hindi. We have also been selected as one of India's top innovators working in the ecosystem restoration and conservation sector by the World Economic Forum.

Job Description

The VP Operations will work closely with the COO to ensure end-to-end execution of afforestation projects, including planning, implementation, and monitoring. They will oversee client communication, team building, data management, budgeting, and quality control to ensure timely and effective project delivery.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Preparing overall block-wise budgets for the implementation of agroforestry
• Monitoring and tracking Plan vs Actual in terms of progress and budget, ensuring projects are implemented within stipulated budgets
• Anchor point of coordination among donor, investor, operations team, field team, and tech team
• End-to-end tracking of expenses against the donor budget
• Conducting weekly team calls to understand progress, bottlenecks, and identifying solutions
• Creating processes to ensure documentation protocols are followed during implementation
• Preparing strategies for achieving plantation targets within time and budget with help of Sr. Field Managers
• Identifying innovative ways to increase scale of operations as per organizational objectives
• Ensuring smooth procurement of inputs including saplings, drip, and compost
• Communicating with vendors for documentation, invoices, payments, etc.
• Identifying new areas adjoining current locations for expansion by connecting with FPOs, NGOs, government officers, etc.

Requirements

• Minimum 8 to 10 years of experience in large-scale project management or operations, preferably in the environmental, rural development, or sustainability sector
• Experience in managing cross-functional teams, client relations, budgeting, and on-ground execution
• MBA in operations or prior experience in afforestation or community-based projects will be an added advantage