Chief Operations Officer – Consultant – Farmers for Forests (F4F)

Farmers for Forests (F4F) is a not-for-profit organization 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 very few organizations in India working in the forestry sector and using a payment for ecosystem services model for its environmental protection and restoration activities.

F4F was incubated at Nudge Centre for Social Innovation (N/Core), Shakti – The Empathy Project and the NSRCEL-IIMB. Our work was also featured on DW TV and Scroll’s Eco India series as well as DW Hindi. We were recently selected as one of India’s top innovators working in the ecosystem restoration and conservation sector by the World Economic Forum.

Farmers for Forests (F4F) is seeking a Full Time Consultant at the Chief Operations Officer position to supervise all its field operations across several districts of Maharashtra. We are looking for somebody with 6 or more years of experience managing field operations in rural India.

Position F4F seeks a Chief Operations Officer to supervise all its field operations, assist with new program development, support the finance and fundraising teams. We are looking for an exceptional candidate who might eventually take on the role of CEO of the organization. The position will be based out of any of our offices in Pune, Ahmednagar or Gadchiroli. We are looking for passionate, experienced and skilled individuals who are keen on working on mitigating and adapting to climate change, while working closely with some of the most vulnerable communities in India. The Chief Operations Officer will work closely with the CEO and the co-founders on a variety of tasks.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Supervise the entire field team including the Senior Manager, Field Managers, Field Associates and Field Assistants

2. Improve operational efficiency by identifying bottlenecks in our current processes

3. Standardize protocols and create processes and documents to further structure field operations functioning

4. Create budgets and manage day-to-day finances

5. Support fundraising and marketing efforts by assisting or pitching to donors and investors

6. Support the development of organization strategy and direction; support in new program development and the expansion of F4F to other states of India

7. Assist with government, partner, donor and investor collaborations

Requirements

1. Bachelor’s degree and above; background in environmental studies, economics or business is a major advantage

2. Flexible, creative, with an ability to think outside the box and remain calm in stressful and crisis situations

3. Good interpersonal skills and fluency in English and Hindi; proficiency in Marathi will be a major advantage

4. Excellent communication skills, particularly written

5. Flexible, self-motivated with a demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious relationships within communities

6. Attention to detail and ability to adapt to unstructured or fast-changing circumstances

7. Advanced MS Office skills (Powerpoint, Word and Excel) required

8. Ability and willingness to work in challenging field conditions, when required

9. Willingness to travel between project locations, when required

10. Willingness to travel into forests, when required

 Start Date

● Between 15th – 30th June

● Selection basis rolling applications

Location Either Pune, Ahmednagar or Gadchiroli

Salary Between Rs. 150,000 – 200,000 per month

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to hiring@farmersforforests.org.

Please make sure to write the position you’re applying for (“Chief Operations Officer”) in the subject line of the email.

PLEASE SEND CV AND COVER LETTER TO THE ABOVE MENTIONED EMAIL ID ONLY.

APPLICATIONS SENT TO OTHER EMAIL IDS OR PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.