Country Manager - Burundi

Company Description

Kahawatu Foundation is an NGO under Sucafina.

Coffee sits at the heart of Burundi’s rural economy: nearly 500,000 coffee-growing households help support around three million people, almost a quarter of the country’s population. Yet production has declined steeply over the past decade. Kahawatu Foundation is committed to ensuring that coffee has a thriving future in Burundi. Since 2013, we have supported more than 40,000 coffee-farming households, established over 1,000 Village Savings and Loan Associations, and helped create 50 women’s organisations. The next chapter is even more ambitious. As Country Manager, you will help shape a roadmap to transform the next decade of coffee farming in Burundi. With coffee as the anchor, you will have the opportunity to address some of rural development’s most important challenges—from regenerative agriculture and climate adaptation to household resilience and the economic and social roles of women and young people.

Job Description

Key responsibilities

1) Shape and deliver Kahawatu’s vision for Burundi

• Work with the Burundi and international teams of Kahawatu and SUCAFINA to develop an ambitious roadmap for the next decade.
• Translate that vision into practical, scalable programs that strengthen coffee production, farmer incomes and household resilience.
• Identify new opportunities based on field realities, evidence and the evolving needs of coffee-growing communities.

2) Lead programs that deliver lasting impact

• Oversee the design and execution of high-quality field programs centered on coffee productivity, quality and regenerative agriculture.
• Integrate climate adaptation, income diversification, gender, youth and household resilience where these strengthen the future of coffee-growing communities.
• Maintain a strong field presence and ensure solutions are practical, locally relevant and capable of being adopted at scale.

3) Build evidence and demonstrate results

• Define meaningful indicators covering coffee production, farmer income, resilience and the adoption of improved practices.
• Use data and learning to improve programs, guide decisions and demonstrate credible impact over multiple seasons.
• Turn results and field insights into compelling evidence for partners, funders and the wider coffee sector.

4) Mobilise partnerships, visibility and funding

• Build relationships with government, donors, development organisations and actors across the international coffee industry.
• Help design and secure funding for programs that can contribute to sector-wide change.
• Lead/support communication, partnership and fundraising campaigns that mobilise international support for Burundi’s coffee future.
• Represent Kahawatu Burundi credibly in national and international forums.

5) Lead and develop a nimble local team

• Provide clear direction to agronomy, field, monitoring and evaluation, and administrative colleagues.
• Build a collaborative, motivated and accountable culture in which people can grow and take initiative.
• Strengthen coordination between field delivery, learning, communications and reporting.

6) Ensure sound and responsible operations

• Oversee budgets, reporting, compliance and the effective use of resources.
• Ensure Kahawatu meets local legal and regulatory requirements and maintains high standards of transparency and integrity.
• Establish proportionate systems that support effective delivery without losing the agility of a small foundation.

Qualifications

You may be ready for this managerial role if you have built strong experience in agriculture, coffee or rural development and are now looking for the opportunity to take on broader leadership responsibility. You will need to be comfortable moving between strategy and hands-on delivery: working with farming communities and technical teams, building relationships with senior partners, and representing an ambitious organisation.

We are interested not only in what you have already done, but also in the scale of responsibility you are ready to take on next.

Must-haves

• A minimum of  5 years of relevant experience in agriculture, coffee, rural development or a related field
• Experience designing and delivering agriculture-based programs and achieving measurable results
• A practical understanding of agricultural production and the realities facing smallholder farming communities
• Proven experience in leading multi-cultural teams, projects or significant areas of responsibility, together with the potential and ambition to step into broader organisational leadership
• The ability to build trusted relationships across communities, government, funders and private-sector partners
• Strong communication skills and the ability to turn ideas and evidence into persuasive proposals, presentations and partnerships
• Sound judgement, resilience, cultural sensitivity and a willingness to work hands-on in a complex operating environment
• Fluency in French and a basic command of English;  speaking Kirundi or Swahili is a plus
• A commitment to living in Burundi and travelling regularly to coffee-growing communities

Nice to have

We do not expect one candidate to bring everything on this list. Any combination of the following would be an advantage:

• Experience in coffee and regenerative agriculture or perennial crops
• Experience in Burundi, the Great Lakes region or another comparable operating environment
• Experience developing donor-funded programs or public-private partnerships
• Exposure to fundraising, proposal development, campaigning or strategic communications
• Experience using monitoring, evaluation and field data to improve programs and demonstrate impact
• An existing network among coffee-sector actors, NGOs, public authorities or development partners
• Knowledge of Kirundi

Additional Information

What success looks like

Success will mean combining an ambitious long-term vision with credible, practical progress on the ground.

Over the first 12–18 months, we would expect the Country Manager to:

• Build the confidence of Kahawatu’s team, farming communities and key national and international partners
• Strengthen the quality, coordination and measurable impact of existing programs
• Establish a clear and compelling roadmap for Kahawatu’s next decade in Burundi
• Create an environment in which a small, capable local team can perform, develop and take initiative

Over time, success will be reflected in:

• Sustained improvements in coffee productivity, quality, farmer income and household resilience
• Wider adoption of regenerative and climate-resilient agricultural practices
• Meaningful economic and social opportunities for women and young people in coffee-growing communities
• Programs and partnerships capable of contributing to national-scale change, supported by credible evidence and able to mobilise international support.
• Strong evidence demonstrating Kahawatu’s impact over multiple seasons
• Kahawatu being recognised as an innovative, trusted and effective partner in the future of Burundi’s coffee sector

Why join Kahawatu Foundation?

• Lead programs that directly impact thousands of coffee-farming households
• Operate at the core of Burundi’s most strategic agricultural sector
• Work across public and private actors to drive systemic change
• Contribute to the long-term transformation of the coffee sector through practical, field-driven impact

If you recognize yourself in this role and believe you have the experience, leadership, and drive to contribute to the future of Burundi’s coffee sector, we encourage you to apply.