We are looking for a Regional Executive Director for West Africa

About Rikolto

Sustainable income for farmers and nutritious, affordable food for all: that is what Rikolto works for. Rikolto is an international network organisation with more than 50 years of experience working with farmer organisations and stakeholder in the food chain in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Rikolto’s vision is to contribute to sustainable food systems where healthy diets are accessible to majority consumers, where smallholder farmers and other involved actors (MSMEs) can build up sustainable livelihoods that enhance both the prosperity of local communities and thriving ecosystems.

We work around three global programmes: Sustainable Rice for All, Sustainable Cocoa and Coffee, and Good Food for Cities.

Read more about our organisation and our impact in 2025.

Rikolto has a global team driven by over 200 people worldwide, based in in 18 countries and 5 regions. In every region a Regional Executive Director holds the overall end-responsibility.

About the position

We are looking for a Regional Executive Directorfor the West Africa region. The activities in West Africa cover five (5) countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Benin. For more information, please visit our website: www.rikolto.org/westafrica.

We offer:

• A strategic position and a challenging opportunity to lead a diverse and committed team!
• Preferred starting date: 1 January 2027
• Reports to: Executive Director
• Location: One of the Rikolto offices in West Africa
• Job size: Full-time
• Travels: Occasional travelling will be required.

Your role:

As Regional Executive Director, you will be the leader and external face of the organisation in the West Africa region. You will work closely with the Regional Operations Director, Regional Programme Directors, Country Managers, and the Regional Advisory Board to guide the region's direction.

In the role of Regional Executive Director, you will work beyond the different programmes and countries, and focus on the long-term vision and positioning of Rikolto in the region, and are accountable to the CEO for the region's performance, mission impact, financial sustainability, and reputation. You will also be part of the “Executive Committee”, the leadership team that steers the global organisation.

Concretely, you will have the following responsibilities:

1. Strategy and Leadership

Strategy:

• You co-design the global strategies and co-manage the organisation’s overall functioning, health, and reputation through your membership in the Executive Committee, the organisation’s highest management decision-making body.
• You are responsible for shaping the region’s strategy in close collaboration with the Regional Advisory Board, Regional Management and Executive Committee.
• You ensure that strategic priorities align with external trends and community needs.
• You lead the implementation of the regional strategy.
• You take final responsibility for decisions on strategic trade-offs, growth opportunities, and organisational positioning in the region.

External leadership and representation:

• You serve as the region’s main voice and spokesperson to strengthen its presence and influence.
• You build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, networks, media, and the public to enhance Rikolto’s visibility, credibility, and impact in the region.

Organisational leadership and culture:

• You shape and promote a values-driven culture across the region.
• You drive organisational agility and continuous learning, ensuring the region effectively adapts to shifting global and local trends.
• You align the Regional Management Team around shared priorities, providing clarity, authority, and trust in delegated responsibilities across programmes and operations.
• You ensure regional organisational accountability.
• You oversee the functioning of the Country Programme Teams.

2. Technical Domains:

Programme implementation:

• You ensure that programme designs are innovative, scalable, and integrated with Rikolto's global mission and specific regional context.
• You ensure effective regional programme planning and execution.
• You hold ultimate accountability for the region for the delivery of programme outcomes.
• You oversee that local partners and beneficiaries are actively engaged at every stage.

Learning, evidence, and knowledge management:

You ensure that the organisation's solutions and unique value propositions are captured and framed at the regional level to support external engagement and positioning of the organisation.

Fundraising strategy and donor engagement:

• You oversee fundraising efforts and resource mobilisation strategy for the region (making sure it happens): you keep the overview on funding, sustainability and gaps in the region, in close collaboration with the Regional Operational Director.
• You set fundraising ambitions and regional financial targets in close collaboration with the Regional Operational Director.

Financial sustainability and risk oversight:

• You ensure long-term financial stability of the region through diversified revenue strategies.
• You take responsibility for the region's financial health, legal compliance, and risk management.
• You anticipate risks and opportunities that could affect the region.

External and internal communication:

• You work alongside the regional communication colleague/team, providing guidance for the strategic lines of Rikolto’s external communications in the region, considering local contexts and stakeholders, while staying aligned with global messaging/positioning, as well as for the regional communication planning.
• You set the tone for transparent internal communications.

 3. Governance, Team Leadership & People Management:

Governance:

• You are a member of the Executive Committee (ExCo): You bring a regional perspective to ExCo agendas, to co-decide on global strategic matters, and actively contribute by leading sessions and fostering strong team dynamics.
• You are the chair of the Regional Management Team (RMT): ensuring the functioning and collegiality culture of the RMT, setting agendas, reporting, communicating on outcomes and decisions, and following their implementation across countries.
• You are the primary liaison to the Regional Advisory Board (RAB): setting agendas, facilitating meetings and contributions, and supporting board recruitment, onboarding, and engagement.

Team leadership:

• You lead the work of the Regional Programme Directors, Regional Operations Director, and Country Managers, in alignment with the strategic orientations of the global programme teams: providing guidance and creating an environment that fosters ownership, accountability, and high performance in their roles.

People management:

• You oversee the work of the Regional Programme Directors, Regional Operations, and Country Managers.
• You follow up on your direct reports in terms of functioning & evaluation, learning & development, wellbeing…
• You take an active role in recruiting and onboarding new members to your team (Regional Management Team).

Your profile:

Qualifications, technical knowledge, and experience:

• You have substantial senior leadership experience in an international, mission-driven organisation, with responsibility at regional or multi-country level.
• You have built strong technical credibility through relevant professional experience, giving you a solid understanding of programme management, organisational strategy, and external engagement in an international development context.
• You have a good knowledge of food systems at regional level, and are well connected to relevant private, public and civil society organisations, donors and networks in the region.
• You have proven experience in developing and implementing strategy, including leading organisational change and managing strategic priorities.
• You have good insight into fundraising, financial sustainability, and risk management, and are familiar with financial oversight and accountability in complex organisational settings.
• You have experience working with governance structures, such as boards, advisory bodies, or management committees.

Skills:

• You have strong strategic and systems thinking skills, and can translate vision into clear priorities, decisions, and action.
• You have proven people leadership skills, and can align and empower senior colleagues across countries and functions.
• You communicate clearly and confidently, internally and externally, and are comfortable representing the organisation to key stakeholders.
• You work effectively in multicultural and geographically dispersed teams.
• You speak and write English and French fluently. Knowledge of additional regional languages is an asset.

Attitude:  

• You are deeply aligned with Rikolto’s mission, values, and way of working, and act as a role model for integrity, accountability, and respect.
• You take ownership and responsibility for regional results, financial health, and organisational performance.
• You value collaboration and collegial leadership, and actively foster trust, clarity, and shared responsibility within management teams.
• You are reflective and learning-oriented, open to feedback, and committed to continuous improvement for yourself, your team, and the organisation.
• You are resilient and adaptable, and remain focused and constructive in complex, dynamic, or uncertain contexts.
• You enjoy working across teams and functions to find balanced, pragmatic solutions that serve both organisational priorities and local realities.

How to apply?

Interested candidates, send your motivation letter with CV (in English) to jobs.international@rikolto.org. Deadline for application: 29th of September 2026.‍