Food Systems and Agri-Tech Senior Advisor, Israel

Focus of the Role

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), we work at the highest levels of government to help leaders go further and faster to make their citizens’ lives better. Moving the dial on the great global challenges of our time requires engaged, incentivised, focused and motivated leaders. When political leadership is relentlessly deployed, at the highest levels, incredible things can be achieved.

Using our distinctive expertise and global outlook and guided by the unique insights and perspective of our Executive Chairman Sir Tony Blair, our dedicated experts and embedded teams advise governments all over the world in strategy, policy and delivery, underpinned by technology.

Our new Global Client Solutions team is at the heart of how we define “what we do” and then distribute the best of the Institute and our networks to global leaders through our country advisory teams.  As a centre of excellence, Global Client Solutions is comprised of our centrally situated global and regional experts – functional and sectoral.  Our experts provide valuable counsel, technical support, thought partnership, strategy, and surge capacity and lead the development and evolution of our solutions, methods, and offers in the service of our partner governments.

Job Introduction

TBI is hiring a Agri-Tech Senior Advisor to respond to increasing demand from partner governments for assistance developing and deploying technological solutions, including digital systems, to deliver agriculture transformation agendas. Ensuring food systems can deliver nutritious, affordable food produced under a cost-efficient but sustainable approach is increasingly at the top of government priorities, as threats to global food systems continue to increase. Scaled deployment of appropriate Agri-technology will be key to delivering the productivity gains needed to feed growing populations. The smallholder farming model is central to the sector in many countries and the introduction of appropriate technologies that will increase yields, decrease costs, and build adaptive capacity to climate change is a pressing need.  Yet many countries lack the capacity, strategy, and tools to identify appropriate Agri-tech solutions and scale their application across the food system. This post will lead TBI’s broader offer, solutions and partnerships on future food systems and Agri-technology.

The Food Systems and Agri-Tech Senior Advisor will report to the Head, Agri-Food in GCS and lead the evolution of our growing offer, solutions, and partnerships on Agri-technology for future food systems. Our work in this area ranges from the development of tailored Agri-technology strategies for government partners across Africa, support the establishment of central agricultural data-hubs, manage strategic partnerships (including with Israel’s Volcani International Partnerships) to facilitate the strategic problem-solving and the transfer of supportive Agri-technology.

To successfully deliver your remit, you will need to work collaboratively across the Institute. You will work closely with our Agri-Food Sector Practice, with our Agri-Food Community of Practice (around 40 Advisors working on agriculture, embedded in government ministries), with staff in the Digital and Technology Transformation team in GCS, and with sector practice leads on energy and climate or other sectors which enhance a multisectoral approach to key challenges faced by senior political leaders. Also working closely with our global Tech and Public Policy Team, providing a unique opportunity to close the gap between progressive policy, thought leadership and hands-on implementation.

The position is full-time and starts as soon as possible on the identification of a suitable candidate. You must have the full right to reside and work in the country you are applying for. UK or Israel.

Key Responsibilities

• Agri-tech Scoping: In countries where governments are demanding TBI support on agriculture and food, bring an Agri-tech lens to our overall holistic offering in this sector and establish a preliminary list of transformative Agri-tech opportunities in line with governmental and presidential priorities and transformation agenda. Where relevant, conduct analyses of existing Agri-tech initiatives, as well as current players in the sector and areas of implementation

• Mainstreaming tech into our agriculture and food offering: Work closely with our central Agri-Food Sector anchor team and our Agri-Food Community of Practice to enhance our agriculture and food offering, which is currently based on delivery, policy, strategy and investment support, with Agri-tech solutions. Our goal is for TBI to have one agri-food offering to governments that includes appropriate, optimised Agri-tech solutions tailored to country and value-chain challenges.

• Feasibility Assessments: Assess the short and long-term feasibility of identified agri-tech opportunities taking into account TBI’s holistic agri-food offer to the Government and issues such as infrastructure, skills, policy and regulatory frameworks, funding and other enabling factors required for the successful rollout of each opportunity.

• Partnership Identification: Identify partnership opportunities with stakeholders with capacity to support product/solution development, infrastructure establishment or enabling factors around scoped agri-tech opportunities. Develop relationships with key partners, with a specific focus on national and regional actors. 

• Initiative Proposal and Delivery Plan: Based on the identified Agri-Tech opportunities, work with country teams to develop initiative delivery plans, including high level timelines for implementation, milestones, as well as risks and challenges to implementation.
   
• Implementation: Provide technical expertise to Agri-tech initiatives, including assessments of legislative and policy frameworks, evaluation of hard and soft infrastructure, and human capital development.

• Trend analysis: identify emerging trends and opportunities for appropriate Agri-tech deployment and scaling within key geographies, keeping the Agri-Food Sector anchor team, Agri-Food Community of Practice and Digital and Technology Transformation Team updated and appraised.

• Publication and thought-leadership: develop thought-leadership and progress pieces, Op-Eds and articles to socialise and promote TBI’s work on Agri-tech. 

• Recruitment: Support Country Heads and Heads of Tech with the recruitment of required technical and programme management expertise to support Agri-tech delivery

• Reporting: Regularly inform TBI country-level advisors, Agri-Food Sector anchor team, Agri-Food Community of Practice and Digital and Technology Transformation colleagues, of progress through reporting and engagement sessions, and proactively escalate issues for further support as needed

Person Specification

We are looking for an experienced candidate:

• Broad and comprehensive relevant experience in agricultural technology consulting or government advisory.
• Demonstrable interest in agriculture and food systems and awareness of key issues facing the sector in low- and middle-income countries, with a strong interest in building their skill set within food systems and Agri-technology.
• Experience in and understands public service and government functional priorities and challenges in upper and middle income economies, with experience in Africa, Eastern Europe, Americas and/or Asia.
• Demonstrable experience in technology enterprises related to agriculture.
• Strategic, entrepreneurial, pragmatically optimistic and can challenge the status-quo and develop plans for successful delivery of challenging, ambitious objectives.
• A strong consulting toolkit, enabling them to explain complex topics in simple terms, develop polished client-facing deliverables, and helpful frameworks and tools to scale expert advice to teams.
• A track record of cultivating and maintaining strategic alliances and partnerships across public, social, and private sector organisations.
• Skilled communicator and influencer, from executive office level through to technical level, and is adept at speaking to senior leadership.
• Who is adept at navigating ambiguous environments and comfortable in a rapid growth environment, and able to manage up and beyond hierarchy.
• Comfortable speaking in public forums and representing the institute on the global stage.
• Who has worked or consulted in a range developing and emerging economies and is sensitive to a diverse range of cultural and regional norms and fosters a positive spirit of collaboration.
• Who commits to business objectives and pulls out the stops to make sure they are always met.
• Comfortable to travel about 20- 30% of the time to global locations.

The following is also desirable:

• Experience in Agri-tech strategy delivery/end-to-end delivery of Agri-tech products or services within government or private sector.
• Experience winning investment for large-scale Agri-tech projects from public or private sources.
• Experience engaging or working on public policy as an enabler of Agri-tech transformation (e.g. environmental land management; agricultural digitisation).
• Fluency in English is essential (oral and written), French or Hebrew would be a plus but not essential.

Please note that due to the upcoming holiday period we will not be able to advise on the success of your application until January 2023.
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About The Institute

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people  

We do this within two connected divisions: 

 Government Advisory 

Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It works with a variety of partners and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia.

 Policy Futures 

Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas: 

• Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics; 
• Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and 
• Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world. 

As an organisation, the core beliefs we all embrace are: 

• Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork 
• Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity 
• Optimistic Changemaker: you’ll be focused on results 

TBI believes embracing diversity and inclusion make us a better place to work.  It’s our goal to reflect everyone in society and we actively welcome applications from individuals and groups who are under-represented in the workplace. We celebrate difference be it ethnicity, religion, age, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. We will only ever assess you on your abilities and fit for a role. We’re happy to discuss any adjustments you need to ensure a level playing field during recruitment and, if you\'re successful, discuss any adjustments you might need to thrive in your role.