Manager

About ACCESS

ACCESS Development Services is a global catalyst to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. By accelerating collaborative action with global, regional, and local stakeholders, ACCESS is driving financial resilience and security as key outcomes. Set-up in March 2006, ACCESS is structured uniquely to build evidence, create models and align thought leadership in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations, Governments, Private Sector, Donors and Multilateral/Bilateral Agencies. ACCESS has built strong competencies over the years by building a community of practice around inclusive finance, generating evidence, convening regional and global programmes, supporting thought leadership and building a professional team.

Position Summary:

The position will provide structured incubation and acceleration support to FPOs, enabling them to transition from formation and compliance to viable, professionally managed Agri-enterprises with proven business models, access to working capital, strong market linkages, and the capacity to sustain operations beyond project support. The role will support the development of designated FPOs, including those receiving grants under the GAP Fund, with the objective of developing them as Model FPOs.

Responsibilities:

Incubation — building the business foundation

• Diagnose the maturity of each FPO across governance, membership, business operations, compliance, and financial health, using a standard assessment framework; classify FPOs into incubation and acceleration cohorts.
• Facilitate the preparation of realistic business plans and annual operating plans with FPO Boards and CEOs — commodity selection, volume projections, margin assumptions, break-even analysis, and working-capital requirements.
• Set up basic business systems: procurement and sales protocols, inventory and quality norms, member-wise transaction records, MIS, book-keeping, and statutory compliance calendars.
• Strengthen governance — Board orientation, sub-committee functioning, AGMs, membership engagement, share capital mobilisation, and transparent decision-making.
• Handhold FPO CEOs and managers as a coach with clear milestones and a defined exit path from handholding.

Acceleration — growth, markets, and capital

• Identify and negotiate market linkages for cohort FPOs: institutional buyers, processors, exporters, e-NAM and mandi channels, retail and e-commerce, and value-added product lines including organic and agroecology-certified produce.
• Build investment and credit readiness — bankable proposals, working-capital and term-loan applications, and access to Equity Grant, Credit Guarantee, NABARD/NCDC/SFAC schemes, AIF and other blended-finance instruments.
• Support licensing, certification and branding where relevant: FSSAI, GST, seed and fertiliser licences, organic and participatory guarantee system certification, packaging and market positioning.
• Design and run cohort-based accelerator activities — bootcamps, buyer-seller meets, exposure visits, peer-learning platforms
• Track unit economics and business performance of each FPO — turnover, margin, member participation, credit repayment — and intervene where trends deteriorate.

Capacity building, knowledge and systems

• Develop and refine the incubation and acceleration toolkit — assessment tools, business plan templates, training modules, SOPs, dashboards, and graduation criteria for FPO maturity stages.
• Train and mentor ACCESS field staff, cluster coordinators, resource agencies, and grantee teams so that incubation quality does not depend on a single person.
• Document case studies, business models, failures and lessons; contribute to proposals, donor reports, CSR reviews, and ACCESS’s national knowledge platforms and events.

Education & Experience:

• Postgraduate degree in agri-business management, rural management, agriculture or allied sciences, management, development studies, or economics. Graduates of institutions such as IRMA, IIM/IIFM, MANAGE, XIMB, TISS, or the agricultural universities are particularly encouraged to apply.
• An MBA or a finance-oriented qualification alongside an agriculture or rural background is an advantage.

Experience:

• 8-12 years of relevant experience in FPO management
• Demonstrable hands-on experience of promoting, incubating or turning around FPOs, producer companies, or cooperatives — with specific, verifiable examples of business growth achieved.
• Practical exposure to at least two of: Agri value chain development, Agri-marketing and buyer negotiation, Agri-finance and credit facilitation, food processing and value addition, or certification and quality systems.
• Experience of running or supporting an incubator, accelerator, or challenge fund portfolio will be valued highly.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong business and financial acumen – able to read an FPO balance sheet, build a cash-flow projection, and challenge unrealistic assumptions.
• Solid writing skills in English for proposals, reports and case documentation; working fluency in Hindi and preferably one other regional language relevant to the project geographies.
• Proficiency in Excel and MIS tools; comfort with digital platforms used by FPOs.
• Self-driven, able to work with minimal supervision across dispersed teams, and willing to travel to remote locations and stay in modest field conditions.
• Commitment to smallholder livelihoods, gender equity and social inclusion.

Key Deliverables in the First Year:

• An agreed incubation and acceleration framework, with maturity-stage criteria, adopted across the FPO programme and the GAP Fund portfolio.
• Business plans in place and under implementation for the identified cohort of FPOs.
• A defined number of FPOs achieving measurable turnover growth, first-time credit access, or new institutional market linkages.
• Grantee support and milestone review systems running to the fund’s reporting cycle, with technical inputs delivered on time to IFAD-facing processes.
• A trained internal team.

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