Strategy Operations Associate

About Us:

Root Capital is a nonprofit whose mission is to grow rural prosperity and build the resilience of farming families around the world. We support the growth of agricultural enterprises so they can transform rural communities. These businesses purchase crops such as coffee, cocoa, or grains from smallholder farmers. With growth, they become engines of impact that can raise incomes, create jobs for the next generation of leaders, level the playing field for women, and take urgent action against climate change.

We supply these businesses with vital credit and capacity building to foster their growth and resilience. We work in hard-to-serve communities where others don’t. To date, we’ve distributed $1.8 billion to improve the lives of over 10 million people in farming families.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Root Capital currently has associated offices in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ghana, and Kenya.

Position Overview:

The Strategy Operations Associate will support Root Capital’s Strategy team in developing, executing, and monitoring our current and future strategic plans. Through knowledge management, content development, and administrative activities, the Strategy Operations Associate will work across the organization to ensure that colleagues on the Client Services and Leadership teams have the tools they need to continue growing the organization.

A successful candidate for this position will be an early-career professional with attention to detail and a commitment to learning. They will be passionate about Root Capital’s mission to grow rural prosperity and build the resilience of farming families around the world. A successful candidate might also have experience in strategic planning or knowledge management processes from another organization.

Responsibilities:

Knowledge Management – 50%

• Maintain a repository of relevant and user-friendly documentation regarding the strategy and learning agenda for Root Capital colleagues
• Coordinate the maintenance of both internal and external departmental resources, which may include presentations, databases, digital libraries, written reports, visual dashboards, or other resources as requested
• Serve as the main point of contact from other teams for data requests related to impact numbers and strategic targets
• Working with Senior Strategy Analyst, provide information related to strategic targets and plans to the External Affairs team during the concept and proposal writing stages of relevant donor engagement
• Support the Senior Strategy Analyst in monitoring progress against the organization-wide learning agenda and in regular goal setting related to the learning agenda
• Occasionally attend webinars and meetings on behalf of other team members and take detailed notes

Strategy Synthesis and Content Development – 20% 

• Conduct desk research and synthesize inputs from internal and external stakeholders on areas of strategic importance
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses, as requested, to support internal questions related to strategic priorities and the learning agenda
• Develop and maintain resources for onboarding internal stakeholders to Root Capital’s strategy

Administrative and Budget Support – 30%

• Support the Chief Strategy Officer in facilitating the setting of goals within the Strategy Department and tracking progress against those goals
• Coordinate Strategy team meetings, assisting with scheduling, setting agendas, note taking, and follow up
• Schedule and support preparation of Strategy team presentations, such as organizational webinars
• Serve as departmental budget manager, conducting monthly budget reviews, highlighting budget variances with team leadership, and collecting inputs for annual planning
• Support Director-level team members with expense reporting and other administrative tasks as needed
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills in English and Spanish; Please specify your level of proficiency in each language in your cover letter or resume.
• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field (Economics, Monitoring & Evaluation, English, Social Sciences, etc.)
• Attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal skills, especially those required for working in an international or cross-cultural environment
• Proven analytical and research skills in an academic or action-oriented environment
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to complete work within established time frames, as well as the ability to prioritize across competing work demands
• Humility and a mindset focused on growth and learning
• Self-starter with ability to flexibly manage multiple tasks in a dynamic and entrepreneurial environment
• Willingness to travel 1-2 times per year
• Service-oriented mindset with the ability to proactively and creatively identify and address program needs
• Commitment to Root Capital’s mission
• Must be authorized to work in Costa Rica, Kenya, or Peru

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Experience in knowledge management or strategic planning
• Experience with Salesforce and/or Tableau
• Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation processes and best practices
• Experience monitoring budgets and project plans

Root Capital provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, active military or veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and breastfeeding and expressing breast milk), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law. Root Capital is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that upholds our leadership principles of accountability, empowerment, equity, integrity, service, and transparency.