Career - Head of Program - Bamboo Village Trust

Head of Program

JOB ROLE

The Head of Program leads the strategic design, coordination, and execution of BVT’s programmatic portfolio across multiple countries and flagship initiatives. This includes managing the phased development of Bamboo Villages—from early convening to Social Forestry Asset Activation—while ensuring internal teams, partners, and funders are aligned and supported throughout.

The ideal candidate brings both a strong forestry or agroforestry background and a systems-thinking approach, capable of translating complex restoration models into practical steps, supporting capacity across diverse contexts, and delivering tangible outcomes at scale.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Required Qualifications

At least 10 years of leadership experience in forestry, agroforestry, social forestry, or community-driven rural development.
Proven ability to manage multi-country, multi-stakeholder portfolios in dynamic or emerging contexts.
Strong systems orientation with the ability to balance field-level needs and strategic goals.
Deep understanding of land-based restoration, tenure dynamics, and rural enterprise development.
Experience working with diverse stakeholders including NGOs, CSOs, local authorities, and donors.
Fluency in English and strong communication skills, especially in translating technical models into practical guidance.

Preferred

Experience working in regions across the Equatorial Belt: e.g., Southeast Asia, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America.
Familiarity with cooperative models, blended finance, or pre-carbon development stages.
Competence with digital collaboration and project management tools (e.g. Asana, MS Teams).

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Program Design & Oversight
- Lead the evolution and implementation of the Bamboo Village model across different regions and partner contexts.
- Oversee progress through key phases: Convening → Champion Activation → Cooperative Activation → Social Forestry Asset Activation.
- Ensure all program elements—nurseries, cooperatives, land access, gender inclusion, and local systems—work together toward long-term viability and scaling.
Portfolio Leadership Across the Equatorial Belt
- Manage implementation across multiple countries, landscapes, and flagship initiatives under BVT’s portfolio.
- Coordinate delivery readiness and issue resolution in collaboration with internal departments and partners.
- Ensure the program adapts effectively to local ecological, social, and policy conditions.
Translation of Complexity into Clarity
One of the Head of Program’s most vital contributions is enabling the BVT model to be understood, trusted, and operationalized by both internal staff and Backbone Landscape Partners (BBLPs), regardless of their starting capacity or context. This means turning complex, multi-layered program logic into clear, actionable, and locally relevant guidance.
- Deconstruct the BVT model into digestible components—phases, enabling conditions, roles, deliverables—so that each team and partner knows what success looks like at each step.
- Facilitate structured onboarding for new BBLPs and internal hires by translating strategy into orientation decks, field guides, and timeline templates that clarify the “why,” “what,” and “how.”
- Create practical delivery tools including:
  - Phase-by-phase playbooks with checklists and expected outputs
  - Simple milestone maps with delivery gates and risk flags
  - Templates for local adaptation of cooperative formation, nursery design, and phase readiness
  - Strategic guidance notes explaining key concepts (e.g., what “Social Forestry Asset Activation” looks like in practice)
- Lead decision-making readiness by preparing clear issue briefs and strategic options when field teams or BBLPs encounter roadblocks.
- Collaborate closely with MEL and Communications to harmonize messaging, ensuring that all tools and communications are aligned across program logic, reporting, and storytelling.
Objective:
All program actors—from BBLPs to internal coordinators—can understand the journey, see how their work contributes to the broader system, and act with clarity and confidence at every phase.
Collaboration with MEL & Theory of Change
- Work closely with the MEL Manager to embed the Theory of Change into planning, execution, and learning cycles.
- Guide the identification of key outcomes, indicators, and feedback loops to support adaptive management.
- Co-lead program review cycles to support continuous improvement and cross-team learning.
Team Management & Internal Coordination
- Supervise Program Managers, Technical Coordinators, and regional project teams.
- Lead planning, milestone tracking, and cross-functional alignment (with MEL, Communications, Operations, etc.)
- Strengthen internal capacities through coaching, knowledge-sharing, and systems improvement.
Strategic Integration & Organizational Contribution
- Ensure all programs reflect BVT’s priorities: climate resilience, ecological restoration, gender equity, cooperative enterprise, and inclusive financing.
- Contribute to funder engagement, strategic narratives, and program positioning in collaboration with leadership and the Resource Mobilization team.

Join our Team

The Bamboo Village Trust (BVT) is a groundbreaking initiative with a vision to restore degraded land and nurture sustainable livelihoods across the tropics and subtropics by developing Bamboo Villages. These are community-centric bamboo agroforestry endeavors that emphasize the rejuvenation of soils, ecosystems, and rural economies. The BVT, in collaboration with strategic partners, is on a mission to establish 200 Bamboo Villages globally by 2030.