Project Manager – Agribusiness & FPO Development

WATERSHED ORGANISATION TRUST (WOTR)

LOCATION : Dharashiv, Maharashtra

WORK MODE : On-site

EXPERIENCE: 7+ years

About WOTR

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) works towards building the resilience of rural communities by addressing key challenges related to water, agriculture, livelihoods, climate change and rural development. WOTR works with communities, producer institutions, government agencies, development partners and private-sector stakeholders to create sustainable and scalable models for rural development.

To date, WOTR has worked across 10 states, 5,107 villages and impacted 4.95 million people over three decades.

Know more: www.wotr.org

About the Role

WOTR is looking for a Project Manager – Agribusiness & FPO Development to plan, coordinate and manage agribusiness interventions aimed at strengthening Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs/FPCs) as sustainable and market-oriented enterprises.

The role will be responsible for translating project objectives into FPO-specific business plans, market opportunities and implementation plans, and ensuring their effective execution through coordination with FPO management, field teams, buyers, financial institutions, government agencies and other stakeholders.

The Project Manager will work across the FPO business cycle — from commodity and market assessment, crop and business planning, procurement and aggregation, value addition and processing, market linkage, finance mobilisation and business performance monitoring — with a clear focus on improving the commercial sustainability of FPOs.

Key Responsibilities

- Project Planning and Execution

- Develop project-level and FPO-specific annual, quarterly and monthly business and implementation plans aligned with project objectives and FPO business potential.
- Translate project strategies into clear activities, deliverables, timelines and responsibilities for field teams and FPOs.
- Coordinate implementation across FPOs, field teams, technical experts and external stakeholders.
- Track progress against agreed targets, milestones, budgets and business outcomes and initiate corrective actions where required.
- Ensure timely implementation of project activities and achievement of planned outputs and outcomes.

2. FPO Business Development and Sustainability
- Support FPOs to develop and implement commercially viable business plans based on their resources, capacities, commodities and market opportunities.
- Assess the operational and financial performance of FPOs and identify opportunities for improving turnover, margins, profitability and member business.
- Facilitate FPO management in developing systems for procurement, aggregation, inventory management, sales, working capital and business operations.
- Strengthen the capacity of FPO Boards and management teams to make informed business and financial decisions.
- Develop mechanisms for WOTR's engagement with FPOs through service-based, fee-based or other sustainable business models, where appropriate.

3. Market and Commodity Analysis
- Conduct market and commodity analysis covering demand, prices, quality requirements, competition, seasonality, market channels and buyer opportunities.
- Identify commercially viable commodities and business opportunities for individual FPOs and clusters.
- Develop market-led crop and business plans, linking production and aggregation decisions with identified market opportunities.
- Assess opportunities for value addition, processing, branding, retail, institutional sales and exports wherever commercially feasible.
- Establish linkages with private-sector buyers, processors, exporters, retailers and institutional markets.

4. Market Linkages and Business Development
- Facilitate direct engagement between FPOs and market players, particularly around price, quality, volume, delivery schedules and commercial terms.
- Develop and manage buyer relationships and facilitate buyer-seller meetings and business negotiations.
- Support FPOs in developing appropriate procurement and sales strategies.
- Facilitate business agreements,



purchase arrangements and long-term commercial relationships with buyers.
- Support FPOs to improve their negotiation capabilities and market decision-making.

5. Business Plans and Detailed Project Reports
- Lead the preparation of Business Plans, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), feasibility studies and business proposals for FPOs and cluster-level enterprises.
- Assess the technical and financial feasibility of proposed businesses and investments.
- Identify business opportunities that are market-driven, financially viable and aligned with the operational capacity of FPOs.
- Develop financial projections, investment requirements, working-capital requirements, revenue models and profitability assessments.
- Support FPOs in mobilising resources through member share capital, equity support, grants, institutional finance and other appropriate financing mechanisms.

6. Financial and Credit Linkages
- Facilitate linkages between FPOs and banks, financial institutions, government schemes and other financing institutions.
- Support FPOs in developing financing proposals and required documentation.
- Explore convergence opportunities and financing mechanisms for viable FPO businesses and infrastructure.
- Strengthen the financial management capacity of FPO management teams, including budgeting, cash-flow planning and working-capital management.

7. FPO Compliance and Institutional Strengthening
- Support FPOs in addressing statutory, regulatory and operational compliance requirements.
- Facilitate capacity building of FPO Boards and management on governance, compliance, business operations and financial management.
- Strengthen systems for documentation, business records, MIS and statutory reporting.
- Coordinate with relevant statutory authorities, government departments and institutional stakeholders wherever required.

8. Value Chain and Enterprise Development
- Identify opportunities for developing commodity-based value chains and cluster-level enterprises.
- Facilitate feasibility assessment and establishment of collection, aggregation, storage, processing and value-addition infrastructure based on actual business requirements.
- Support product development, branding, packaging and market positioning where commercially viable.
- Identify and develop micro-enterprise opportunities linked to local production, market demand and FPO capacities.
- Facilitate federation or clustering of FPOs at appropriate levels for processing, branding, marketing, aggregation and commodity trading.

9. Incubation and Handholding Support
- Provide structured incubation and handholding support to FPOs during the development and execution of their businesses.
- Support FPOs in areas including input supply, procurement planning, aggregation, quality management, market linkage, credit access, value addition and business operations.
- Develop FPO-specific action plans and monitor their implementation.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and provide timely solutions in coordination with relevant technical and market stakeholders.

10. Stakeholder and Partnership Management
- Build and maintain working relationships with FPOs, buyers, processors, banks, government agencies, technical institutions, private-sector companies and development partners.
- Develop strategic partnerships that contribute to the commercial growth and sustainability of FPOs.
- Represent the project in relevant meetings, business forums, buyer-seller meets and institutional discussions.
- Facilitate collaboration between project teams and external stakeholders for effective project implementation.

11. Project Monitoring, MIS and Reporting
- Establish and maintain systems to monitor FPO business performance, market transactions, turnover,



profitability, procurement, sales, member participation and project indicators.
- Review FPO-wise and project-level progress against approved targets and business plans.
- Analyse data and prepare periodic project and management reports.
- Document business models, learning, case studies and scalable practices.
- Provide regular updates to project leadership and recommend corrective actions based on performance analysis.

12. Cluster Development and Scale-up
- Identify opportunities for developing commodity and FPO clusters based on production potential, market demand and business viability.
- Develop scalable models for aggregation, processing, branding, marketing and trading.
- Explore opportunities for federation of FPOs at cluster, state or national level wherever required for achieving economies of scale.
- Identify successful FPO business models that can be replicated across project geographies.

Key Deliverables

- FPO-wise business and implementation plans.
- Commodity and market opportunity assessments.
- Feasibility studies, DPRs and business proposals.
- Buyer and market linkages leading to actual business transactions.
- FPO-specific procurement and sales plans.
- Credit and financing linkages for viable FPO businesses.
- Business models for processing, value addition and enterprise development.
- Improved FPO business performance, including turnover, margins and profitability.
- Stronger FPO management and governance systems.
- Timely achievement of project milestones and targets.
- Effective project MIS, monitoring and reporting.
- Sustainable models for WOTR's continued engagement with FPOs through appropriate service or business arrangements.

Qualifications

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Rural Management, Rural Development, Business Management or a related discipline.
- MBA/PGDM in Agribusiness, Rural Management or equivalent qualification will be an advantage.

Experience

- 7+ years of relevant experience in agribusiness, agri-marketing, value-chain development, FPO/FPC development, business development and project management
- Experience in working with FPOs, Farmer Producer Companies, farmer institutions or large-scale producer groups.
- Demonstrated experience in project planning and execution, business planning, market linkages, commodity analysis and FPO business development.
- Experience in preparing DPRs/business plans, financial projections and facilitating credit or investment linkages.
- Experience in developing partnerships with private-sector buyers, processors, financial institutions and government agencies will be an advantage.

Essential Skills & Competencies

- Strong project management and execution skills.
- Good understanding of FPO/FPC business operations and governance.
- Strong knowledge of agricultural markets, commodity value chains and pricing.
- Ability to analyse market opportunities and convert them into commercially viable business plans.
- Strong understanding of procurement, aggregation, processing, value addition and market linkage.
- Ability to assess business feasibility and financial viability.
- Strong stakeholder coordination, negotiation and relationship-management skills.
- Ability to work with data, MIS, budgets and business performance indicators.
- Good working knowledge of MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Hindi.
- Knowledge of Marathi will be an advantage.
- Willingness to travel extensively to FPOs and project locations.

What Success in this Role Looks Like

Success in this role will be reflected through effective project execution and measurable improvement in FPO business performance — including stronger market linkages, increased business volumes, improved margins and profitability, better access to finance, viable current business development and stronger FPO management systems.

How to Apply: Send your application to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Project Manager’ and fill the https://forms.gle/hYStr3FNhE7uV6mbA

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