Background
Founded in 2002, CSM is a Not-for-Profit Organisation that has been an early proponent of business and multi-stakeholder engagement in Climate Action in India. CSM has systematically worked in the field of Climate Change Response, Sustainable Agriculture and Responsible Business conduct by- publishing extensive research, creating learning material, organizing education and awareness activities on climate change, corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices.
Over the past decade CSM has been developing a programmatic approach in these areas and is incubating the Fairtrade India Project for developing sustainable and equitable food and fashion systems in India; working on just transition roadmaps for decarbonisation by textiles sector MSMEs; developing an integrated sustainable value-chain with the tribal community of Andhra Pradesh and undertaking education campaigns related to SDG12, Fairtrade and adoption of sustainable practices by businesses, institutions and citizens. CSM aims to create an eco-system of businesses, farmer organisations, government agencies, institutions and citizens who will champion and mainstream sustainability in India. visit: https://csmworld.org/
CSM under its project for “Developing an integrated sustainable value-chain with the tribal communities of Andhra Pradesh” is supporting the community in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) District and Andhra Pradesh to develop Fairtrade and Organic Certified coffee and spice value chains.
Key Responsibilities
1. Team Management: Effective utlisation of team through systematic project management, developing an Annual, quarterly, Monthly and Weekly plan based on the project deliverables and priorities and rolling out the plan with the team. Develop and manage an everyday plan and schedule the works, guide the team to undertake the planned activities, and report to head office on a daily basis and as per regular reporting requirements.
2. Mobilise farmers and Organize FPOs: Identify farmers and work with the teams to collect their relevant documentation and associated membership fees for joining selected Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). Mobilise and motivate the farmers to join the FPOs. Build capacities of Board of Directors for proper management of FPO, motivate BOD including farmer group to get the benefits of FPO and ensure mobilisation of share capital. Organize need based trainings, awareness sessions to BOD and members of FPO on best practices, governance, certification requirements. Support the establishment of Internal Control Systems (ICS) as per the certification requirements.
3. Develop, manage and organise farmer workshops and trainings- Working with consultants and technical team members, finalise the package of practices and training material for capacity building of farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) through various training techniques ranging from training of trainers, to establishing demo plots, pilots for Good Agricultural Practices and other trainings through classroom, field trainings, and blended training methodologies. Manage the project plan for roll out and scale up of the training activities across farmers. Should maintain relevant registers for conducting trainings, awareness sessions and exchange visits.
4. Manage Certification implementation- Work with experts and consultants to build capacity of the FPOs to have Fairtrade and Organic Certification for their organization. Support on governance, documentation, ICS development, implementation of the certification requirements. Oversee the certification process for the FPOs from pre-audit; to audit to post audit compliances. Developing Training Programs- design training modules and courses that align with NPOP, USDA, and EU NOP organic standards. Train farmers, processors, and handlers on organic and Fairtrade farming principles, processes, and practices in compliance with these standards. Guide producers/farmers including field team through the steps of getting certified under NPOP, USDA, EU organic and Fairtrade standards, helping them navigate paperwork, inspections, and ensure compliance. Prepare farmers/team for organic certification audits and assessments, highlighting common issues and areas of improvement. Train FPO heads/project team on maintaining compliance with organic production regulations, including the use of inputs, labeling, and handling protocols as per NPOP, USDA, and EU standards. Assist in preparing documentation, records, and operations for organic inspections and audits.
5. Support Procurement and Market Linkages: Working with the Commercial and Supply Chain teams of CSM and the FPOs support in organizing and co-ordinating procurement of the major produce i.e. Coffee, spices and millets. Support with the implementation of the traceability and financial reporting/recording frameworks. Ensure the large number of FPO farmer members (targeted 1500 to 2000) should sell through the FPO; strictly follow the procurement standards, maintain proper records, bills, invoices, receipts and registers. Cash transactions should not be encouraged. Ready to explain the details and submit the data / information whenever the line manager asks.
6. Development of processing unit & Value Addition Centres: Support the establishment of a centralised processing unit for the project FPOs. Ensure proper utilization of the machines, and should be useful to all the FPO members. Support the machine usage, raw material, consumables procured and proper recording of purchase and sales data and regular reporting to CSM and FPO.
7. Participate in events, fairs- Participate in the events on behalf of CSM wherever required and should travel as per the requirements of your job profile. Find out the sources for additional trainings and exposure visits through convergence mode to improve the capacity of FPO members and accompany them for exposure visits.
8. Monitoring & Evaluation: Ensure proper M&E through baseline data collection before implementation of the activities, during implementation and after implementation of the activities. Especially demonstrations, trainings, organic agriculture practices. Also collect periodic updates and endline data.
9. Communications & Case studies/success stories: Prepare & develop case studies/success stories by incorporating the data before the project and after the project.
10. Field office management: Proper maintenance of the office, its infrastructure, files, assets and regular coordination with CSM Bangalore office team for updates and requirements.
Qualifications and Skills
• Education: Bachelor's or Master’s degree. Experience in working with community and community based organizations.
• Experience: 5 to 10 years of experience in coordinating and implementing income generating programs, working knowledge of coffee, spices preferably in Visakhapatnam region. Working knowledge on organic certification and its requirements including team management.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage rural communities.
• Experience in Project management, planning and execution of programs.
• Fluent in Telugu
• Able to understand the local requirements of the communities.
• Organizational skills for managing records, compliance, and reporting.
This position is vital for ensuring effective implementation of project delivery, compliance with certification standards, and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by farmers. The Program Lead, AP plays a pivotal role in bridging knowledge gaps and fostering community development.
Application Process:
Please send your resume to info@csmworld.org by the 3rd July 2026. Due to the number of applications it would be difficult to respond to each application individually. However, applicants making to the next stage of selection would be contacted directly.