Product Lead, LiteFarm

Staff - Non Union

Job Category
M&P - AAPS

Job Profile
AAPS Salaried - Information Systems and Technology, Level E

Job Title
Product Lead, LiteFarm

Department
Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm | Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Compensation Range
$9,572.08 - $14,932.75 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
May 16, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

May 31, 2025

Please include cover letter. This position is a 1 year term position with the possibility of an extension.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Summary
The product leader will drive forward the development of an innovative open-source digital solution for sustainable farm management, and roll the solution out globally. The position will be responsible for forming a strategy to fund, build, and drive global adoption for our open-source web application to help farmers improve sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes of their businesses. This position engages with a network of world leaders in agricultural development, and the opportunity to work alongside real-world farmers to help them solve sustainability problems. The incumbent will be responsible for building and leading a team of developers, designers, open-source community members, and researchers, interfacing directly with founders and building meaningful relationships with funders to sustain the project.  The lead will devise and execute a long-term sustainment strategy to ensure the product continues to be available to farmers in the long term while simultaneously respecting our mandate to build an open source and free solution to improve digital inclusion in agriculture.
Organizational Status
Reports to and works closely with Prof Hannah Wittman. Collaborates with the LiteFarm team, UBC Faculty, national and international partners, working closely with the CSFS staff. Hires and supervises staff, contractors, vendors, student interns and/or Work Learn students.
Work Performed

Primary responsibilities fall within the following major areas: a) vision, partnerships, monitoring and evaluation; b) scaling, strategy, finances, budgeting, grant writing; c) team building and management; d) knowledge management.

a) Develops and communicates product vision and strategy. Manages partnerships with farmer organisations, open-source partners, donors, private sector partners, etc. Translates business needs to technical requirements and develops key performance indicators for the project in order to monitor and evaluate success (e.g. adoption numbers, income impact for farmers, sustainability transitions.)

b) Conducts market research and competitive analysis. Develops short-term and long-term scaling plans and a product road map. Fundraises and leads grant writing. Owns the budget for project operations. Creates, implements, and manages a long-term strategy for sustaining the financial needs of the project. Manages and implements marketing and communication activities.

c) Hires staff, consultants, vendors and student interns and/or Work Learn students. Manages a team of UX/UI designers, software engineers, QA professionals, communications / marketing professionals, the backlog, and day-day work fulfillment. Prioritizes feature development and bug fixes, runs sprints, coordinates QA, and manages user testing. Creates a strategy for and coordinates releases.

d) Creates and circulates appropriate documentation and protocols for successful management of the above.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Failure to fulfill job responsibilities could affect the reputation of CSFS and its future ability to attract funding, researchers, and students to contribute to the centre's academic/research portfolio, jeopardizing the viability of the Centre's core operations and the reputation of the Food, Nutrition & Health Program. 
As the CSFS is seen as an integral component of UBC's Sustainability strategy, the innovation and quality of on-site sustainability research and teaching contributes towards the quality and success of UBC's broader sustainability efforts.

Supervision Received
Reports to and works closely with Prof Hannah Wittman, LiteFarm founders, and the advisory committee. Responsible for devising overall strategy and working with complete latitude within the general policies and administrative framework of UBC and the project. Work is reviewed quarterly in terms of achievement of specific objectives.
Supervision Given
Manages staff, vendors, contractors, students, etc. directly and indirectly through subordinates. Responsible for managing and running the day-to-day workings of the LiteFarm team.
Minimum Qualifications
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
Preferred Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• Undergraduate degree or technical diploma in product management other relevant discipline; MBA preferred
• At least 8 years of related experience in the technology space
• At least 2 years’ experience managing teams to deliver a digital product to market

Skills:

• Proven track record of bringing products to market across different geographies
• Ability to build strategy and develop and deliver on KPIs
• High level of creativity, strategy and industry know-how
• Excellent proof of team management skills – Ability to work independently and within a team environment.  Effective supervisory skills.
• Extremely strong interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills
• Top notch road mapping and organization skills – ability to multitask and prioritize to meet deadlines.
• Solid understanding of design, development and deployment processes for digital