Airen Lugt

YEP period 2020 - 2022, batch 19

Young Expert at Beyond Beans - Ghana

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First position after YEP

Looking for a job in the agrofood sector

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YEP Role

As Project Manager Monitoring and Evaluation for the Beyond Beans Foundation, I am responsible for monitoring and evaluation efforts in support of our sustainability projects and certification trajectories in the cocoa supply chain. I execute and upscale project Monitoring & Evaluation activities in close cooperation with our partners and farmer cooperatives. My focus is on Ghana, where I am building and leading a field and office team in data collection and analysis, but I also support project implementation in other West African countries where Beyond Beans is active.

My work revolves mainly around the digitalization of our M&E activities. This includes, among others, piloting and upscaling of innovative digital data collection and monitoring tools across the supply chain in West Africa, including geospatial data; designing, piloting, and upscaling of different data collection schemes; and, development/revision of analytical tools. Furthermore, I am responsible for the development of digital cocoa traceability and digital payment programs in Ghana, in close collaboration with our local partners and farmer cooperatives.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Project, process, and team management

Design & systems thinking

Critical and analytical thinking

Capacity building

Intercultural communication

Helicopter view

 

Background

Nationality: Dutch

Education:

• BSc Forest and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Minor: Communication. Thesis: Rent-seeking in forest and nature conservation
• MSc Forest and Nature Conservation – Policy and Management, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Minor: Finance & Environmental Economics. Thesis: The effect of the discussion on land grabbing on investment decision making in Sustainable Forest Management

 

Experience before YEP

• 2014 - 2018: Triodos Bank - Portfolio Administrator for renewable energy and microfinance funds, and subsequently, Portfolio and Risk manager of renewable energy projects
• 2018 – 2019: International Labour Organization (ILO) & Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO): research and discussion reports on the state of the work in the forestry sector, worldwide and in the UNECE region

            (Please also see my LinkedIn profile)