Job Title: Business Advisor
Supervisor: Senior Business Advisor
Grade: 7
Period: May – Dec 2024
About TechnoServe
Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.
The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing…when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.
Position Description:
Reporting to the Senior Business Advisor, the Business Advisor (BA) will work closely with the project team in Kenya, as well as team members from the Global Entrepreneurship team. The role will directly coordinate project operations in Rwanda. Over an initial (extendable) eight month period, the primary role of the is to implement our Technical Assistance (TA) approach for Agri-SME which aims to revolutionise the way TA is delivered to Agri- SMEs in Africa. Our aim is two-fold. First, to revolutionise the way technical assistance is delivered to Agri-SMEs in Africa and secondly, build the capacity of SMEs to enhance their ability to attract commercial capital. The role holder will be responsible for activity implementation and in-country reporting.
Program Overview:
In partnership with Aceli Africa, TechnoServe is implementing the Growth and Investment Program designed to deliver a partially virtual training programme tailored to the needs of small and medium scale agribusinesses (Agri-SMEs) in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Program aims to enhance the ability of participating Agi-SMEs to improve their internal and external structures and capability to attract commercial funding. The project targets Agri-SMEs with $150,000 – $500,000 in annual turnover, SMEs with an existing growth strategy, and/or those with 7 – 25 employees. The program’s sub-objectives include: developing customised training content specific to the needs of Agri-SMEs, monitoring, evaluation, and learning for decision support and learning. The project has been in operation since 2021 and is currently providing technical assistance to a fourth cohort with prospects of additional trainee cohorts in future.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities:
- Program Implementation:
- Support the identification, profiling and recruitment of Agri-SMEs in Rwanda.
- Support the on boarding process of the Agri-SMEs into the Growth and Investment program,
- Create and manage synergies across TechnoServe’s portfolio to create holistic TA support for the SMEs
- Provide personalised support/advisory to the Agri-SMEs during the program implementation and ensure they complete program based activities on time.
- Support planning and organising the Growth and Investment Pitching sessions which includes identification and recruitment of investors and supporting the Agri-SMEs to develop their pitching decks.
- Continuously monitor and engage strategic partners for TA, business development, and collaborations
- Capacity Development:
- During Cohort four, the BA will provide technical assistance through training, group and individual coaching and mentorship of the recruited Agri-SMEs on areas relevant to a growing business. Focus will be on typical business challenges and company priorities around generating top-line growth, addressing operations/management inefficiencies, accessing finance, market development/ customer acquisition & retention.
- Support management of the project WhatsApp group to provide support, answer questions and share information of interest and promote networking
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL):
- Track and monitor the real-time analytics of Agri-SMEs progress on the various program based activities in order to ensure timely implementation of the program as per the work plan.
- The BA will work on integrating follow-up surveys after delivery of content to assess adoption and uptake and collect information from Agri-SMEs related to training outcomes.
- The BA will support the program quality surveys by contacting the registration (baseline), module satisfaction and end line surveys.
- The BA will periodically develop updates and reports to the supervisor and the donor. The collected data will be used as input for a joint workshop that will look at how to incorporate our lessons learned to further optimise our approach for scale-up. The BA/ABA, in collaboration with Aceli and other stakeholders, will co-author a report for publication.
Basic Qualifications:
These are the requirements that any qualified candidate must meet. Typically includes
- A Bachelor’s Degree in economics, business or a related field is an advantage
- At least 5 years of relevant work experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Strong background advising and coaching agri- SMEs in Rwanda is highly desirable
- Proven analytical and modelling skills
- Demonstrated ability to gather data (through desk research and interviews) and synthesise large amounts of information to provide a cohesive assessment of opportunities and constraints within a market
- Demonstrated leadership skills, teamwork and relationship building
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Strong computer skills, including advanced skills in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel
- Able to work independently, flexibly and responsively to deliver high-quality deliverables
- Able to adapt to changing working conditions
- Able to prioritize and meet deadlines
- Strong background in agriculture, economics, business and strategy development.
- Ability to communicate in English. Kinyarwanda and Swahili an added advantage.
Success Factors
Competency is a combination of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) directly related to successful performance on the job.
Core Competencies include:
- Integrity and honesty: Is widely trusted; seen as a direct, truthful individual; presents truthful information in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidence; admits mistakes; does not misrepresent himself or herself for personal gain.
- Teamwork/ Relationships: Works cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team with a full understanding of the role to be played as a team member and/or leader, to achieve a common goal. Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.
- Learning attitude: Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn. Actively identifies new areas for learning; applies and shares new knowledge and skill appropriately.
- Diversity/Inclusiveness: Demonstrates an understanding and appreciation for diversity and supports diversity efforts. Interacts effectively with and inclusively with people of all races, cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, ages, and genders.
- Communication: Expresses ideas effectively in individual and group situations. Listens effectively; shares information, ideas and arguments; adjusts terminology, language and communication modes to the needs of the audience; ensures accurate understanding; acts in a way that facilitates open exchange of ideas and information; uses appropriate non-verbal communication.
- Decision making/Problem Solving: Is able to analyse situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical and acceptable solution. Is able to make effective decisions on a day-to-day basis, taking ownership of decisions, demonstrating sound judgement in escalating issues where necessary.
- Results Oriented/ High Quality Deliverables: Stays focused on the efforts necessary to achieve quality results consistent with programmatic or departmental goals. Demonstrates the ability to achieve effective results; works persistently to overcome obstacles to goal achievement. Accomplishes tasks by considering all areas involved, no matter how small; showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and tasks.
- Planning & Time Management: Establishes a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal. Effectively plans, schedules, prioritises and controls activities; identifies, integrates and orchestrates resources (people, material, information, budget, and/or time) to accomplish goals. Prioritises work according to the program or department’s goals, not just own job responsibilities; manages own time effectively.
- Business Acumen: The ability to use information, ask the right questions and take decisions that make an impact on the overall business performance.
Job Specific/Technical Competencies include:
- Innovative Mindset: Curious inquiries, asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources, learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.
- Computer Literacy: Demonstrates knowledge and ability to use specific computer programs or applications for own functional area. Has the ability to improve performance by integrating new and existing technology into the workplace.
- Compliance & Governance: Compliance with and knowledge of company policies, applicable legislation, grant requirements, donor contracts, the local labour code and tax laws.
- Internal Client Focus: Client Focus is based on the ability to understand the client’s needs and concerns in the short to long-term and to provide sound recommendations and/or solutions.
We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply here before May 26th, 2024.
With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, colour, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.
We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.
If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.
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