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Recruitment of a Youth Entrepreneurship Specialist – “Enhancing MSMEs and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Support in Rwanda Agriculture and Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) Sectors project” |
About Access to Finance Rwanda:
Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR) is a Rwandan not for profit company established in 2010 to promote financial inclusion and financial sector development. AFR is currently funded by Sweden, Jersey Overseas Aid, and the MasterCard Foundation.
AFR is part of the broader Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) network in Africa that seeks to create a transformative impact on ending poverty by supporting efforts to improve financial inclusion and financial sector development through helping policy makers, regulators, financial service providers and markets drive a more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
AFR supports the removal of systemic barriers that hinder access to and use of financial services by low-income people, particularly the rural poor, women, youth and MSMEs, and supports the development and provision of financial services including savings, credit, insurance, investment, payments, and remittances. AFR is a gender-intentional organization, having mainstreamed gender across all programming.
AFR is guided by the Market System Development (MSD) approach recognising that efforts to increase financial inclusion and financial sector development must be market-led, profitable and sustainable. For more details visit our website: (www.afr.rw).
Access to Finance Rwanda seeks to recruit a Youth Entrepreneurship Specialist for its upcoming project “Enhancing MSMEs and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Support in Rwanda Agriculture and Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) Sectors”.
About the project – Enhancing MSMEs and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Support in Rwanda Agriculture and Tourism and Hospitality Sectors
MSMEs in productive/growth sectors, including those in Agriculture and Tourism & Hospitality sectors, play a critical role in driving inclusive growth and employment. However, they continue to face multiple challenges including low business management capabilities, limited tailored and sustainable business development services, limited access to appropriate financial solutions, and gaps in regulations and policies promoting SMEs access to finance. Such constraints hinder the potential for economic growth and job creation including for youth and women-led MSMEs, which face specific constraints.
To better address these and in line with its Phase III strategy, AFR, in collaboration with key stakeholders, will continue its journey towards addressing the root causes to access to and use of financial solutions for MSMEs in Rwanda through the “Enhancing MSMEs and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Support in Rwanda Agriculture and Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) Sectors” project. The project seeks to support Agriculture and T&H enterprise development and growth for improved opportunities for youth to engage in dignified and fulfilling work with a focus on young women and other disadvantaged youth (persons with disabilities, refugees, and youth in rural areas).
The project will mainly focus on the following interventions:
- Implementing commercial MSME Finance Readiness Support also known as “Terimbere SME Village”
This intervention seeks to strengthen MSMEs’ capabilities to overcome gaps in financial management practices, sound business management procedures and practices, business growth skills and information asymmetry by enhancing technical, managerial, market knowledge, financial and non-financial capacity to prepare them for appropriate financing and growth opportunities.
- MSME ecosystem strengthening
This intervention seeks to support a conducive environment to unlock MSME finance for growth and jobs through advocacy for favorable policy and regulatory environment, strengthening the capacity of Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) to effectively serve MSMEs; leveraging research and data analytics to catalyze innovation and promoting the coordination within the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
In line with AFR’s gender-intentional strategy, this project will explicitly ensure that gender is integrated into all interventions. Ensuring that young women can benefit from the growth of the MSME sector is a key priority outcome of this project. In order to ensure this, AFR seeks a Gender Specialist to drive the mainstreaming of gender within this project, in collaboration with other AFR staff.
Scope of Responsibilities
The Youth Entrepreneurship Specialist is responsible for youth impact of the project (day-to-day activities to ensure outreach and outcomes) and provides technical and project management support to youth entrepreneurship and social inclusion mainstreaming across the programme management cycle from design, implementation and monitoring and learning to intentionally ensure positive results for SMEs owned by youth in general, young women, refugees, PWDs and other marginalized groups.
This position will be based in Kigali, Rwanda, and is contingent upon project award to AFR.
Reporting line: The position reports to the Senior Program Manager Terimbere SME Financing Support Facility”
Supervises: None.
Location: Kigali, Rwanda.
Duration of the contract: Two years renewable based on performance.
Expected starting date: August 2023.
The Youth Entrepreneurship Specialist will be responsible for the following key tasks in relation to Enhancing MSMEs and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Support in Rwanda Agriculture and Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) Sectors:
- Oversee activities that engage youth and create incentives for them to enter agricultural and Tourism and Hospitality markets.
- Lead, coordinate, support, and/or conduct youth entrepreneurship analysis, effectiveness and efficacy studies, appraisal, evaluation and needs assessments as required by the project.
- Work with local agribusinesses; tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs, universities; and other market actors to support job opportunities for youth in the agribusiness and tourism and hospitality sector.
- Design training, mentoring, linkages to support services, grant packages, and other tools to increase youth entrepreneurship.
- Oversee activities to improve vocational, technical, and business skills among youth.
- Build the capacity of business development service providers to provide quality, demand-driven services to micro, small, and medium agricultural and tourism and hospitality enterprises with a focus on youth.
- Support in developing appropriate financial tools and opportunities for youth to participate in agriculture and tourism and hospitality markets.
- Support other teams to determine appropriate activities to support young women’s participation in agriculture and tourism and hospitality markets.
- Serve as a youth champion within the project team.
- Communicate and coordinate regularly with AFR project staff.
- Contribute to project activity planning, reporting, data analysis, and budgets as requested.
- Represent work being done in Youth-transformation and youth’s economic empowerment under the Program in relevant internal and external forums.
- Other duties as assigned by Senior Program Manager.
Educational Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in social studies, Economics, Development Studies or similar discipline with thorough knowledge of youth Social Inclusiveness.
- Master’s degree is preferred.
Experience and technical skills
- 3 – 5 years of working experience in a national or international development organization in a related position.
- Minimum of five years of solid experience in development work implementing youth activities planning.
- Ability to work in a team, including providing strategic inputs and effectively contributing to joint planning and implementation of program activities.
- Familiar with the youth related development issues in the East Africa region particularly in Kenya and Rwanda.
- Proven experience on being well organized, attentive to details, and use concise, persuasive writing.
- Strong background in planning, developing, and executing participatory multi-stakeholder capacity building on youth inclusion.
- Excellent writing, analytical and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks and set priorities to meet deadlines.
- Proficiency in written and spoken English and Kinyarwanda.
- Preferably having practical work experience in Sub Saharan Africa on SME development
- Good background in community development, finance development and strong experience in handling youth concerns in project implementation.
Attitude/ competences
- Strong background in planning, developing, and executing participatory multi-stakeholder capacity building on youth entrepreneurship.
- Strong ability to work in a team.
- Good organizing skills and interpersonal skills.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should send their both combined cover letter and well-detailed CV no later than 21st June 2023 at 5pm via the apply button below.
The application should contain a Resume with an e-mail address, daytime telephone contact, qualifications, achievements, experience, and names & addresses of three professional referees, together with a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) summarizing why you consider yourself particularly well suited for the position. Do not attach any other documents at this point. All applications will be selected on merit and only shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews. For any questions regarding the application process, please contact hr@jobinrwanda.com
Note:
- This position is open to national candidates only.
- Qualified women candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
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