Business Advisor
Connected Farmer Alliance Program
I. General Information:
TechnoServe undertakes targeted, catalytic technical assistance
and other programming to increase the competitiveness of entrepreneurs,
businesses and industries that in-turn provide sustainable employment,
inclusion of the poor and increased incomes.
TechnoServe operates in 25 developing countries with over 1,000
employees.
A substantial portion of our work is in agriculture, enhancing
farm productivity and commodity quality and addressing gaps in processing and
other agribusiness capacities.
Our programs increase smallholder access to new technologies,
aggregation and storage mechanisms, markets, critical information and
finance.
TechnoServe also undertakes structured programs to identify and
support high potential entrepreneurs in various sectors through leadership
mentoring networks, formalization support, access to capital and development of
sustainable business services.
II. Primary Purpose & Function:
II. Primary Purpose & Function:
TechnoServe is in the process of securing funding for a $10 million Global Development Alliance (GDA) funded by USAID and Africa’s leading Mobile Network Operator (MNO).
The three-year Connected Farmer Alliance (CFA) will develop and
launch business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C)
mobile solutions that will create market opportunities for smallholder farmers
and improve return on investment for the agribusinesses that source from them,
while unlocking new market opportunities for MNOs in Kenya, Tanzania, and
Mozambique.
The CFA will facilitate access to output and financial markets for 500,000 rural smallholders, nearly 150,000 of whom will be women.
By developing sustainable business models that serve the
interests of a broad range of private sector stakeholders, the CFA will seek to
prove the commercial viability of rural mobile solutions.
By profitably serving rural markets across a representative
cross-section of African information and communication technology (ICT)
industries, the CFA will pave the way for widespread replication of developed
mobile solutions across the sub-continent.
III. Purpose
TechnoServe seeks three world class Business Advisors (BAs) – two in Kenya and one in Tanzania – to lead the provision of services to TechnoServe CFA clients, which will include agribusinesses, government extension agents and lead farmers.
The BAs’ mission is to backstop the management of the program,
train clients on relevant mobile solutions and support Monitoring &
Evaluation (M&E) to document program performance and impact.
IV. Duties & Responsibilities:
1. Project Management
IV. Duties & Responsibilities:
1. Project Management
- Backstop
Country Lead on project work planning, budgeting and stakeholder
engagement
- Enable
accurate and timely reporting to all stakeholders and partners as well as
meet TechnoServe internal processes
- Monitor
program results and achievements and identify lessons learned and areas of
improvement for the CFA and future programming.
- Carry
out country-specific gender analysis to better understand the constraints
facing women’s program participation and their ability to control
program-related benefits
- Maintain
project work plan and activity budget
- Ensure
timeliness and quality of activity implementation
- Actively
participate in regular team meetings to track implementation progress and
share relevant program and administrative data
- Support
the production of narrative and M&E reports by collecting relevant
data for monitoring and evaluation purposes
- Ensure
excellence in execution of all program activities and events
2. Mobile supply chain solutions for rural
smallholder farmers
- Identify
and sign-up partner agribusinesses in each country
- Conduct
needs assessment to determine information flows needed to make smallholder
sourcing
- economically
viable
- Identify
mobile services that meet needs identified by needs assessments
- Identify
technology partners that can help develop solutions; support partners to
develop and test solutions
- Support
agribusinesses on marketing and acquisition
3. Mobile financial services for rural
smallholder farmers
- Identify
and sign-up partner financial institutions in each country
- Conduct
needs assessment to determine financial services requirements of rural men
and women
- smallholders
- Identify
mobile services that meet needs identified by needs assessments
- Identify
technology partners that can help develop solutions; support partners to
develop and test solutions
- Support
financial institutions on marketing and acquisition
4. VAS business support for new services
to smallholders
- Define
Accelerator processes, evaluation criteria, and support systems; launch
and promote to stimulate applicants
- Screen
and select incubated businesses and enter into agreements
- Provide
business support service and facilitate access to finance and market
linkage for selected applicants
5. Capacity Building and Gender
integration into overall project management system and approach
- Contribute
to the design and delivery of training to clients on the use and
management of relevant mobile solutions
- Develop
strategy to encourage women smallholder farmers to adopt mobile services
- Conduct
gender integration training for program stakeholders
- Incorporate
targets for women's participation into work plans and performance
management plans
6. Learning, M&E system operational
- Working
closely with the Regional M&E Manager, collect data on customer usage
of mobile solutions, and impact of services on rural farmers
- Participate
in ongoing M&E reporting, baseline assessment, midterm evaluation and
closeout impact assessment
- Participate
in organizing events in each country to disseminate learnings to private
sector stakeholders on development and launch of commercially viable
mobile solutions that benefit smallholders, including sex-differentiated
understanding of adoption and use
V. Knowledge & Expertise:
- Bachelors
Degree or equivalent title in business administration or related field
work
- 3
years experience in agribusinesses, business, finance, and/or design and
administration of projects
- Deep
knowledge of the local business and technology environment and trends
- Experience
in agribusiness, stakeholder management banking and/or micro finance and
ICT related field Proven ability to develop business plans
- Skills
and experience in M&E and gender integration is an added advantage
- Strong
analytical and problem-solving skills
- Strong
interpersonal skills, excellent oral and written communications
- Self-motivated
person with proven entrepreneurial and leadership skills
Reports to: Country Lead
Position Location: Nairobi, Kenya
To Apply:
Position Location: Nairobi, Kenya
To Apply:
Please submit your application (by email only) to
ke-recruit@tns.org with the position title placed in the subject line.
Please include
(1) cover letter describing your interest,
(2) curriculum vitae,
(3) salary history, and
(4) telephone contacts of three referees (former
supervisors).
Please include all requirements in one document (pdf).
Applications will be treated confidentially.
Deadline for applications is Wednesday 17th October 2012.
Note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.