Program / Department
Summary: Mercy Corps has been
operational in Kenya since 2007 and currently implements programs in Rift
Valley, Central and Wajir districts with funding from USAID, Gates Foundation,
ICDF and private Horn of Africa drought response funds.
Mercy Corps’ efforts
are focused on supporting youth so they have a voice and opportunities for
growth. We are also helping drought affected communities recover and be more
resilient.
Social Venture Customer Development Internship - Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: The Social Venture Team has three phases (assess, prove and scale) for ideas that receive grant funding from the Social Venture Fund and can become a sustainable social business.
Each phase must meet
certain criteria to be eligible for the next phase with the ultimate aim of
spinning the business off on its own as a successful social business.
The team is in the
early stages of the assess phase testing a youth employment social enterprise
of an online and mobile marketplace for short term and repetitive jobs.
The aim of this
marketplace is expand the networks of youth to allow youth to become more
productive and hire additional staff to meet growing needs as well as stimulate
job creation for new services to capture latent demand by the growing lower to
middle class.
This business
functions both via mobile and web, leveraging SMS and mobile payments to link
youth to individual employers for specific jobs followed up by individual
reviews.
You will be a part of
a cross-functional team working on new products development, in a startup-like
environment, following Lean Startup methodology.
You’ll bridge
technical and business worlds as you participate in the design of new products
using rapid, customer-focused iterations. You will also take part in
brainstorming, evaluation and development of ideas gathered through internal
company innovation pipeline.
The intern(s) will support and participate in the work of the social business.
Areas of focus may
include:
1. Supporting program
in recruiting customers and validating profiles.
2. Supporting field
tests and interviews documenting key learnings and summaries.
3. Supporting business
team in developing business models and measuring key metrics.
Learning Objectives:
During the internship
you will have a chance to get familiarized with following concepts
- Lean
Startup
- Customer
Development
- Business
model design and prototyping using business model canvas.
- Idea
brainstorming,
- Idea
evaluation
- Marketing
research
Deliverables:
The Intern will
support the team through the following activities:
1. Support the design
of monitoring and database indicators, forms, and tools of data collection
instruments.
2. Work with team to
organize, summarize and utilize data and data findings.
3. Assist in
preparation, participate and coordinate pilot development, business product
development, and trainings.
4. Supporting program
team in incorporating social media into business.
Ideal candidate should possess the following qualifications:
- Last
year students with strong interest in entrepreneurship and new emerging
technologies.
- Excellent
organizational and analytical skills with strong technical abilities
- Excellent
written and oral communication skills
The following skills will be considered as advantage:
- Programming
- Experience
with Agile Software Development
- Experience
developing Internet products and technologies
- Experience
with Google analytics or similar analytics tool
- Online
and social marketing
Mercy Corps interns and volunteers represent the agency both
during and outside of work hours and are expected to conduct themselves in a
professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies,
procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Social Venture Junior Consultant - Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: The
Social Venture Team has three phases (assess, prove and scale) for ideas that
receive grant funding from the Social Venture Fund and can become a sustainable
social business.
Each phase must meet certain
criteria to be eligible for the next phase with the ultimate aim of spinning
the business off on its own as a successful social business.
The team is in the early stages of
the assess phase testing a youth employment social enterprise of an online and
mobile marketplace for short term and repetitive jobs.
The aim of this marketplace is expand
the networks of youth to allow youth to become more productive and hire
additional staff to meet growing needs as well as stimulate job creation for
new services to capture latent demand by the growing lower to middle
class.
This business functions both via
mobile and web, leveraging SMS and mobile payments to link youth to individual
employers for specific jobs followed up by individual reviews.
Purpose / Project Description: Working
with the Social Venture Consultant, an entrepreneurial minded consultant is
needed to help support the assess phase of this business concept.
This consultant will help coordinate
field tests, collect and organize information, design and build tools and forms
to manage dashboards and data collected.
Work will include validating
marketplace clients, interviewing and collecting feedback from users,
developing presentations and tracking key metrics.
Consultant Objectives: The aim of this 3 month consultancy is to validate the business model and refine as needed to move into successive phases.
The consultant shall:
- Create tools and processes to collect and
manage client data from the various tests keeping data up to date and
organized.
- Develop a dashboard for key metrics such as
revenues, customer loyalty, retention, referrals, customer acquisition
costs, productivity, quantitative and qualitative customer feedback
- Create presentation material for weekly and
monthly reviews
- Respond to enquiries from phone and email
within 24 hours.
Specific capacities of the consultant
include:
- Entrepreneurial experience, with either a
business or social enterprise
- Ability to get things done with minimal
supervision
- Customer service skills
- Experience creating web forms and managing
data collection
- Experience with Access, Excel and Power
Mockups
- Multi-task oriented, strong organizational
skills
- Social media experience a plus
- Commitment and passion for social change
- Familiarity with mobile or web marketplace a
plus
- Fluent in English and Kiswahili
Consultant Activities:
The Consultant will:
- Work with the Social Venture Consultant
coordinating and tracking by:
- building and updating dashboards for key
success criteria and metrics
- building tools to track and manage data from
market research, proof of concept and limited pilots
- validating information from clients and
updating profiles
- Collaborating on weekly and month updates
- Develop marketing material as needed
- Manage data and provide customer service
support through multiple channels
- Assist on conducting and monitoring pilots as
needed
Consultant Deliverables:
Timeframe / Schedule:
The Consultant will report to: Social
Ventures Lead Consultant
The Consultant will work closely
with: Other Social Venture team members
Social Venture Consultant -
Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: The
Social Venture Team has three phases (assess, prove and scale) for ideas that
receive grant funding from the Social Venture Fund and can become a sustainable
social business.
Each phase must meet certain criteria
to be eligible for the next phase with the ultimate aim of spinning the
business off on its own as a successful social business.
The team is in the early stages of
the assess phase testing a youth employment social enterprise of an online and
mobile marketplace for short term and repetitive jobs.
The aim of this marketplace is expand
the networks of youth to allow youth to become more productive and hire
additional staff to meet growing needs as well as stimulate job creation for
new services to capture latent demand by the growing lower to middle
class.
This business functions both via
mobile and web, leveraging SMS and mobile payments to link youth to individual
employers for specific jobs followed up by individual reviews.
General Position Summary: An
experienced social entrepreneur is needed to lead the assess phase with a
potential opportunity to extend to later phases pending successive funding
gate.
This consultant will have multiple
roles as an evangelist, strategist, financial modeler, integrator, scaling
partner and implementer with a goal of making this social business
succeed.
In the assess phase, it is proving
the viability of the business model optimizing value creation and in the prove
phase gaining traction with numbers while continuously refining and adapting
the model based on feedback to show business can scale.
Work will include market research,
conducting mini-pilots, leading focus groups, developing the business model,
refining the model as needed.
Pending the results of the effort and
contingent upon funding, the work could continue through each successive stage
to a full pilot reaching at least 10,000 users to scaling beyond.
Consultant Objectives:
The aim of this 3 month consultancy
is to validate the business model and refine as needed to move into successive
phases.
The consultant shall:
- Lead the Assess phase work to test business
model through multiple activities from simulations to small pilots to test
key hypotheses
- Establish and monitor key metrics such as
revenues, customer loyalty, retention, referrals, customer acquisition
costs, productivity, quantitative and qualitative customer feedback
- Present results of Assess phase for approval
for additional funding
- Contingent on funding and quality of results,
lead work in Prove and Scaling phases
Specific capacities of the consultant
include:
- Entrepreneurial experience, with either a
business or social enterprise
- Excellent problem-solving skills and ability
to get things done
- Financial modeling and keen analytical skills
- Ability to work collaboratively, build trust
and facilitate change in organizations
- Sales and promotion
- Proven leadership experience with management
and operations, and a successful record of implementation (startup
experience a plus)
- Designing field tests and iteration using lean
methodologies
- Understanding of industry and competitive
trends
- Team management skills
- Commitment and passion for social change
- Familiarity with mobile or web marketplace a
plus
Consultant Activities:
The Consultant will:
- Focus in the assess phase is to set achievable
proof of concepts to test key variables including:
- proving out the financial mechanics of the
business model
- defining and testing 3-5 key success criteria
identified including willingness to pay and ability to achieve quality
results
- Defining and executing a plan to test via
market research, proof of concept and limited pilots
- Determining drivers and metrics to prove
hypotheses
- Brief Social Venture team on a weekly basis
progress, risks, and issues
- Build a business plan and present to team to
secure grant funding for the Prove Phase
Consultant Deliverables:
The Consultant will report to: Social Ventures Architect
The Consultant will work closely with: Other Social Venture team members
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit on or before August 5, 2014 a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references to hrkenya@ke.mercycorps.org
Applicants must clearly indicate on the email subject the job title they are applying for eg “Social Venture Consultant”.
Applications without the right
subject heading will automatically be disqualified.
Please do not attach any
certificates.
Only qualified short-listed
candidates will be contacted.
NB: Mercy Corps does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
 - Mercy Corps){kind=link}