Senior Business Advisor

Title: Senior Business Advisor
Supervisor: Program Director
Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Travel: With local travel up to 30 % of the time in the project implementation areas

Program Description:

In partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), TechnoServe is preparing for a 3-year Food Enterprises for a Developed Zambia (FED) Programme. The programme aims to improve the efficiency, profitability and growth of food processing SMEs and contribute to a stronger and more inclusive sector in the country.

Position Description:

To support the business component of the capacity building needs of Zambian food processors, the SBA is responsible for assisting processors with customized business planning, investment plans, capital raising, overseeing market studies, developing customized processor marketing strategies, business operations, and provision of other business advisory services.

Business Development:

• Responsible for all business related deliverables within the FED Programme activities;
• Maintain project workplan and ensure timely project implementation;
• Lead and facilitate the business component of the technology and knowledge transfer to supported food processors, including customized interventions with select processors as well as facilitate broader business related trainings to the sector through workshops;
• Support business growth planning with selected food processors, including marketing strategies, business planning, capital raising, equipment procurement, profit and loss forecasting, finance, market and operational planning;
• Develop strong understanding of local markets (both retail and food aid), oversee marketing studies for different food products and support market linkages for food processors;
• Develop an understanding of the raw material supply chain and support linkages between the raw material suppliers and food processors;
• Develop relations with financial lending institutions and support assisted food processing companies to access loans;
• Ensure business project activities are implemented with sound managerial, technical, financial, human resource, and overall programmatic practices;
• Participate in team meetings with the program team and implementing partners to track implementation progress, share learnings and provide input on the business component of our support to local food processors;
• Produce statistical and narrative reports for internal and external consumption, including success stories, challenges, case studies and impact results against selected indicators;
• Identify business knowledge gaps in the local food processing industry and, with our chosen partners, facilitate the design of a training module and lead implementation of this training through workshops;

Regional Coordination and Personnel Management:

• Oversee the business advisor staff in FED Programme
• Oversee the marketing survey team;
• Maintain strong working relationships with the country food technologist/s, ensuring business support to their technical advice;
• Interface with other country and regional staff to share lessons, best practices and refine our engagement model for optimal efficiency and impact;
• Support country-level adaptation and use of standard templates and tools for key project deliverables;
• Work with program staff to identify program business needs;
• Liaise with Practice team at head office

IV. Required Skills & Experience:

• Advanced degree qualifications in business-related studies;
• Strong financial analysis and project management skills;
• Personnel management experience required;
• Minimum of five years experience with financial, business development and/or economic or financial analysis in the private sector;
• Experience in financial auditing, business diagnostics, business ratios, business plan development, conducting profit and loss analysis, loan requirements and loan management;
• Ability to quickly grasp the financial health and business needs of a company;
• Ability to translate financial and business needs into projects to be worked on with support from implementing partners;
• Strong presentation skills and ability to advise and coach senior company representatives on business capacity building needs and advice;
• Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills a must;
• Ability to develop well-written, cohesive analyses and reports;
• Track record of building strong client and stakeholder relationships;
• Ability to identify and understand issues and opportunities, compare data from different sources to draw conclusions, use effective approaches for developing appropriate solutions, take action that is consistent with available facts and probable consequences, communicate with and seek guidance from regional program management team;
• Ability to generate innovative solutions in work situations;
• Proven ability and experience working with teams will be an added advantage.
• Fluency in English required;
• Willingness to be based in Nairobi, ability to travel internationally and to remote rural locations.