Senior Business Advisor

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 businesses 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 can access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.

Program Overview:

TechnoServe is collaborating with the Anglo American Foundation and partners with the aim of enhancing the livelihoods of vulnerable workers while creating new quality opportunities for youth in the country’s recycling sector, providing target beneficiaries with access to more, better quality and higher-paying jobs in the circular economy. TechnoServe’s ambition is to develop a center of excellence in a targeted geography, that will demonstrate the viability of an integrated approach to enterprise development along the circular economy value chain and which, will become an example to be scaled across other townships in South Africa and regionally.

The initial 15-month Phase A of the programme will focus on the townships of Soweto in the City of Johannesburg municipality and the City of Ekurhuleni. TechnoServe and RLabs will deliver a set of interventions to achieve youth empowerment objectives and address gaps observed in the plastic and paper recycling sector. This first phase will be a learning phase to inform a potential follow-on 36-month programme, contingent on co-financing.

The conceptualization of this programme follows a diagnostic study that was conducted by TechnoServe in 2023, with the objective to validate the potential to create jobs and improve workers’ livelihoods by building capacity of waste recovery businesses. The diagnostic study identified three priority interventions to create lasting impact in South Africa’s circular economy: 1) direct enterprise support, 2) micro businesses creation, 3) strengthening of support ecosystem.

TechnoServe and consortium partner, RLabs have collaborated with GreenCape (the Secretariat of the South African Plastics Pact) to engage with relevant stakeholders in the value chain and validate the scope and high-level design elements of the interventions, and to get buy-in for operational collaboration.

Job Summary:

Working closely with the Implementation Manager, the Senior Business Advisor will play a critical role in the programme by overseeing advisory services and conducting all program activities and training services to beneficiaries. TechnoServe will provide customised capacity building to small and medium growing recovery businesses and promote connections among market participants in targeted recycling routes. TechnoServe will directly develop the capacity of opportunity-driven business-owners through training, advisory, mentorship, and aftercare including access to finance and access to markets interventions, gather market intelligence and monitor performance. This pillar is complementary to Pillar 1 as recovery businesses have a critical role to enable and support micro business creation in communities they operate in while facilitating formal and informal networking and linkages with various stakeholders.

In close collaboration and coordination with the program staff, he/she will ensure the successful, innovative, efficient, and effective functioning of all participants’ training and capacity-building activities in the program through effective planning, and delivery of program activities in collaboration with other project team members towards achieving the common goal.

The tasks outlined below are the key responsibilities of the business advisor, however, the employee will be expected to perform any tasks that are necessary within the context of the evolving needs of the project.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

1. Provide strategic direction and expertise in designing a detailed and implementable program work plan, incorporating insights from the inception report analysis, and ensuring alignment with program goals.
2. Set guidelines and criteria for beneficiary selection, collaborating with the Business Advisors to implement an effective and inclusive recruitment process.
3. Ensure effective delivery of the digital strategy, leading to beneficiary adoption and engagement.
4. Lead identification and enrolment of qualified participants (Buy-Back Centres) for the program.
5. Perform rapid diagnosis of the businesses to assess levels of professionalisation and performance.
6. Coordinate a detailed market needs assessment that will identify the core areas, growth sectors, and components of the plastic value chain with opportunities for entrepreneurship.
7. Design and deliver engaging training sessions for beneficiaries, assessing the Business Advisor's training methods and providing constructive feedback.
8. Build and maintain strong relationships between program stakeholders (Micro Businesses, Collectors, Buy-Back Centres, and Recyclers), ensuring smooth collaboration and efficient operations.
9. Facilitate off-take agreements between the Buy-Back centres, micro businesses and recyclers.
10. Facilitate access to finance for buy-back centres.
11. Implement a robust monitoring system to ensure all parties adhere to program agreements, providing guidance and corrective actions as needed.
12. Proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that could hinder project success, developing contingency plans and adapting the work plan as needed.
13. Work with short-term consultants to develop training modules.
14. Ensure quality delivery of participants’ training and capacity-building activities in the project, including adequacy and suitability of training modules.
15. Analyze feedback collected by the Business Advisors, identifying trends and proposing improvements to program design and implementation.
16. Ensure all program activities align with TechnoServe's values, vision, and strategy, providing mentorship and guidance to the Business Advisors on responsible and ethical program execution.
17. Supervise and support Business Advisors to ensure quality implementation of project activities.
18. Provide regular feedback, conduct performance reviews, and set developmental goals to enhance the Business Advisors’ skills and expertise.
19. Continuously update knowledge on relevant practices and share insights with the Business Advisors to optimize program strategies.
20. Ensure that all project reports relevant to her/his area of focus are promptly produced and submitted to meet project targets.

Basic Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's Degree with 5 years’ experience in Business Management, Finance, Economics, Environmental science, Environmental Geoscience, or related field. Alternatively, a master’s degree with 3 years of experience will be considered.
2. A minimum of 5 years of experience with enterprise development, entrepreneurship training, etc., with a special focus on micro-businesses, youth development, incubation/innovation, value chain, or entrepreneurship is desirable.
3. Professional experience with international donor projects in South Africa would be an asset.
4. Good IT literacy, i.e., MS. Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Excel is required.
5. Ability to engage and advise a broad range of stakeholders, including senior management of private sector companies, donor representatives, and others.

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Understanding of business planning, financial analysis, risk management, and operational efficiency.
2. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex information, negotiate effectively, and foster collaboration within the team.
3. Experience in a specific region/country or with a particular funder or donor.
4. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders.
5. Familiarity with relevant software (e.g., MS Office Suite, data analysis tools) and business systems.
6. International NGO Sectoral experience.

Required Languages: Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English.

Travel: Moderate

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

1. Experience mentoring and supervising others.
2. Data analysis and interpretation skills.
3. Change management expertise.
4. Strong interpersonal skills (including active listening).
5. Good leadership skills in commitment, excitement, and ability to create new opportunities for the team.
6. Good communication skills with the ability to share ideas and positions.
7. Ability to embrace complex challenges and opportunities for getting work done for timely delivery.
8. Proven skills with Microsoft Office software (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
9. Ability to work with minimal supervision.

Closing Statements for all TechnoServe Job Ads:

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

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, color, 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.