Volunteer Business Mentors for Bomet and Narok Counties - 5 Positions at Practical Action Kenya

MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE KILMEAP PROJECT

• The project’s main objective is to accelerate the growth of the Improved Cook Stove (ICS) sector with an irreversible market transformation that will significantly increase the level of ICS production, improve the quality of the products, and increase sales. To enable such a paradigm shift, two main barriers will have to be addressed. On the supply side, the ICS sector is not capable of securing the investment required to scale up ICS production and sales, whereas the demand for ICS remains concentrated in a limited geographic location and among more affluent and better-informed consumer groups.

TARGET GROUPS

• This project mainly targets working with ICS last mile entrepreneurs who retail and/or install ICS in their neighborhood/village in rural areas.

TECHNOLOGIES PROMOTED

• The project focuses on promoting affordable improved biomass stoves that are locally produced in Kenya, including both charcoal and firewood stoves. The stoves are expected to fulfil the following criteria:
• Firewood stoves: fuel savings of at least 40% over and above, compared to the fuel consumption of the baseline stove (i.e, three-stone fire).
• Charcoal stoves: fuel savings of at least 30% over and above baseline stove (i.e., Kenya ceramic jiko).

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Training ICS LMEs on Business Skills Development, Agency Empowerment, Self- leadership and other areas based on identified capacity gaps.
• Providing customized one-on-one business mentoring support to ICS Last Mile Entrepreneurs in the project areas as per the identified needs.
• Coordinating the formation of Village Savings and Loaning Associations (VSLAs) among the ICS LMEs
• Organizing for group networking and information-sharing sessions among the LMEs
• Making regular monitoring of LMEs businesses to ensure implementation as per the project goal
• Organizing meetings in liaison with the project implementation team for any planned field activities
• Collecting data/information from LMEs for regular monitoring of project indicators.
• Coordinating the generation of reports from the LMEs in the respective regions
• Any other task that may be assigned by the Project Manager/Project Officer- Enterprise Development

PROJECT GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

• Nakuru, Nyandarua, Baringo and Kericho. This new positions are for Bomet and Narok Counties

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A graduate degree in Business related discipline, Sales and Marketing or any other relevant field with at least 2 years’ working experience or a Diploma with at least 3 years working experience in business development services for small and micro enterprises. Experience in financial inclusion, household energy value chains (Improved Cookstoves) and Agency Empowerment programs for energy entrepreneurs will be an added advantage.
• He/she must be experienced in adult capacity building; especially in the fields of business skills development and Village Savings and Loaning Associations (VSLAs)
• The incumbent will have strong communication skills in English, Swahili and local languages, training and coaching skills as well as excellent time management, organizational, networking and liaison skills.
• He/she will also have In-depth knowledge and understanding of the renewable energy sub-sector of Kenya.
• He/she will be proficient in Computer applications with knowledge in the use of online reporting platforms and report writing. In addition, the incumbent will be self-motivated and with the ability to work under minimal supervision.
• The person will have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with stakeholders across different sectors.
• Immediate availability is highly desirable.