Business Advisor Job at Duma Works

Summary: Food loss is a global issue that reduces household incomes and limits access to nutrition. More than 30 percent of global food production intended for human consumption is estimated to never reach consumers.

Smallholder value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa have even higher loss rates, in some cases upwards of 50 percent.

Loss rates in low-income countries mainly occur in the early and medium stages of the food supply chain, whereas very little food is discarded by consumers.

Since 1968, TechnoServe catalyzes high-impact, market-led partnerships that build competitive value chains, expand smallholder market access and create enduring economic opportunities.

Operating in more than 30 countries, we work on a wide range of crops with a variety of partners, including multinational food companies, actively helping them identify, design, and implement scalable, sustainable supply chain strategies.

TechnoServe is partnering with Rockefeller Foundation through the Rockefeller Foundation’s Food Waste and Spoilage initiative to implement the “YieldWise”.

Yieldwise pilot program which is aimed at reducing food loss among smallholder mango farmers in Kenya by increasing household incomes and expanding availability of safe and nutritious foods.

The partnership will support food loss reduction by increasing farmer access to qualityimproving technologies and support holistic market-driven solutions to ensure strengthened demand to absorb the increased mango supply.

The project will aim to work with anchor buyers to create market pull for loss reduction by providing stable demand and ensure suppliers and farmers to adopt loss-reducing practices.

Position Description: To support Senior Business advisor in the implementation of all activities related to the project that aim to build client businesses and creating sustained linkages between fruit market actors and Farmer based Organizations (FBOs):

• Carry out market and financial linkages of supported business and FBOs
• Support sector training interventions on identified business and Technical gaps
• In charge of market surveys and supply chain studies.
• Conduct specific business and financial diagnostics to assess the financial health of clients
• Support the business and financial needs of the knowledge and technology transfer to small and micro fruit/ Vegetables business and institutional clients.
• Active support of the business knowledge transfers components including working with the selected business and thereafter acting as the bridge between FBOS/MSCs.
• Monitoring and evaluation to assess impact of the overall intervention
• Planning of activities to ensure that the objectives of the program are met within the set timelines while optimizing resources and maximizing impact.
• Periodic reporting of the situation on the ground to provide both data and anecdotal evidence of impact
• Support the SBA to implement industry or project deliverables per TechnoServe contracts with donors and partners
• Develop timely and concise reports on project implementation as prescribed under the project

Position Qualifications, Experience and Competences:

• Be a Kenyan citizen
• Degree in business or related disciplines – 5 years working experience.
• Knowledge of the agribusiness sector in Kenya
• Knowledge of business management, marketing plan development, business plan writing, supply chain studies and market surveys.
• Good track record in developing Agricultural commodities markets and contract farming in Kenya.
• Good computer skills in business software (Excel, MS Project and PowerPoint)
• Excellent interpersonal and Ability to develop well-written, cohesive analyses and reports;
• Track record of building strong client and stakeholder relationships;
• Ability to generate innovative solutions in work situations; – Fluency in English and Kiswahili required – A valid driving license.
• Good client and farmer mobilization skills