SME ADVISOR TechnoServe , Tanzania

SME ADVISOR

TechnoServe, Inc. is an international nonprofit development organization founded in 1968. Its mission is to help entrepreneurial men and women in poor rural areas of the developing world to build businesses that create jobs, income and economic opportunity for their families, their communities and their countries. TechnoServe implements agricultural value chain and SME development programs in 19 countries in Africa and Latin America using a market-driven, business-oriented approach. For more information on TechnoServe, please visit www.technoserve.org.

Primary objective: To implement the SME advisory strategies and achieve positive business results for medium-sized enterprise clients.

Focus: The program focuses on the maize, rice, and sunflower seed oil value chains in the Morogoro, Dodoma, and Manyara regions.

KEY ACTIVITIES:

Provide business support and training to client enterprises on issues related to:
• Building and evaluating business plans
• Building and analyzing product-level Profit and Loss statements, as well as making recommendations for products
• Proper accounting and best practices in regular financial reporting
• Operational analysis of factories, including mapping of existing processes and identification of bottlenecks
• Strategic analysis of growth options and the creation of medium- and long-term business strategies
• Analysis of supply chains to determine optimal sourcing
• Competitive analysis (SWOT)
• Customer profitability analysis and recommendations
• Market analysis (distribution, segmentation, marketing, and positioning recommendations)

Pipeline
• Assist with the identification and recruiting of new clients
• Work with clients to develop Scopes of Work for new engagements



Reporting
• Collect monthly and/or quarterly business data from clients on a timely basis
• Meet regularly with SMEs, and provide regular updates to EDU management on SME activities
• Provide your Supervisor with regular documentation of all activities carried out in support of EDU (e.g., completion of 5.15 document and training updates every week)
• Inform EDU management immediately when implementation issues arise, especially where they may impact SME performance
• Input all information and material collected into usable format (i.e., from a hand-written document into Excel or MS Access, as needed)

Training
• Attend and participate in all trainings set forth by management
• Where assigned, develop and implement diagnostic assessments, financial brokerage support services and market linkages advisory support to internal team members as well as clients and stakeholders
• In areas where clients need additional support, develop and deliver formal business trainings

Communications
• Communicate regularly with the leadership of existing clients in order to support their activities, provide additional support, and track key metrics
• Work with SMEs to manage their expectations around TNS support and involvement, and correctly convey at all times what TNS will do for the SME (as well as what it will not do)
• Collaborate as needed with other EDU stakeholders (e.g. SIDO, TFDA, Banks, BDS providers) and team members (e.g. Technical and Business teams within the project)
• Represent the project at relevant stakeholder meetings and gatherings, as directed by management

Any other duty which may be assigned to you by your Supervisor.

Requirements:
• Degree (BA) in Business, Economics, Finance, or Accounting; Master’s of Business Administration a plus
• Strong experience in finance or business consulting with medium scale enterprises
• Background in food processing or the maize, rice and edible oil value chains is a plus
• A minimum of 5 years experience in project management with line management experience and P&L responsibilities
• Strong private sector experience and entrepreneurial skills
• Proven track record of developing and/or evaluating complex client business plans
• Excellent problem solving and analytical skills
• Strong financial analysis and management skills, including the ability to create and analyze financial models
• Willingness to travel domestically for up to two weeks at a time when necessary
• Strong skills in Microsoft business software (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
• Excellent communication skills in both written and spoken English and Kiswahili
• Ability to develop well written reports that concisely and clearly state the issues and recommendations
• A valid Tanzanian driver’s license and the ability to drive a vehicle
• Tanzanian citizenship

Location: Morogoro

TechnoServe offers a remuneration package competitive with private-sector salaries for similar positions.

APPLY (by email only) to the Recruitment Coordinator at TZ-info@tns.org with the position title place in the subject line. Please include cover letter describing your interest and curriculum. Please include all requirements in one document.

Applications will be treated confidentially. Deadline for applications is May 15th 2012. Note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Phone calls are prohibited and will disqualify application.

TechnoServe is an equal opportunity employer.