Business Advisor – Youth Development

We’re looking for a
Business Advisor – Youth Development (South Africa)

TechnoServe (www.technoserve.org) is a non-profit, economic development organization with a sustained commitment to its 50-year old founding mission to work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are business specialists assisting farmers and other entrepreneurs in 29 countries, increasing their access to information, capital and markets. The increased income our clients derive enhances resilience and prosperity for their families and communities. In 2016, TechnoServe assisted 594,000 farmers and 13,000 businesses resulting in 18,000 new jobs and $196 million of new revenues and wages.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

TechnoServe has been competitively selected by a large South African corporate partner to deliver a Youth, Enterprise and Supplier Development program in South Africa. The initiative offers the opportunity to deliver transformative economic change in South Africa by supporting local youth to start up their own businesses and get jobs, and supporting local enterprises to grow their businesses to the next level. The initiative will look to drive broader development across the mining, agricultural, tourism, and retail sectors to support local economic development. Once fully scaled, the initiative aims to support 10,000 jobs across 15 locations in South Africa. This will be a global flagship initiative in proving the impact of shared value initiatives: namely how business can make investments that both deliver value to shareholders and deliver meaningful impact to individuals and communities in their areas of operation.

TechnoServe will deliver the Youth, Enterprise and Supplier Development initiative through a network of hubs, operating under the brand name of the corporate partner. The first hubs will operate in and around Mogalakwena, Rustenburg, and eMalahleni. TechnoServe will employ a team of 9 to 12 staff to operate each hub. Each hub will deliver business acceleration services (training, mentorship, business development, access to finance, linkages to market opportunities, etc.) to eligible youth and entrepreneurs within a 50-kilometer radius of the hub through three program pillars – Youth, Enterprise, and Supplier Development.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

TechnoServe is hiring a high-caliber team per hub to deliver the program. We are seeking qualified candidates for the Business Advisor – Youth Development [1 per hub]. The YD Business Advisor will manage Youth Development (YD) component of the overall program; be accountable for delivering targets for Youth component. S/he will be responsible for managing the end-to-end process of selecting, training and providing “aftercare”/mentorship to 2 cohorts of young individuals per year. S/he will manage around 6 Peer Counsellors who will be recruited from and based in the
target communities and who will be the primary point of contact for the youth in the Youth program. S/he will be overall responsible for diagnosing the youth participants’ needs and developing a standardized and tailored support program to meet these needs. S/he will also engage with employers, micro-finance institutions as appropriate and other program partners within the Youth component. Finally, s/he will have primary strategic responsibility for the Hub which intends to offer internet and printing services and resources/information to the community, particularly its youth.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and Project Management:

• Develop/refine Youth strategy for the hub, ensuring ongoing learnings are built into evolving design
• Develop hub strategy
• Manage all elements of delivering the YD program, including:
  • Marketing the program
  • Developing/refining selection criteria
  • Developing/refining application process
  • Overseeing selection process
  • Overseeing training program
  • Diagnosing individual needs of suppliers in the program

• Monitor and track progress of youth in the program

Development of curriculum:

• Develop/refine standardized training curriculum for youth, drawing on TechnoServe global materials and working with TechnoServe experts in youth development

Management of Business Counselors:

• Train and oversee Peer Counsellors providing regular 1-1 advisory services to 60+ youth per year
• Identify and bring in other resources to meet youth needs as necessary

Demand-side initiatives and partnerships:

• Engage with and develop partnerships with local employers who are willing to recruit youth from the program
• Determine pathways for youth coming out of the program: linkages with job opportunities and the establishment of micro-enterprises
• Organize job fairs for participants in the workforce sub-track of the program
• Organize business plan competitions for participants in the micro-entrepreneurship sub-track of the program

Monitoring and evaluation:

• Report in an accurate and timely manner on the performance of the YD pillar on all key metrics
• Ensure all learnings from each wave are incorporated to improve the offering continuously

Perform other duties that would be assigned from time to time by the supervisor

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics, marketing, Development or related discipline
• At least 5 years of post-graduate experience within the private sector and/or development spheres
• Experience working in SME and youth development
• Excellent oral and written communication skills (in English and local language)
• Strong organizational skills
• Knowledge of the South Africa economic, social and development context – at provincial level preferred
• Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills in a multi-cultural environment
• The ability to work independently, adhere to strict deadlines, and function effectively as a member of a global team
• Current/past work/living in target geography (province) preferred
• Strong commitment and dedication to economic development
• Long-term commitment to the project
• Valid driving license

Instructions

We welcome hearing from qualified and interested applicants. Please submit a single Word-formatted document consisting of a cover letter, resume, and salary history to SAjobs@tns.org and identify the position and hub(s) for which you are applying in the subject line. Due to a high volume of applicants, please understand that we are able to contact only those who meet the minimum qualifications. No phone calls, please.