Program Manager – ED & LSD wanted at Technoserve

 

Title: Program Manager – ED & LSD

Reports to: Program Director

Location: Gaborone – 80% Domestic

1. TechnoServe Background:

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. We are a nonprofit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital and markets. With more than five decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

1. Program Description:

In Botswana, TechnoServe implements an enterprise development program called Tokafala, which focuses on helping existing micro, small and medium enterprises in Botswana to grow their businesses.

Tokafala offers the following:

• Entrepreneurship training
• Personalised business mentorship covering all aspects of business
• Market access support
• Youth Entrepreneurship Development
• Position Description:

The Program Manager – ED & LSD will be responsible for managing the Tokafala Enterprise Development programme based in Gaborone cover­ing other satellite hubs around the country.

 

1. Roles and Responsibilities:

• Identify, develop, and support sustainable enterprises, primarily by establishing linkages to supply chain opportunities with corporate partners, the Government of Botswana and other strategic partners in key sectors of interest.
• Establish linkages to existing government enterprise development (ED) programs, e.g. through SME referrals.
• Manage a team of business advisors who will mentor the portfolio companies. This responsibility includes supervising the mentoring activities, supervising the development of mentoring content, ensuring high mentoring quality, among others.
• Create and manage relationships with entrepreneurs, the communities, other government ED programs, and other stakeholders.
• Facilitate technical assistance to mentorship clients.
• Facilitate and provide access to finance support and market access to SMMEs.
• Ensure adherence to branding guidelines established by the Tokafala program and partners
• Help TechnoServe to amplify results by expanding the market access of SMMEs in selected focus Value Chains (VCs)
• Work to strengthen the market access of citizen-owned SMMEs – including youth enterprises – in select VCs.
• Provide customised advice to SMMEs about opportunities and introduce them to others in their value chain.
• Based on the VC opportunities and the nature of the enterprises, support clients along one of two paths of supplier development or other market access support.
• Determine the most strategic ways forward to support SMME growth in each of the select In some, like mining, the focus will be on

helping SMMEs become suppliers. In others, greater opportunities may exist for SMMEs   to serve markets directly.

• Facilitate annual sector events for the focus VCs. Events for VCs with supplier development potential will include Supplier Roundtables
• Invite and coach promising VC suppliers to present to buyers at Supplier Roundtables.
• Prepare and provide regular reports including progress reports on client revenues, jobs, secured market opportunities.
• Prepare and provide quarterly reports to be presented to the donors

1. Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in a Business related field with 7 years’ work experience or Masters in Business Administration or a relevant discipline with 5 years’ work experience.
• At least 5 years’ work experience should be in financial or business management
• Good knowledge of enterprise development
• Business plan writing and evaluation
• Strong project management skills
• Strong analytical ana quantitative skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Strong skills in Value Chain analyses and implementation
• Results orientated