Job Title: Business Coordinator
Department: Program
Reports To: Head of Programming
Country/Location: Monrovia, Liberia
Position open to Liberian Nationals Only
Background to position:
CRS has been operating in Liberia since 1990, focusing specifically in the sectors of Emergency Response, Health, Justice and Peace, and Agriculture. Post Ebola, as part of longer term recovery and development efforts, the Liberia Country Program (CP) is focused on growing its portfolio in the youth sector. From January 2018, the Liberia CP will begin implementing its new youth entrepreneurship multi-year project that is focused on piloting an innovative entrepreneurship model that is focused on the ‘Learn, Earn and Save’ approach. The design of this project was informed by a recent youth labor market assessment that was carried out in September 2017.
The country program is seeking to recruit a Business Coordinator that will take the overall technical lead for the financial and business engagement aspects of the project.
Key functions include:
Business Start Up Support
- Create a business plan template and/or checklist, including provisional income statement and balance sheet, to be used to prepare business plans.
- Oversee (provide coaching, technical assistance, and supervision) individual and group business plan development process after the training program.
- Create a business plan evaluation template
- Organize and lead a team to assess and give feedback to the youth for their business plans made up of business partners and other stakeholders.
- Develop an implementation plan that will guide the rollout of youth businesses.
- Design and implement a follow up analysis of specific youth business opportunities identified during the Labor Market Assessment to the detail of specific time and resource commitment to the program, capital investment required by the youth, to get started and expected return on investment for the youth.
- Develop and implement a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the business partners committed to work with the youth to create income generation activities, milestones, timelines, and success indicators.
- Develop a program operational guide detailing the process for the various business opportunities containing recruitment, screening, engagement requirements, continuous progress/performance assessment, exit or change of opportunity, etc.
- Develop and implement a specific approach to business coaching and mentoring, in liaison with the business partners, which lists specific outcome indicators, measurement, frequency, and benchmarks.
- Design/modify and implement a periodic check-in form (including a series of checklists by business type) and additional tools from the training curriculum to help the youth keep track of their business growth and progress, to inform program reporting and ongoing support by the trainers.
- Identify appropriate local financial service providers (FSP); e.g., savings groups, Micro Finance Institutions (MFI), Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs), commercial banks; Micro Financing Banks to ensure youth can successfully connect with to the FSPs markets as they start, develop, and grow their businesses.
- Develop a clear understanding of the CRS Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) – savings group – model to identify opportunities to introduce it within the program over time.
Stakeholder Management
- Carry out a stakeholder mapping exercise of the Montserrado County in relation to youth entrepreneurship and employment opportunities to classifying them into different categories; e.g., financial institutions, agricultural, private sector, government, etc.
- Create a directory of youth stakeholders in each county, as well as those with a national presence based on the reasons the Youth Entrepreneurship project would want to engage them/prioritizing from most to least important.
- Identify and create a detailed list of probable technical service providers and partners for the program based on their credentials and experience.
- Develop a detailed stakeholder/partner engagement strategy by areas of expertise.
- Develop relevant stakeholder communication tools and processes; e.g., letters of introduction, meeting talking points, terms of reference, etc.
Minimum Requirement
- Bachelor’s degree in a business-related field, including economics, agricultural economics, and finance.
- Experience in business management, finance, or entrepreneurship program.
- Experience in financial management (accounting, financial planning, business planning) and business evaluation.
- Experience working with youth on both urban and rural in livelihoods, both individual and group based income generating activities in Liberia.
- Experience in partnership development, training design, and delivery of training/capacity Building.
- Excellent working knowledge of MS Office, specifically Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
- Excellent working knowledge of Skype, Skype for Business and other virtual communication tool.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English required.
- Excellent written and spoken communication skills in local dialects used in Rural Montserrado highly recommended.
- Excellent team player
- Ability to work efficiently and independently in order to meet specified deadlines and objectives.
- At least 3 years of experience working for INGOs or other financial institutions in Liberia is an added advantage.
Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
- Trusting Relationships
- Professional Growth
- Partnership
- Accountability
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Interested applicants are encouraged to apply early as shortlisting will occur on a rolling basis.
NOTE: THIS POSITION IS OPEN TO ONLY NATIONAL STAFF
How to apply:
Please send expressions of interest to the following email: [email protected]
DEADLINE: 15 May, 2018
More Information
- Job City Monrovia