Employer: Village Enterprise

Industry: Nonprofit/International Development/Social Entrepreneurship

Job Title: Product and Services Coordinator

Position Type: Full time

Reports to: Product and Services Manager

Location: Kenya -  Western

 

About the Job: 

The Product and Services Coordinator will play a pivotal role in scaling Village Enterprise's youth-focused Graduation Approach. This position requires a passionate and results-oriented individual to support the implementation of innovative youth-centric programs that empower young people to build sustainable livelihoods. The Product and Service Coordinator is a driven, self-sufficient individual who excels at providing tailored support that enable business and savings group's success by using data from the Village Enterprise Adaptive Management dashboards, additional external research, and partnerships that increase business owners’ potential to succeed. 

Youth-Focused Graduation Approach:

• Contribute to the design and implementation of youth-specific Graduation programs, ensuring they address the unique needs and challenges of young entrepreneurs.
• Support in the development of strategies to engage and empower youth, particularly young women, to participate in economic activities.
• Build strong partnerships with youth organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders to leverage resources and expertise.

Organizational Business Saving Group Health 

• Use Savings Health Data from Village Enterprise Adaptive Management Systems to closely monitor the success of businesses and savings groups across the country and region of operations and communicate effectively across the teams on the usages and application. 
• Understand and support team capacity to apply global standards on best practices for savings groups. 
• Identify core challenges inhibiting the success of savings groups and communicate these with the implementing teams.
• Conduct regional targeted support visits to build team capacity in the application of best practices for the savings groups. 
• In close collaboration with the Product and Service Manager, identify and support linkages to appropriate markets and financial services. 

Organizational Business Health 

• Understand and support teams to apply best practices for micro-enterprise development for the extremely poor. 
• Monitor grant investment by entrepreneurs, documenting the effectiveness of full grant utilization, and establishing practices to mitigate misuse and drivers for and against the grant investment and external factors that might affect it.
• Use business health data from Village Enterprise Adaptive Management Systems to closely monitor the success of businesses across the country and regions of operation. And communicate effectively across the teams on the usages and application. 
• In close collaboration with the Product and Service team, identify the most profitable, climate-smart, and sustainable businesses that promote Gender Inclusion for their respective country, and lead the field teams in their implementation.
• In collaboration with the Product and Service Lead or Senior Product and Service Lead, develop, and nurture relations with relevant government departments, Private Sector Actors, and NGOs that support linkages to appropriate inputs, technologies, markets, and solutions that will ensure the success of businesses. 

 Product Quality Management

• Monitor performance and compliance to standard operating procedures from staff while recommending and coordinating the implementation of appropriate interventions. 
• Identify gaps and coordinate updating of the Graduation product and procedures in collaboration with the programs team. 

    ● Provide ongoing support to ensure youth participants are equipped to adapt to market                                       demands and challenges.

• Ensure that program and country staff understand, are familiar with, and have the skills to contribute to the integration of VEs Gender and Climate Minimum Standards.

Organization and Coordination of Activities:  

• Use bi-weekly meetings to collect, disseminate, and provide targeted training and support to Field Associates and Business Mentors around best practices to achieve the best results on business and saving health.     
• Work closely with Field Associates in regions of operation to ensure high-quality program implementation that results in increased business outputs and outcomes.
• Document shared best practices, success, and lessons learned around businesses' and savings health and coordinate exchange learning visits for replication. 
• Provide support in targeted training and refresher workshops for FAs and BMs.  
• Ensure regular follow-ups to identify challenges and provide tailored solutions
• Attend all country, regional, and team meetings including special project meetings as may be required.

Safeguarding: "Safeguarding at VE is everyone’s responsibility"

• Continuously sensitize program participants about possible risks of child abuse, sexual/financial exploitation, prevention, and response mechanisms.
• Ensure compliance with VE’s safeguarding policies and Code of Conduct in all programs, operations, and practices.
• Report any incident of child or adult safeguarding in program operations for appropriate action and follow-up.

Required Competencies 

• Communication and interpersonal skills.
• Analytical and conceptualization skills.
• Cultural sensitivity and demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse communities are required.
• Ability to understand and interpret data to foster decision-making. 
• Extensive knowledge of VSLA methodology and Knowledge of Micro Enterprise Development for the extreme poor.
• Computer literate and proficient in basic Microsoft packages, email, and other technology (including project management software, Salesforce, Cloud Storage, etc.)
• Understanding of quality improvement techniques in the development industry.

Educational Experience

• Relevant degree in International Development, Community Engagement/ Development, business administration or an equivalent. 
• 5 years of experience in business development and financial linkages, for rural entrepreneurial initiatives, youth programming will also be considered. 
• Experience working in renewable energy or climate mitigation/adaptation or the environment sector is desirable.
• Knowledge on youth development theories, gender programming and climate related technologies especially climate smart agriculture is an advantage.
• Passion for empowering young people and a commitment to social justice.

By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to contribute to a meaningful mission and make a lasting impact on the lives of young people.

Key Performance Indicators for the role:

1. Business Success Region Average (Business Progress Survey)

• Region average increase in incomes
• Region average increase in Assets

1. Business Savings Group Region Average

• Region average increase in savings

1. Market and Financial Linkages Created and Successful within region of responsibility

• % of groups accessing financial services
• % of groups accessing quality inputs and markets

1. Youth Inclusion at Regional Level

• % of youth business owners
• % of youth leaders in savings groups

1. Gender Inclusion at Regional Level

• % of female business owners
• % of female leaders in savings groups

1. Regional Average of Climate Resilience

• Regional average increase in CSA businesses.

 

Deadline:

Applications will be accepted until November 29, 2024.

 

Equal Opportunity

Village Enterprise will provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Village will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. Village does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status or any other characteristic protected by the law. Village will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.

To be communicated