PUE Business Advisor -Rwanda at Practical Action

ABOUT US

We are an international development organization putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting, and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.

We are a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.

OUR AIMS

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic. climate change and persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:

• Make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living.
• Help more people harness the transformational effects of clean affordable energy and reduce avoidable deaths caused by smoke from indoor stoves and fires.
• Makecities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier places to live and 
• Build disaster resilience into the lives ofpeople threatened by hazards – reducing the risk of hazards and minimizing their impact on lives and livelihoods.

PRACTICAL ACTION IN RWANDA

In Rwanda, we are recognized leaders in clean cooking and sustainable energy solutions. This includes ground-breaking work in solar, wind and water powered electricity generation, often delivered through independent mini grids. We bring rural communities, people in refugee camps, energy providers and decision makers together to put sustainable, clean energy solutions to work for the people who need them most.

In our strategic business plan 2021-2025, we propose to extend our current reach and scope in Rwanda by deepening our energy work and stretching our portfolio to work with small holder farmers to make agriculture work better for them.

Within our energy ambition, Practical Action is building Livelihoods of Refugee and Host Communities by Integrating Productive Use of Renewable Energy technologies in Rwanda refugee camps. This project aims to provide refugee and host communities with an expanded range of livelihood opportunities, whilst providing both appliance users and PURE appliance distributors with the training and support they require to thrive. The project will be implemented in partnership Energy Saving Trust, under the LEIA programme to deploy stand-alone off-grid solar powered appliances for productive use of renewable energy (PURE) in refugee camps and host communities in Rwanda. The project will not only generate additional livelihood opportunities for refugees but also enhance market opportunities for PURE appliance distributors. The aim is to provide access to previously unavailable technology and lay the groundwork for PURE distributors to continue operating in the camps and host communities after programme completion.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

Practical Action in Rwanda seeks to recruit a PUE Business Advisor to support PUE entrepreneurs and PURE distributors. S/he will assist PURE entrepreneurs and PURE distributors to identify their business needs,  support MSMEs with marketing and business strategies, provide business training, establish market linkages, and offer practical solutions to arising issues. The Advisor will be assigned a portfolio of productive use enterprises requiring business advisory services

SCOPE

Position title: PUE Business Advisor -Rwanda

Reporting to: Market/PUE Specialist

Relationships: Externally with project partners and internally with project colleagues’ technical advisors, field staff and support teams

Location: Kigali, Rwanda

Travel: Regular travel to refugee camps to Mahama, Nyabiheke and Kiziba refugee camps in Rwanda

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Community mobilization:Raise awareness on opportunities for PURE options beyond basic needs such as light, phone charging and TV/radio, and the economic and social benefit of productive uses.
• Organize workshops and consultations to help and encourage existing entrepreneurs to identify and start new business ideas or expand or diversify existing ones (eg: providing services such as use of computers, sports & films on TV, phone charging, barbershops, processing/refrigeration of locally grown agricultural crops or locally caught fish etc.
• Identification and selection of micro and small local businesses: based on the need assessments and consultations, select the most promising local entrepreneurs, with business ideas whose economic viability has been established, to be supported in the project or receive support.
• Provide support in designing business mentoring methodologies that are the most appropriate for the project context and type of productive use enterprises supported.
• Mentor, coach and train entrepreneurs on all aspects of business management. These include identifying capacity building needs and produce sound needs assessments for each enterprise, produce action plans to address the identified gaps/needs, provide support in preparing, producing, and finalizing business plans, and provide practical training and coaching in all topics of business management (accounting, sales and marketing, financing, planning, etc.) as well as practical solutions to address barriers to growth at all stages of development.
• Technical Assistance (TA): Provide technical assistance services in the form of technical training workshops and coaching to help entrepreneurs make informed decisions on selection and purchase of PURE appliances.
• Access to finance: Support enterprises to access the required finance to invest in the PURE appliances required for productive uses. The PURE-Business Advisor should propose the best option to access finance (whether through loans or other means) for PURE entrepreneurs.
• Introduce and link PURE enterprises to appropriate financial institutions when required and support the enterprises at all stages of the access to finance process. These include conducting initial due diligence of prospective loan applicants, support in business plan preparation, identification and introduction to financial institutions and thorough follow-up and monitoring of loans repayment.
• Access to market activities: Connecting entrepreneurs across the value chain, helping them to source new raw materials, or facilitate linkage with dealers operating, organize visits to marketplaces or national trade fairs, etc.
• Connect enterprises up and down the value chain by identifying relevant stakeholders, suppliers etc. and creating sustainable commercial relationships between the parties.
• Provide Business Development Support (BDS) Coordination in market development activities. Prepare and organize market development activities and events as required.
• Organize and facilitate peer-to-peer and lesson learning exchange events between the different enterprises supported.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Collect monthly monitoring data from PURE entrepreneurs and contribute to the preparation of regular progress reports and reviews.
• Support, organize and facilitate monitoring field visits by Practical Action management and/or the donor when required.
• Documenting compelling stories and case studies from entrepreneurs

PERSON PROFILE

To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

Academic and Professional Qualifications

• A relevant University degree at least at bachelor’s degree level in relevant areas (Business Administration, Finance, Economics of Sustainable Development, Renewable energy technologies, Rural development

Relevant Working experience

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in successfully providing practical support and training to small and micro enterprises (including informal very early-stage enterprises) in all business management aspects and at all stages of development.
• Proven experience in producing and reviewing business plans for micro and small enterprises (including enterprises in the informal sector).
• Proven experience in training and coaching micro and small enterprises.
• Proven experience in supporting enterprises connect to financial institutions and produce sound business plans that are satisfactory to the lending institutions.
• Experience in supporting enterprises in the context of energy for productive usage.

Skills and Knowledge

• Good business management, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Good understanding of challenges faced by micro / small enterprises in refugee camps and host communities.
• Able to identify new business ideas and support selected enterprises to implement them.
• Understanding of local financial institutions’ requirements and of existing access to finance mechanisms for micro businesses.
• A good knowledge in Renewable Energy/Productive use of energy businesses
• Knowledge of the humanitarian sector
• Proven organizational skills.
•  Strong communication in English and Kinyarwanda.
• Computer literacy, particularly in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should submit their application letter, C.V., and copies of educational and experience certificates to recruitment.rwanda@practicalaction.org

The application deadline is September 1^st, 2024.

Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer, and we encourage applications from under-represented groups.  We stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and the more perspectives we have, the more successful we will be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected, and valued we give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.