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. Our work is rooted in the idea that hardworking people can generate income, jobs and wealth for their families and communities. With five decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

The role

As a Business Advisor you will directly contribute to the Regrow Yirga program’s deep impact by training and providing tailored technical support to coffee processing stations and exporters. This is an exciting opportunity to support the roll out of new digital tools and approaches for processing clients to improve their internal management systems, operations, coffee quality, and revenue. You will report directly to the Business Program Manager.

Our ideal candidate –

• Has at least three to five years’ professional work experience, with a strong preference for work experience in the private sector in the fields of agribusiness, SME development, project or business management, finance, or engineering. No prior coffee specific experience required (we provide world class training during onboarding).
• Has at least a Bachelor’s degree in the fields of Business, Economics, Supply chain management, Agricultural economics, Finance, Engineering. Another degree combined with 5 years or more of relevant experience working in or owning a private business can be considered in lieu of Bachelor’s degree.
• Demonstrates excellent communication and coaching skills, strong planning and numerical analysis skills, and a history of working independently and within agreed timelines.
• Has excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Amharic (knowledge of Afan Oromo, Sidamigna, or Gedigna is an added advantage)
• Is passionate about creating a positive impact and believes in the power of the private sector; experience working in the private sector preferable
• Embraces our values of collegiality (we stick our necks out for each other), integrity (doing the ‘right thing’ regardless), resourcefulness (solve problems) and results (bias for action)

The Project

The project will help farmers boost productivity and expand trade. Specifically, the Regrow Yirga program seeks to serve 42,000+ farmers, 45+ processing businesses, and coffee industry service providers. The project will launch an innovative Farmer Stumping Fund which will facilitate direct incentive (tools or cash) transfers to farmers to encourage tree rejuvenation which has the potential to be scaled up to over 1 million coffee farmers nation-wide.

This USD 15 million project finds its roots in TechnoServe’s 10+ years of experience working with the coffee farmers in Ethiopia. Our work was recently honored as the “Origin Charity of the Year” by the National Coffee Association – the leading trade organization for the coffee industry in the United States.

What We Offer

We offer competitive salaries and career growth opportunities. We offer online learning resources from top universities. We provide regular training to all our staff to equip you with the coffee-specific technical know-how for you to excel. We provide autonomy in your job and freedom to bring in new ideas and initiatives. You get to be part of a stellar team. You will be challenged and grow as a professional. We offer a diverse team environment and highly encourage women and underrepresented groups to apply. And of course… we serve great coffee and host regular fun team activities