Inclusive Business Manager

TechnoServe is a non-profit, economic development organization that works with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are business specialists assisting farmers and other entrepreneurs in 29 countries, increasing their access to information, capital, and markets. The increased income our clients derive enhances resilience and prosperity for their families and communities. In 2021, TechnoServe assisted 407,000 farmers and micro-enterprises resulting in $250 million of financial benefits and wages for participating farmers, businesses, and employees and improved livelihoods for an estimated 2.3 million people.

TechnoServe is currently implementing the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Technical Assistance Facility (CASA TAF), an £8 million programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) that is scheduled to run until March 2026. CASA TAF supports agribusinesses that buy from and/or sell to smallholder farmers, helping them to create shared value for the business and its smallholder suppliers/customers.

CASA TAF is partnered with a range of investors (including both DFIs such as BII, FMO, and Norfund; and smaller impact funds such as DOB Equity, Acumen, AgDevCo), working through them to select eligible portfolio companies where see opportunities to create shared value and drive material gains in incomes, gender equity and climate resilience. Overall, CASA TAF aims to benefit 100k smallholder farmers by March 2026, generating £13m in incremental net incomes annually.

The lynchpin to our approach is the Inclusive Business Plan (IBP), an analysis that maps out the inclusive growth opportunity for the business, as well as a package of grant finance, technical assistance and project management support from CASA TAF to de-risk the investment and ensure that it achieves its full commercial and impact potential. IBPs are a critical step to ensure full alignment on the plan between CASA TAF, agribusiness Management, and investors.

Following the IBP, CASA TAF funds and manages the delivery of targeted TA packages to the businesses, working hand-in-hand with their staff over the course of several years.

Job Summary

The Inclusive Business Manager plays a critical role with CASA TAF, both delivering Inclusive Business Plans and supervising the delivery of Inclusive Business Plans by Technoserve Fellows and Consultants, with the objective of scoping impactful Technical Assistance for partner agribusinesses. The core of the role is focused on providing high quality commercial and impact analysis to inform successful delivery of Technical Assistance, and involves frequent travel to a wide range of countries across Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia to collaborate with agribusiness management teams, conduct primary field research and connect with a wide range of investor, business, government and NGO stakeholders; as well as significant commercial analysis.

The role reports to the Senior Inclusive Business Manager.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

• Deliver IBPs (research and analysis, presentation, stakeholder management, commercial and technical quality control, and communication of the solution to key stakeholders)
• Manage delivery of IBPs by Technoserve Fellows and third party consultants (strategic direction, process management, stakeholder management, commercial and technical quality control, and communication of the solution to key stakeholders).
• Manage IBP operations effectively (recruitment, timeline, budget, compliance)
• Build strong relationships with key agribusiness and investor partners (targeting of key decision makers, building credibility)
• Help to drive thought leadership on inclusive business themes; disseminate methodologies and learnings with internal (TechnoServe) and external stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of seven years of relevant work experience; or Master’s Degree plus 5 years of experience
• Proven commercial analysis skillset
• Demonstrated leadership skills, teamwork and relationship building
• Proven stakeholder management skillset
• Demonstrated passion for field work in a developing country
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong computer skills, including MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior strategy consulting experience at a top-t