Business and Marketing Advisory Consultant (MEDA), Uganda

[Ashlea Webber]

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) invites applications for Business and Marketing Advisory Services for our RAPID Banana project Grantees to join our dedicated and talented team in our mission to create business solutions to poverty! 

Project Summary

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) is an international economic development organization whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty. MEDA’s RAPID Banana project is a four-year initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It seeks to improve the production and distribution of early generation seed (EGS) in Tanzania and Uganda by commercializing seed multiplication technologies and creating new business models that can help drive private sector investment into banana seed systems. The project is providing initial de-risked capital to a selected set of companies to test different technologies and business and distribution models with aim to improving the multiplication rate and distribution of clean and improved varieties of EGS material. MEDA is working with a range of stakeholders (such as tissue culture labs, nursery business operators (NBOs), farmer associations and national research programs) in this project. 

The RAPID Banana project wishes to provide business and marketing support services to its grantee companies (up to 3 businesses and 20-25 nursery operators mapped to these businesses) as part of its technical assistance to help these companies improve their overall capacities and efficiencies. MEDA has committed to providing business and marketing advisory services that will build the technical capacity of grantee businesses on development, execution and monitoring of the Nursery Distribution Model in their targeted geographies.

Scope of Work

The Business and Marketing Advisory Consultant will deliver business and marketing advisory services to grantees and their NBOs on behalf of RAPID Banana Project. The consultant will:

1. Review the progress of RAPID Banana Project workplan with selected Grantees (Up to 3 Companies) to identify areas of gaps and opportunities.
2. Assess the current knowledge level of Nursery Business Operators (20-25 NBOs) on clean banana planting materials, nursery business operations management, data recording and sales and marketing support requirements. These NBOs work closely with selected grantees identified for the scope of this support.
3. Create an action plan for each NBO in close consultation with grantee businesses in response to the assessment report. Plan to include trainings, data recording templates, marketing materials, process for monitoring and regular follow-up with NBOs for continuous improvement.
4. Plan, design, and coordinate with grantee companies on marketing activities. Examples of such activities are:
   • Design of marketing material such as signboards, brochures, info-leaflets including identifying and vetting the content. Coordination with grantee companies on printing of marketing material.
   • Identification of local radio channels in targeted geographies. Design (including content such as script, scheduling mapped to sales and planting season) and execution of radio programming with local and regional radio channels including price negotiation, while working alongside grantee companies.
   • Monitoring of execution of all marketing activities:
     • To ensure actual delivery of material on agreed timelines to intended recipient,
     • To measure the effectiveness of these activities both on qualitative and quantitative measures. These measurement parameters need to be agreed before rolling out of these materials in the market. Feedback mechanism should be used as a medium to improve the material design and execution.
5. Design and execute specific sales incentive plans in close consultation with grantee companies to boost the sales and adoption of products sold through NBO channels including any ongoing tools such as scratch card technology to aid different sales incentive plan.
6. Training of NBO’s on data collection for regular business activities, data collection for RAPID Banana project KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators). Reporting of the data in Microsoft Excel files/ Google files in agreed templates.
7. Oversee proper installation of Nursery infrastructure such as shade house installation and improvement wherever specific gaps are identified through workplan review.
8. To accompany RAPID Banana team during the site visits (NBO’s) of individual grantees.

Deliverables

1. Diagnostic and Evaluation Report provided for each grantee business on the progress made against their RAPID Project Workplan (at the start of the assignment and end of assignment).
2. Diagnostic and Evaluation Report on each Nursery Business Operator’s knowledge and existing gaps. Gaps and knowledge include topics such as weaning and hardening practices, nursery business management such as data recording on plant mortality, sales and purchases, cost of production, margins calculations. Analysis report to specifically cover the progress and performance against action plan developed to address the gaps.
3. Develop Marketing Materials for promotion of planting materials and Training Material designs for nursery operations management, including printing and delivery of all these to end customers such as NBO.
4. Participate in Bi-monthly and Monthly calls with the Country Project Manager & Project Coordinator to discuss the progress against the agreed workplan. Monthly calls to be supported with pictures of on-going activities on the ground.
5. Record and present data via a short report against Key Performance Indicators for each grantee business.

Qualifications

Applicants must have the following experience and skills:

• Degree in Business, Accounting, or Agriculture Economics
• Minimum of 2-3 years of relevant working experience with local agri-businesses/local SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) in Uganda
• Prior experience of designing and delivering basic business training and documentation to MSMEs and SMEs.
• Basic computer skills to create data templates, record, and report data from field. Smartphone Savvy.
• Strong interest and passion in field operations and ability to work with individuals of varying educational backgrounds, both formal and informal.
• Action-oriented with the ability to be highly adaptable to field conditions specially to meet grantee and NBO demands.
• Ability to listen and learn from the grantees and NBOs and share this feedback to teams in a succinct way.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English as well as proficiency in a Local Uganda language – Luganda, and any other dialect spoken in focused district is welcome

Assets:

• Prior experience of providing clear design briefs for marketing materials
• Prior experience in Radio channel programming, coordination, negotiation and deployment

Remuneration:

This consultancy will be deliverables based, MEDA agrees to pay a fixed amount when the consultant completes and hands over each deliverable. Completion of these deliverables will be confirmed by the grantee companies receiving these services  

Application Process: (https://meda.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=268)

In order to qualify for consideration, applicants are asked to submit the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae demonstrating previous professional experience, especially as related to the above mentioned qualifications;
2. A brief letter of interest (max 1 page) describing previous experience in business advising and marketing (with SMEs and/or NBOs)

Please submit applications through MEDA's website found at the following link: https://meda.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=268

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, May 13, 2022 at 5:00 pm East Africa Time  

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis