About TechnoServe

At TechnoServe, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better life. For over 50 years, we have given smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs the skills, connections, and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty. We leverage the power of markets and the private sector to create sustainable business economic growth to benefit people and the planet. Our unique mix of business solutions, deep knowledge of local contexts, and data-driven insights is helping us fight poverty across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

TechnoServe staff put a high premium on collaboration and entrepreneurship. We hold ourselves and each other to the highest standards of integrity. We focus on delivering lasting impact for our mission.

Context

For the past 13 years: TechnoServe’s inclusive investment department has partnered with some of the largest agriculture performance investors and development impact of their investments, primarily through the UK International Development (CASA) Technical Assistance Facility (funded by the European Agriculture Commission Fund between Technical 2011-2018).

TechnoServe is currently implementing CASA Plus – an expansion of the CASA TAF, co-funded by the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), British International Investment (BII) and UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). CASA Plus aims to support technical assistance (TA) and advisory to a variety of global agriculture sector stakeholders including local financial institutions, post-deal, impact-pre-deal investors, agribusinesses and donors.

The objective of the market building initiative is, in collaboration with DFIs, local financial institutions, impact investors, to donors, address systemic barriers to agricultural investment and double the agri-finance into the sector in the next few years, especially for agriSMEs and farmers at the production level, where the gap is largest.

After a successful pilot of the market building initiative in Tanzania, the pilot has focused on 1) supporting a leading local financial institution both the bank in expanding their agriSME-portfolio, alongside providing financial assistance incentives, 2) supporting investments into a group of 5 early stage developing regional impact investors in developing their innovative finance models in Tanzania, 3) convening with agenda-enabled across key agriculture businesses investors and 4) driving an influencing and donors in Tanzania.

There is now an opportunity to build on the pilot to unlock agri-finance in Tanzania at a greater scale.

Job Summary

The Inclusive Investment (Sr) Manager will be a cornerstone of the CASA Plus Inclusive Building team in Tanzania, tasked with transforming a successful CASA Market Building pilot into a large-scale, systems-change program. Reporting to the Inclusive Investment Director, you will oversee the ambitious mandate to double agri-finance in the country. Your core objective is to facilitate the mobilization of agri-finance into agriSMEs and production level by supervising impact technical assistance (TA), impact funds, and catalytic.

Critically, you will be responsible for building strategic partnerships between agribusinesses and financiers to design and implement innovative models that can unlock financing at the production level. This will involve designing and implementing innovative value chain finance models or off-balance-sheet finance structures between large agribusinesses or orchestrating tech-enabled aggregators and 3rd party smallholder lenders / SMES to bridge the critical agri-finance gap across production-level smallholder farmers.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

The Inclusive Investment (Sr) Manager will need to autonomously manage a portfolio of different projects in the country, including:

Technical Assistance (TA) & Project Supervision

• Scope and supervise the delivery of bespoke TA and advisory services to early-stage impact investor partners and targeted agribusinesses within their pipelines.
• Oversee the implementation of core agri-strategy TA for Tier-1 banks to bridge the implementation capacity gaps and prove the business TA case for internalizing agriSME advisory.
• Manage a rotating team of technical delivery experts, TechnoServe project Fellows, and specialized high-quality contractors to ensure project execution.

Innovative Finance & Partnership Building

• Lead the design and operationalization of innovative finance models and financial partnership institutions between producers, agribusinesses, and direct mechanisms anchored on tech-farmers-enabled aggregators to facilitate chain financing that improves direct loyalty and increases value production supplier-level net income.
• Collaborate with large agribusinesses to unlock off-balance-sheet financing.

Investment Origination

• Identify high-potential ongoing market investment opportunities for DFIs within Tanzania.

Influencing, Convening & Learning

• Engage and influence investors, donors, and other ecosystem actors to adopt high-quality, scale knowledge agri-finance products and learning materials based on the practical learnings and proof points of the program’s work.
• Represent the program at key national and East Africa level events to build industry alignment and advocate for increased capital flows to green and inclusive agriculture.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The role will involve managing TechnoServe Fellows, junior team members, third-party consultants, and evolving mix of delivery partners over time towards greater management responsibility as the candidate grows in experience.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 10 years of experience including a mid-level management role in a management consulting firm, impact investor, commercial agribusiness or agricultural development program; or Master’s Degree plus 7 years of experience.
• Proficiency in data analysis insights from complex data points, and ability to derive actionable insights.
• Proven “commercial sense” analysis skills, including basic modelling in Excel.
• Strong computer skills, including MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior strategy consulting experience in business management at a top-tier firm or other relevant field.
• Experience working within agri-finance sector in Tanzania and/or East Africa.
• Experience implementing field work in Tanzania, East Africa or developing economy.

Required Languages

• Excellent English (oral and written), interpersonal skills. Swahili is a plus.

Travel

• Travel up to 25%

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated leadership skills, teamwork and relationship-building.
• Proven stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills in a developing country.
• Ability to work independently, flexibly, responsibly and meet deadlines.
• Ability to prioritize.
• Has a strong sense of ownership, accountability and can-do attitude.

We welcome applications from both international and in-country Tanzania residents. If the successful candidate is not a resident of Tanzania, s/he will be offered a local contract.

• Scope and supervise the delivery of bespoke TA and advisory services to early-stage impact investor partners and targeted agribusinesses within their pipelines.
• Oversee the implementation of core agri-strategy TA for Tier-1 banks to bridge the implementation capacity gaps and prove the business TA case for internalizing agriSME advisory.
• Manage a rotating team of technical delivery experts, TechnoServe project Fellows, and specialized high-quality contractors to ensure project execution.
• Lead the design and operationalization of innovative finance models and financial partnership institutions between producers, agribusinesses, and direct mechanisms anchored on tech-farmers-enabled aggregators to facilitate chain financing that improves direct loyalty and increases value production supplier-level net income.
• Collaborate with large agribusinesses to unlock off-balance-sheet financing.
• Identify high-potential ongoing market investment opportunities for DFIs within Tanzania.
• Engage and influence investors, donors, and other ecosystem actors to adopt high-quality, scale knowledge agri-finance products and learning materials based on the practical learnings and proof points of the program’s work.
• Represent the program at key national and East Africa level events to build industry alignment and advocate for increased capital flows to green and inclusive agriculture.

• Demonstrated leadership skills, teamwork and relationship-building.
• Proven stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills in a developing country.
• Ability to work independently, flexibly, responsibly and meet deadlines.
• Ability to prioritize.
• Has a strong sense of ownership, accountability and can-do attitude.

• Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 10 years of experience including a mid-level management role in a management consulting firm, impact investor, commercial agribusiness or agricultural development program; or Master’s Degree plus 7 years of experience.
• Proficiency in data analysis insights from complex data points, and ability to derive actionable insights.
• Proven “commercial sense” analysis skills, including basic modelling in Excel.
• Strong computer skills, including MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Prior strategy consulting experience in business management at a top-tier firm or other relevant field.
• Experience working within agri-finance sector in Tanzania and/or East Africa.
• Experience implementing field work in Tanzania, East Africa or developing economy.
• Excellent English (oral and written), interpersonal skills. Swahili is a plus.