Business Manager

About the Role

The Business Manager serves as the leading technical expert on business development services (BDS) for Farm Africa in Kenya. This centrally based role offers specialized knowledge and support across all Farm Africa Kenya projects, ensuring consistent application of BDS frameworks to foster growth of MSMEs and SMEs, manage catalytic funds, and enhance enterprise data management.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the principal organizational contact for technical advice on business development services throughout Farm Africa's Kenya projects.
• Develop and implement the Farm Africa agribusiness strategy effectively.
• Collaborate closely with external partners and internal project managers to troubleshoot and refine BDS components.
• Ensure decentralized BDS activities adhere to international best practices and institutional standards.
• Coordinate deployment of skilled technical personnel and consultants to support BDS efforts across projects.
• Lead design and conceptualization of BDS interventions for new and ongoing grants and consultancies.
• Contribute to raising resources by preparing strong, competitive proposal submissions with actionable enterprise engagement elements.
• Identify and integrate blended finance opportunities to improve programmatic leverage.
• Create and maintain centralized repositories including BDS models, curricula, tools, and templates for organizational use.
• Provide coaching and capacity building to partners and project teams on enterprise development and market access.
• Support Business Support Advisors in diagnosing technical, governance, managerial, and financial gaps in SMEs and MSMEs.
• Manage catalytic funds including revolving and challenge funds with development of disbursement systems, selection criteria, and risk management processes.
• Oversee enterprise growth strategies and market integration support for MSMEs and SMEs.
• Conduct periodic health checks, diagnostic reviews, and capacity assessments of portfolio enterprises.
• Develop and lead enterprise capacity assessments and market analyses to uncover gaps, trends, and opportunities.
• Design standardized data collection tools and harmonize information gathering across project sites.
• Partner with MEL leadership to finalize performance indicators, generate quarterly reports with visual data representations, and derive cross-project learnings.
• Represent Farm Africa and its BDS interests at industry forums, government meetings, and donor engagements.
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and performance management for BDS teams aligned with organizational values and policies.
• Prepare and review donor narrative and financial reports, annual/quarterly/monthly work plans, and ensure compliance with Farm Africa and donor requirements.
• Manage budgets, review performance against plans, and address variances proactively.

Qualifications and Knowledge

• Degree in executive business management, finance, agricultural economics, agribusiness, or relevant discipline.
• Masters or postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA) preferred.
• Deep understanding of East African agribusiness and trade regulations.
• Awareness of global best practices in agricultural market engagement preferred.

Experience

• Minimum five years' experience working with agribusinesses in East Africa's agricultural value chains.
• Experience with commercial subsidy or fund management is advantageous.
• Established networks with private sector BDS providers, financial sector actors, incubators, and accelerators.
• Background in promoting inclusive value chain development, especially targeting women, youth, and poorer farmers.
• Proven expertise in business analytics and capacity development for SMEs.
• Track record of delivering commercially focused programs to enhance agricultural value chains’ competitiveness and inclusivity.
• Experience in agricultural market and value chain analysis.
• Skilled in financial and operational analysis and due diligence of enterprises.
• Knowledge of early-stage investment processes and preparing agricultural enterprises for investment readiness.
• Ability to translate research into practical programming.
• Experience in economic modeling and macroeconomic trend analysis of agricultural sectors.
• Strong project management capabilities including planning and budget administration.
• Familiarity with M4P commercial programming is a plus.
• Proven skills in organizational and individual capacity building.
• Capability to monitor complex business performance data and produce insightful reports.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to generate timely, high-quality donor narrative and financial reports.
• Innovative and systemic thinking to design catalytic SME engagement activities.
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills under changing demands.
• Advanced business performance analytics applied to monitor critical metrics and create executive reporting frameworks.
• Strong influencing and interpersonal communication skills.
• Coaching and mentorship proficiency.
• Effective presentation and training delivery skills.
• Team-oriented with ability to work in culturally diverse environments.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently across East Africa.

Additional Information

Applicants should submit a cover letter (max 1 page) stating desired salary along with an updated CV (max 4 pages) including references. Farm Africa is committed to equal opportunities and gender equity. There are no fees at any recruitment stage. Canvassing leads to disqualification.