Business Manager

• Kampala
• •
• Uganda
• Contract Type
• Description
• The Business Manager operates as Farm Africa’s central technical authority on business
• development services. Centrally employed by Farm Africa, the post-holder is tasked with
• providing cross-cutting technical expertise, project design inputs, and implementation
• backstopping to all existing and upcoming projects within the Farm Africa Kenya portfolio on
• matters of BDS. The role focuses on embedding standardized BDS frameworks into diverse
• project interventions, driving the growth of MSMEs/SMEs, managing catalytic funds, and
• optimizing enterprise data structures.
• Education, qualifications & other knowledge
• Degree level in relevant subject (executive business management, finance, agricultural economics, agribusiness etc.)
• Masters or other post-graduate qualification in relevant subject (executive business management, finance, agricultural economics, MBA etc.) is desirable
• Extensive knowledge of the agribusiness sector in East Africa
• Excellent knowledge of East African trade and export regulations
• Detailed knowledge of global best practice and new developments in agricultural market engagement is desirable
• SME/MSME Support & Business Performance Monitoring
• Support project teams in supervising enterprise establishment, growth strategies, and market integrations for targeted MSMEs and SMEs.
• Oversee periodic organizational "health checks", diagnostic reviews, and annual Organizational Capacity Assessment Tools (OCAT) across portfolio enterprises to systematically evaluate growth and correct underperformance.
• Develop, review Enterprise Capacity Assessment Tools (ECAT) and take lead in conducting enterprise and market assessments to identify gaps, emerging trends and opportunities.
• Data Collection, Monitoring & Learning
• Design and deploy standardized data collection tools to identify operational delivery gaps and harmonize information gathering across all active project sites.
• Partner with the Head of MEL to finalize business performance indicators, compile comprehensive quarterly reports featuring data visualizations (graphs/charts), and extract cross-project evidence-based learning.
• Networking, Representation & Compliance
• Represent Farm Africa, its partner networks, and central BDS interests at high-level industry networking events, government coordination forums, and donor meetings.
• Line Management & team management
• Provide leadership, mentorship and inspiration to BDS teams. Build a values-based working environment and support project staff skills development.
• Set objectives for BDS teams, hold in-person supervision sessions to discuss progress against their personal development objectives and work targets and carry out in-person annual appraisals in line with Farm Africa policies and procedures.
• Actively recognise and encourage strong performance from team members, deal with any poor performance effectively and promptly in line with Farm Africa policies and procedures,
• Actively seek feedback on own performance and effectiveness from BDS team members, project staff and country and project teams.
• Centralized Cross-Project BDS Support
• Serve as the primary, organizational-wide focal point providing technical expertise on business development across the entire Farm Africa Kenya project portfolio.
• Develop and drive implementation of Farm Africa Agribusiness strategy.
• Actively collaborate with external implementing partners and internal Farm Africa Project Managers to troubleshoot, refine, and advance their specific BDS project components.
• Ensure organization-wide consistency and quality control by overseeing all decentralized BDS activities, making sure they align with international best practices and institutional frameworks.
• Coordinate internal resource sharing, ensuring that competent technical staff and short-term consultants are efficiently sourced and deployed to support BDS components across various active assignments.
• Project Design & Resource Mobilization
• Lead the technical conceptualization and design of Business Development Services (BDS) interventions for all new grants, active projects, and upcoming consultancies.
• Actively contribute to resource mobilization and proposal writing to ensure relevant Farm Africa pipeline submissions feature strong, competitive, and actionable enterprise engagement opportunities.
• Explore blended finance opportunities and ensure integration within programmes to enhance financial leveraging.
• Curriculum Development & Institutional Capacity Building
• Design, standardize, and maintain a centralized repository of viable BDS models, training curriculum's, tools, and templates for use across all applicable Farm Africa interventions.
• Provide continuous coaching, mentorship, and capacity-building support to implementing partners and project teams on enterprise development and market access.
• Support project-level Business Support Advisors in diagnosing technical, managerial, governance, and financial capacity gaps within targeted small and medium enterprises.
• Catalyst & Catalytic Fund Management
• Facilitate, direct, and oversee the implementation of centralized and project-specific Catalytic Funds (including revolving funds and challenge funds).
• Develop financial disbursement systems, selection criteria, due diligence policies, and risk-mitigation reporting processes to optimize fund deployment for SME/MSME growth.
• Reporting and Compliance

Requirements

• Directly engage in report writing as well as provide support in reviewing project reports.
• Develop and manage annual, quarterly and monthly work plans and its associated budgets, in compliance with both donor and Farm Africa’s requirements.
• Ensure adherence to Farm Africa’s management processes and tools, including the quarterly reviews of the Project Management Tool and the bi-annual Project Performance Reviews.
• Review monthly Budget Monitoring Reports and provide sound explanation on variances; develop plans to address potential significant variances and report on implementation progress.
• Develop, coordinate review of, and submit high quality donor narrative and financial reports on time. PERSON SPECIFICATION
• Tags
• Business, strategic management
• Non-profit, social work
• Mid-level
• Uganda
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