Senior Business Analyst (Manager) , ICT Innovation, CKW Program

Position: Senior. Business Analyst (MANAGER), ICT Innovation, CKW Program
Status: Full-Time
Location: Seattle, WA
FLSA: Exempt (Not Eligible for Overtime Pay)
 

Program Background:
Over the last decade, billions of dollars have been invested in the development of new agricultural technologies and extension services to ensure those technologies reach smallholder farmers, yet there remains a profound adoption gap among smallholder farmers, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda in particular, there are a number of challenges that reduce the effectiveness of traditional agriculture extension provided by government, multi-laterals and agriculture development NGOs:
• Limited last mile access
o With traditional extension, there is ~1 agent per ~15-30 villages/~3,000-5,000 households
• High cost of repeated touch at scale, limited effectiveness
o Due to high cost of reaching farmers, inability to interact on a frequent basis, and difficulty tracking effectiveness of extension efforts during the program implementation. Data show that farmers have only 11% adoption of improved techniques, and average yields are 85% below potential
• Low accountability, lack of incentives and low agent capacity
o Data show that only 6% of farmers received information from government agents , and 13+ acre farmers receive 9x more visits than <2 acre farmers , isolating the poorest, rural smallholder farmers
• Information is not contextualized; lack of feedback systems to ensure relevance
o For example, blanket fertilizer recommendations are provided based on varieties grown outside Africa . Such generalization applies to many other types of information, often rendering it useless due to the differences in soil type, climate, disease, availability of inputs, etc.

Grameen Foundation (GF) is seeking to address challenges facing smallholder farmers, especially women farmers, by addressing critical information gaps and value chain inefficiencies, leveraging networks of mobile phone-enabled trusted intermediaries through its Community Knowledge Worker (CKW) program.

How the model works: Trusted farmer leaders are identified, recruited and trained as CKWs to disseminate and collect agriculture-related information via smart phones to the farmers in their surrounding villages. CKWs take out a tiny loan and receive a ‘business in a box’ which also includes an off-grid charging solution and marketing materials to enable them to perform their work. GF has deployed 741 CKWs in 16 districts of Uganda so far, who are providing free agricultural information and advice to poor, rural farmers (including full life cycle crop & animal information, market prices, weather information, connections to transportation, seeds, fertilizers, etc.). The goal is to increase adoption of improved agriculture techniques, connect farmers to markets and producers, and ultimately demonstrate improved yields and incomes of poor farmers, especially women, demonstrating a new model for agricultural extension that can be replicated globally.

Job Description: The Sr. Business Analyst will be responsible for supporting the business development, finance, and strategy operations of Grameen Foundation’s growing Mobile Agriculture program. He/she will participate in the management of program budgets, perform strategic analysis of business models to enable long-term success of programs, develop expansion strategies and related financial models, and also analyze performance data from mobile agriculture programs and propose changes in operations or partnerships to optimize efficiency and program goals. The Sr. Business Analyst will also prepare for funder, partner and/or conference presentations, and manage independent projects related to the core CKW program in Uganda, and to prepare for scaling to new markets, and perform other responsibilities as required. Utilizing information collected from program staff in the field, the Sr. Business Analyst will work with Marketing to elevate the team’s strategic on-line communications to advance GF’s position as a thought leader in the ICT for development space.

The Sr. Business Analyst will work closely with the Director, ICT Innovation program, as well as on-the-ground team members, in structuring and implementing these projects, including leading project-based virtual teams. There is potential for management of contractors and full-time staff in this role.

Reporting and relationships: The Business Analyst will report to the Director of ICT Innovation.

Availability: The Business Analyst will be expected to work a standard 40-hour workweek plus additional hours as necessary to get the job done.

Essential Job Functions
The Business Analyst will be responsible for:
• Basic financial reporting, management and analysis
o Management of all program budgets, including budget creation, tracking, and reporting
o Monitoring spending/run rate against key large grants and awards on a monthly basis and providing information to field-based managers to adjust spending accordingly
o Developing business and financial models to analyze new programmatic opportunities
o Working with (to-be-hired) field-based financial analyst / business manager to the Uganda Country Director to mentor, transfer knowledge and provide ongoing support, with objective of transferring many of the above reporting functions to the field when possible
• Complex analysis and strategic advisory
o Leading annual budget analyses, and assisting in mid-year financial reviews, and other important strategic and financial analyses
o Coordinating financial reporting on grants and awards with field and with Finance
o Coordinating with Finance, Development and field-based program staff to ensure cost recovery on all grants and awards
o Working closely with Finance department to ensure timely, accurate and relevant information is available to Program and Regional teams
• Performance management
o Working with program and regional teams to derive and analyze program performance metrics, reporting results across GF
• Business Development and Program Management
o Supporting ICTI Program Director and/or Country Directors in proposal development
o Working with field-based leaders to own and manage discrete start-up projects to explore and/or cultivate the potential to expand the existing mobile agriculture program in Uganda to new geographies. May include strategy development, business development, relationship management, management of consulting staff, presentations to senior executives of partner and funder organizations, proposal and budget development, and some international travel.
• Marketing and communications
o Implementing an online communications strategy, coordinating with Marketing staff and field team(s) to effectively promote Mobile Agriculture programs via social media and online activities (blogs, website updates)
o Identifying opportunities for GF to increase visibility of ICT programs (e.g. GSMA Awards)
• Performing other responsibilities as necessary

Desired Characteristics
• Deep commitment to eradication of poverty and alignment with GF’s mission
• Proven experience conducting complex business analytics
• Strong business, financial and analytical skills and an excellent problem solver
• Strategic thinking with the ability to recognize linkages across multiple program initiatives
• Self-motivated, agile thinker with ability to juggle multiple priorities
• Ability to effectively communicate with other staff members and work in a highly-distributed work environment across multiple time zones, different cultures, and varied skill levels
• Ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, highly creative and entrepreneurial environment
• Willingness to travel up to 15% of the time (<3x/year)

Desired or Required Knowledge and Skills
• Strong writing skills; experience writing proposals, business plans and/or white papers a plus
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and PPT skills needed
• Strong time management skills and ability to manage various projects simultaneously
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of not-for-profit accounting, including direct responsibility managing large restricted grants a plus
• Must be eligible to work in the United States

Education and Experience
• Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Economics, Business, Public Affairs, or related field required. Advanced degree strongly preferred
• Minimum of seven years of international development and/or business experience, some of which includes financial modeling, and project management.
• Strategy consulting experience a strong plus.
• Fluency in English required
• Experience working and living in a developing country highly preferred

Physical and Environmental Conditions
This position does not require unusual demands for physical effort. This position may occasionally require physical effort to lift and transport boxes weighing no more than 50 pounds. Work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of places such as offices, meeting or training rooms, residences, or commercial vehicles; e.g., use of safe work place practices with office equipment, and/or avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations and traffic signals.

Additional Comment
The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all responsibilities, skills, or working conditions associated with this job. Reasonable accommodations maybe made in appropriate circumstances to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

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