Head Of Advisory Services

Job Title: Head of Advisory Services

Department: Portfolio Management

Reports to: Director of Programs

Start Date: TBD

Location: Nairobi Kenya

About AECF

The AECF is a leading development finance organization that supports businesses to innovate create jobs and leverage investments to build resilience and sustainable incomes for rural and marginalized communities in Africa. AECF s s goal is to bridge the investment gap between earlystage enterprise and business maturity for entrepreneurs serving the poorest communities. We provide patient capital to new and innovative business models in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors across SubSaharan Africa through various financing instruments. To supplement finance we also offer advisory services investments support and knowledge and insights.

AECF has successfully implemented programs across 26 countries in SubSaharan Africa supporting over 450 enterprises and impacted over 30 million lives. AECF is headquartered in Kenya with offices in C te d Ivoire and Tanzania.

About the role

We are seeking a Head of Advisory Services to drive the growth and scaling of our portfolio companies. A growth strategist who will bring on board deep understanding of the triggers of growth for small and medium businesses pathways to success building systems and processes to enhance competitiveness sustainability and ensuring the resilience of their operations and revenues.

The Head of Advisory Services will report to the Director of Programs and lead the business advisory services team to support portfolio companies as well as unlock the institution s capacity to deliver towards becoming a learning and the goto institution for SME development in Africa. The role holder will oversee the AECF Advisory Studio as well as the AECF Academy.

The role will have access to a wide range of resources and a team (inhouse and consultants) that will look to him/her for leadership coaching mentoring training and support for career development.

The role will be based in Nairobi with occasional travel in the region.

Key Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership for AECF s technical advisory services (technical assistance) both structure and model.

Oversee needs assessment of AECF and nonAECF portfolio companies and map out their growth needs across the various stages of growth and position AECF technical advisory services to address their growth and scaling challenges.

Design and implement technical assistance initiatives to address the growth needs of companies to foster innovation and product development increase access to new or improved inputs identify market opportunities improve market linkages and access capital.

Develop tools processes and systems for efficient and effective deliver of the technical advisory services including curriculum or training content for selfpaced courses and workshops.

Ensure the AECF Advisory Studio (which hosts long term consultants and technical experts) and AECF Academy (a learning platform for SMEs) are effectively used for delivery of support to portfolio companies.

Ensure resources available are deployed to address most pressing needs that will best unlock the growth potential of companies through a balanced approach of inhouse and outsourced capacity.

Coordinate technical assistance service delivery for AECF and nonAECF portfolio companies build a system to track requests for technical assistance deployment of services adoption and implementation of acquired skills and tools effectiveness and impact of the service and manage a healthy database of technical assistance experts/consultants aligned to the needs of companies.

Design and lead the implementation of AECF Technical Assistance Facility for companies outside of AECF portfolio and further develop a healthy pipeline of nonAECF portfolio in agribusiness renewable energy and climate adaptation and mitigation to benefit from the said Facility.

Facilitate training or technical assistance intervention in key areas of business growth including financial management business strategy marketing and sales to reduce the risk profile of companies and increase both social and financial returns.

Fundraise for the AECF Technical Assistance Facility to provide access to business advisory services for SMEs in AECF focus countries.

Lead the creation and oversight of active networks of organizations who are looking to build capacity of Africaled institutions to better deliver their mandate including international organizations industry partners and academic institutions.

Requirements

Required qualifications experience and attributes

10 years of relevant experience in enterprise development technical assistance management consulting or private sector development.

Master s degree in economics finance business administration and/or related fields

Demonstrated technical knowledge of SME development as evidenced by successful work delivery of technical assistance and advisory services at scale to a range of agribusiness and renewable energy companies in subSaharan Africa

Demonstrated technical knowledge for institutional capacity development either as an inhouse or external resource.

Evidence of technical assistance delivery and design of creative solutions for growth and financing constraints for SMEs.

Sound analytical organizational project management and negotiation skills and the ability to conduct training and workshops/seminars

Visionary leader with great interpersonal skills to build an efficient delivery impeccable integrity and good judgment.

Strong written and interpersonal communication skills in both English (French will be an added advantage) with an ability to interact with a very broad spectrum of stakeholders.