Job Description:

The Business Development specialist plays a pivotal role by developing, designing, and overseeing the entire matching grant financing process in close consultation and coordinates with core partners and implementing partners (Ips), Financial Institutions (Fis) for allowing grant to selected SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprises).

The Business Development Specialist ensures that right progressive SMEs through a competitive/transparent process as a lain down in grant manual should win the grants and get the right technical assistance on proposal development and financial literacy.

More Specifically the incumbent will perform the following:

• Develop yearly work plan and budget in consultation with relevant stakeholders and organization’s project components.
• Monitor progress on plans and budgets, identify variances and suggest timely corrective actions.
• Coordinate with implementing partners / consultants to train SMEs.
• Review, analyze and suggest amendments, if needed, in the matching grant process as per the lessons learned from time to time. 
• Facilitate Training of SMEs on Business plan development and financial literacy throughout this matching grant process
• Mentor/coach/facilitate project provincial staff located in Sindh and Balochistan
• Ensure 30% of the matching grants go to green technology investments.
• Organize technical working group meetings in both the provinces.
• Follow advice and ensure that SMEs mobilize their funds to match the matching grants as per the standards set in the guidelines.
• Ensure timely completion of entire matching grant cycle as per the approved financing guidelines.
• Institutionalize the matching grant scheme e.g., developing component strategy document, developing policies, operating procedures guideline, setting matching grant approval procedures/limits and standard MOU/sub-grant templates.
• Develop application criteria for advertisement, processing, and management mechanism to be carefully decided, whether application to be received in hard form or electronically through web-based portals. Women owned/manage MSMEs to be encouraged through favorable criteria.     
• Coordinate and facilitate consultant and POs on Business registration and Audits of SME’s.
• Linking the SMEs with the value chain actors and A2F component and lead enterprises at district & provincial level.  
• Facilitate development of business plans for farmer groups, SMEs, BIO’s and ABSP’s.
• Review and provide input on training malarial on financial literacy, Business plan development and pitch of SME’s.
• Facilitate in review of business proposals and requirements of SMEs in terms of technical assistance through different committees at partner organization, Provincial and steering committee level. 
• Facilitate Partner organizations in matching grant process implementation. 
• Work closely with the Procurement Department to ensure that SMEs and POs should get right support and trainings to buy equipment’s & machinery on time via matching grants.
• Develop Implementation plans with matching grant recipients.
• Develop a pipeline of potential matching grant investments/ cohort to receive advisory services/ business development services.
• Ensure information sessions in communities through POs.
• Work closely with M&E to further strengthen the process by filling in the gaps identified during monitoring /Arrange events for visibility after the end of each cycle to distribute cheques among the SMEs.
• Monthly reporting of all activities and target achievements as per the format in the MIS.
• Ensure all means of verification regarding matching grant, disbursement plans, training beneficiaries are properly updated on the MIS.
• Develop and review MOU/ Grant agreement templates and milestones with the project beneficiaries are properly updated on the MSMEs.
• Recommending potential clients to Access to Finance Team to link with funding sources /FI’s.
• Ensure that all POs strictly follow the investment implementation plan and release funds as per the milestones mentioned.
• Ensure that all information/data of SMEs are available on MIS, all SME updated data must be maintained at any point in time.
• Facilitate donors, and other core partners, Consultants, Consulting Firms (s), and Partner Organizations’ missions in field visits, data collection (surveys) of SMEs / impact/results assessment studies of the successful business cases of MATCHING GRANTS utilization

Relevant Education, Experience & Skills 

A minimum of Bachelor ‘s degree in Rural Development, Business Administration from an Institution referred to in the world higher education data base (http:/www.whed.net/home.php).  with a minimum of 05 years’ experience, preferably in social development organization/s.

Skills:

• Team Building and Teamwork
• Interpersonal
• Effective Communication
• Negotiations
• Facilitation

 We are an equal opportunity employer and offer competitive salary package commensurate with incumbent’s profile.Women candidates and persons with disabilities, who meet the required criteria, are encouraged to apply.