Associate Business Advisor

About this role

TechnoServe is hiring three Associate Business Advisors, Grade 5, to support the Institutional Referral Track (IRT) Cohort 2 under its Growth & Investment Program in Tanzania. The post-holders will be based in Mbeya and Songwe and will deliver hands-on, field-based business advisory to 30 to 40 agri-SMEs in the Southern Highlands, helping them improve financial management, business documentation, credit readiness, and engagement with lenders. Reporting to the Program Manager, Growth & Investment Program, the role runs from August 2026 to May 2027 and requires travel up to 40 percent within the implementation areas. Core responsibilities include supporting recruitment, screening, due diligence, and enrollment of beneficiaries; verifying business operations and financing needs; conducting baseline data collection and business diagnostics; coordinating training, bootcamps, and advisory visits; providing one-on-one coaching; helping SMEs develop business profiles, cash flow records, financing needs statements, and use-of-funds plans; delivering four physical advisory touchpoints; monitoring participation; liaising with lender relationship officers; preparing SMEs for structured lender engagement; and tracking progress, adoption, and learning data for monitoring and evaluation.

Advisors will also escalate issues such as disengagement, unrealistic financing expectations, and business risks. Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree in business, economics, finance, agriculture, agribusiness, statistics, international development, or an analytical field, or have at least two years of field experience in business development, entrepreneurship, agribusiness, or financial inclusion programs. Experience facilitating training, data collection, digital delivery, and SME coaching is required, along with fluency in Kiswahili and English. Preferred qualifications include experience in Mbeya, Songwe, or the Southern Highlands corridor; knowledge of lender requirements, credit readiness, and priority value chains such as coffee, horticulture, grains, or livestock; and local languages.

TechnoServe is a non-profit that has worked for over 50 years to help smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs build better lives through market-based solutions. The IRT model is lender-linked and aims to strengthen access to finance. This is a full-time, fixed-term position ending in May 2027.