Business Environment and Technical Assistance (BETA) Activity Manager – Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Lesotho II
About MCA
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government corporation focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in people. In May 2022, MCC signed a five-year agreement (“Compact”) with the Government of Lesotho (GoL) aimed at poverty reduction through inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) – Lesotho II, is an entity established by the Government to act as the accountable entity to implement the Compact, with the authority to bind the Government with regard to all program activities.
Lesotho Compact
The Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact aims to benefit 2.5 million people by growing, strengthening, and organizing the private sector in Lesotho and improving the government’s coordination to deliver critical services necessary to support private sector development.
It will achieve this goal through investments in Health System Strengthening (HSS), strengthening of the business environment and Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH), providing sustainable income for smallholders and increasing climate resilience by replacing rain-fed subsistence farming with irrigated commercial horticulture in select locations.
The GoL is committed to passing several key reforms that will help make this compact successful, including reforms that address gender equality, working conditions and worker safety, as well as land and water rights. All of the Compact’s projects focus on overcoming barriers to the economic inclusion of women, youth, and the rural poor.
Business Environment and Technical Assistance (BETA) Project
The $62 million BETA Project objective is to support increased profits and formal employment of a pipeline of businesses, including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), especially those owned by women and youth, and businesses in rural areas. The project will include public-private dialogue and support policy, regulatory, and legal reforms, strengthening financial institutions that can enable greater access to finance for MSMEs. The project includes grant opportunities for women and youth entrepreneurs. This project is strongly linked to the MDIH Project to provide technical assistance and business development support to MDIH Anchor Farmers and to develop horticulture value chains. The project is organized into three activities:
Pipeline Development Activity – This activity will identify, build, and connect existing and new high-growth potential firms to direct technical assistance and business development services (BDS) to support increased firm-level profits and business maturation. MDIH Anchor Farmers and horticulture value chain firms will be prioritized. This activity will also provide grants to select MSMEs to purchase equipment and goods to facilitate business plan implementation.
Business Ecosystem Strengthening Activity – This activity will strengthen the Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) mechanism to increase private sector participation.Using an inclusive approach to policy decisions, and improve the delivery of responsive critical services such as market development and value chain services to improve the business environment.
Financial Ecosystem Strengthening Activity – This activity will strengthen the financial sector in Lesotho by increasing financing options for MSMEs and large firms by structuring financing vehicles that address access to credit issues for firms across the size spectrum.The activity will build the capacity of financial sector actors to develop and deliver client-oriented and innovative financial products.
Position Objective
The BETA Activity Manager, will work under the supervision and direction of the Director BETA, in the successful implementation of the $62 million BETA Project. This will include refinement of BETA activities, initiation to execution of reforms, capacity building in coordinating grant activities, managing contracts and building collaborative relationships with stakeholders and partners, and overseeing project delivery and budgets. The BETA Activity Manager will ensure the alignment of project execution with the overall objectives of the Compact and the optimum utilization of its resources.
The BETA Activity Manager will support the Director in playing direct oversight over contractors and grantees, and his/her oversight role in managing project contractor deliverables and financial invoicing.
Key Responsibilities
BETA Manager Support
- Support the establishment and recruitment of BETA Manager
- Support Director BETA in contract management for BETA Manager and other key contracts and implementing entity agreements
- Support BETA Manager in:
- Undertaking capacity needs assessment for private sector entities including business associations and business development services (BDS) providers, incubators and accelerators
- Developing capacity building programs for private sector entities, including business associations, BDS providers, incubators and accelerators
- Establishing in-kind grants program for MSMEs and smallholder farmers
- Establishing partnerships and stakeholder engagement for implementation of the BETA financial sector strengthening, including the regulator, commercial banks, microfinance institutions and relevant government departments
- Developing tools and frameworks for managing performance of the BETA Manager in line with MCC standards and development objectives – GSI, ESP, M&E frameworks
Investor Engagement
- Develop and implement strategies to engage with potential investors/anchor farmers
- Act as the primary point of contact for investor inquiries and communications
- Organize investor meetings, conference calls, and presentations
- Prepare materials, including presentations, reports, and updates for investors
- Coordinate investor relations activities, including meetings, roadshows, and investor workshops
- Monitor and analyze investor feedback and sentiment
- Collaborate with internal teams from the MDIH project to ensure consistent messaging to investors
- Manage investor databases and maintain accurate records of investor communications
PPD Mechanism Support
- Coordinate the establishment of Public Private Dialogue (PPD) mechanism within public and private sector organizations
- Support BETA Manager PPD related tasks. This could include tasks related to contract management and technical supervision of consultants/contracts engaged under the PPD Secretariat, identifying policies, laws, regulations hampering business operations and growth, development of performance management tools, conducting a PPD capacity needs assessment and capacity building program, development of a stakeholder engagement strategy, identifying and recruiting experts/consultants on business climate and policy analysis
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business Development, International Development, Policy Analysis or equivalent
- Minimum of five (5) years of experience supporting and/or providing inputs intothe economic analysis for projects, contributing to the calculation of Economic Rates of Return (ERR), Cost Benefit Analyses (CBA), Beneficiary Analysis Framework (BAF) for large donor-funded business development programs with inclusive development metrics such as Gender and Social Inclusion (GSI) and Environment and Social Performance (ESP)
- Minimum of three (3) years in coordinating policy research and data analysis on business climate issues hindering productive business activity, and proposing interventions to address them.Special focus should be on domestic and foreign direct investment, and trade across borders
• Minimum five (5) years of professional experience in design, budgeting, management and coordination of multi sectoral programs
• 3 years of project/program management experience in coordinating donor-funded development projects in business development, business climate or financial inclusion
- Experience promoting women in business; experience with women and youth business promotion is preferred.
• 5 years contract management experience, overseeing consultant contracts and technical supervision of programs
• Experience collaborating with the public and private sectors, preferably in areas related to investment promotion, pipeline development, investment policy, finance, business climate, and public/private dialogue (PPD) facilitation, developing working relationships and partnerships
• Experience working in Southern Africa (previous work experience in Lesotho is strongly preferred).
• Experience in managing multi-disciplinary and multi-agency policy analysis or strategy formulation
- 5 years of experience in stakeholder engagement and developing communication strategies for multiple stakeholders in the public and private sectors
Skills and Competencies
- Proficiency in written and spoken English and Sesotho
- Must have excellent interpersonal skills (communication, leadership, teamwork) and the ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships with a broad range of development partners and program stakeholders, in the public and private sectors
- Must be able to effectively use Google and MS Office applications and have potential to learn any specific applications related to work
- Excellent report writing skills per requirements of the audience
- Leading multi-disciplinary and multi organizational teams with specific goals
- Stakeholder engagement skills
- Strategic planning and budgeting skills
- Thorough knowledge of the public and private sector landscape and protocols
- Thorough knowledge of contract management
How to apply
Complete applications must be submitted online, on or before Friday March 22nd, 2024.
Applications should be accompanied by the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae containing detailed work experience;
- Cover letter confirming interest and availability;
- Soft copies of higher education and professional certificates (if available);
- A completed online application form (can be accessed from https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app – CV Template MCA Lesotho II)
Only applications that are submitted on or before the deadline will be considered.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Submit your applicationonline via:https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app – Hard copy applications will not be considered.