Career Opportunity at BRAC Enterprises Liberia Ltd.

About BRAC International

Stitching BRAC International (BRAC International) is a leading nonprofit organization with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice, and currently operates in 10 countries across Africa and Asia. BRAC International’s proven, practical solutions spark enterprise and lasting change. We equip people with the tools, opportunity, and skills to lift themselves out of poverty and reach their potential.

No. of Vacancies:

Job Title : General Manager,BRAC Enterprises Liberia Ltd (BELLL)

Staff Category : National

Tenure : 2 years

Salary : Negotiable

Reports to : Head of Social Enterprises, BRAC International Enterprises BV

Duty Station : Country Office

Our Approach

We function as a solution ecosystem using an integrated model of social and economic development, social enterprise, and humanitarian response, in partnership with communities and other local stakeholders. In Liberia, BRAC International implements these solutions through three separate but complementary entities: 1) social enterprise activities through BRAC Enterprises Liberia Ltd., 2) social development programs through our NGO, BRAC Liberia, and 3) microfinance and inclusive financial services through BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Ltd.

BRAC Enterprises Liberia Limited (BELL)

BRAC Enterprises Liberia (BELL) Poultry Hatchery and Feed Mill (BRAC Poultry Enterprise) was established in 2013 as the country’s first and only commercial producer of high-quality day-old chicks (DOCs) and poultry feed. BRAC Poultry Enterprise produces high quality day-old-chicks (DOCs) with improved capacity for egg production relative to local breeds. Leveraging a network of agro-vets and Community Agriculture and Livestock Promoters, these DOCs are sold to small poultry farmers and commercial layer farms. BRAC Poultry Enterprise also works with BRAC’s NGO in Liberia to enhance nutrition outcomes and income generating activities for local communities in Liberia by providing DOCs and feed as part of an input package for smallholder farmers serving as “Chick Rearing Units” (CRUs). The CRUs raise the DOCs until they are about 6 weeks of age, and then sell the pullets in local markets or directly to other smallholder farmers.

Until very recently, BRAC Poultry Enterprise operated as an extension of BRAC’s NGO entity in Liberia (BRAC Liberia). In 2023, it was registered as a separate for-profit company in Liberia and now operates under the umbrella of BRAC International Enterprises B.V., a fully-owned subsidiary of Stichting BRAC International. BRAC International Enterprises B.V. (BIEBV) is a socially responsible for-profit organization dedicated to scaling impactful and sustainable social enterprises that contribute to BRAC International’s social mission while generating profits that further support scale and impact.

The General Manager (GM) for BRAC Enterprises Liberia (BELL) will be responsible for managing the poultry hatchery and feed mill, leading the effective day-to-day running of the business including efficient application of resources, managing enterprise staff, and supporting data and market insights that inform continuous improvement in the enterprise’s performance. To support the transition of BRAC Poultry Enterprise from NGO-management to a separate, commercially managed company, the GM’s initial priority will be leading an update of the business model and strategic plan based on a detailed review of the current business operations and updated market evaluation. The GM will be responsible for supporting an initial feasibility and market assessment, helping the leadership team to update the business model and strategic plan based on insights from these assessments, and ultimately ensuring the team executes on the strategy. Beyond this short-term focus on updating, growing and executing on the current DOC and feed mill business model, the GM will also be responsible for identifying new growth opportunities for the business, such as new products and services and expanding market linkages.

Duties and Responsibilities

The General Manager (GM) is responsible for the overall daily management of the social enterprise, supervising all BELL staff and business activities, and ultimately ensuring the social enterprise is a profitable, sustainable and scalable business.

• Strategic Direction and Business Planning:
  • In collaboration with the BIEBV leadership team, support a comprehensive feasibility assessment of the business model and updated market analysis to evaluate the best pathways to financial sustainability and impact
  • Based on insights from these assessments, support the development of an updated business model and strategic plan for Board approval, clearly outlining a strategy to reach profitability and grow the scale and impact of the business
  • Drive regular data and market insights for continuous improvement in the business model and strategic plan
  • Lead the identification of new growth and impact opportunities for the business, such as new products and services and expanding market linkages
  • Lead a review and update of the business model and strategic plan on at least an annual basis
• Operational Management
  • Oversee all office functions including payroll, purchasing and procurement, accounts payable and receivable, billing and payment, human resources and personnel management
  • Serve as the highest escalation point on major roadblocks or risk factors and work collaboratively to resolve issues quickly, with support from the BIEBV leadership team as needed
  • Manage adherence to quality standards in accordance with country laws and regulations
  • Lead the identification, development and implementation of BELL-specific policies, standard operating procedures, tools, and other systems, to improve the management and effectiveness of the business
  • Lead all project reporting and communications, including to BRAC management, the BELL Board of Directors and project donors
  • Lead the development of operational plans for each respective team, aligned with the BELL’s overarching strategic plan, and develop associated KPIs
  • Generate strategic marketing program ideas, marketing plans, and develop associated KPIs
  • Support the teams to implement these operational and marketing plans, supervise their activities as needed, and regularly monitor achievement of KPIs
• Human Resource Management and Development
  • Lead the BELL team and oversee their achievement of KPIs and management of field-level staff
  • Support recruitment, hiring and effective onboarding of new staff
  • Build the capacity of BELL staff to manage their respective activities
• Financial Management
  • Lead the annual business planning and budgeting process, in collaboration with the BIEBV leadership team
  • Lead the development of monthly and quarterly financial targets aligned with BELL’s annual targets and strategic plan, such as revenue growth and cost cutting plans
  • Analyze the monthly/quarterly/annual financial performance based on these targets and guide the team to take necessary action
  • Provide effective financial oversight and budget management for the social enterprise
  • Support the preparation of financial performance summaries and projections for the Board of Directors, BI leadership and/or donors as needed
• Partnership Development and Resource Mobilization
  • Manage relationships, partnerships and knowledge sharing with key stakeholders
  • Interact with all levels of intra-managers, related Government officials, all key stakeholders to ensure effective management of the business and as well as coordinate the delivery of services and products in a quality manner
  • Support the identification and development of new, strategic partnerships
  • Support the identification and development of new funding proposals in close coordination with other BRAC staff, as needed
• Monitoring, Process Evaluation and Innovation
  • Ensure regular monitoring and evaluation activities are conducted
  • Support documentation of lessons learned, challenges and best practices
• Safeguarding:
  • Ensure BELL is promoting rights-based programming at the field and office level, aligned with the safeguarding policies of both BRAC and the Government of Liberia
  • Ensure key stakeholders, including staff, volunteers and customers, are aware of and have access to BRAC’s safeguarding policy and understand their responsibilities to promote and uphold it
  • Ensure sufficient capacity building of BELL staff to abide by the safeguarding policies of both BRAC and the Government of Liberia
  • Ensure appropriate monitoring, evaluation and learning activities are in place to monitor BELL compliance with the safeguarding policies of both BRAC and the Government of Liberia

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

• The successful candidate should have a Master’s Degree in a relevant field, preferably business administration, finance, marketing, project management, or similar concentration. Degree, coursework and/or relevant experience in agribusiness preferred.
• 4+ years of experience in running and managing a commercial agriculture enterprise in a developing country context, or similar experience that demonstrates ability to manage early/growth stage business in Liberia and drive profitability and sustainability
• Previous experience with poultry industry and social enterprises strongly preferred
• Strong management experience providing guidance to a team and ability to manage at all levels of an organization
• Strong understanding of business modeling, strategic planning and budgeting
• Very comfortable with data analysis and financial management
• Ability to apply creative solutions to refine and improve the business model and/or operational issues based on data insights from the field
• An effective public speaker, able to communicate to external stakeholders and communicate a clear vision to motivate a small team to deliver that vision
• Excellent, clear and high-quality report writing, with an analytical mind and attention to detail
• Able to use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint to capture, report and communicate complex data and ideas
• Familiarity with accounting software/programs such as QuickBooks
• Excellent relationship building & networking skills to create and sustain relevant relationships with external stakeholders and manage knowledge appropriately
• Participatory and inclusive skills to work across BRAC’s diverse and often remote teams

Persons with disabilities and women are encouraged to apply.

TO APPLY:

Interested candidates should send their application, CV, and academic documents as one document addressed to … Deadline is Tuesday 21 March 2023. When submitted by email bimcf.liberia@brac.net, the subject must be the name of the position being applied for. Only complete applications will be accepted, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

NOTE: BRAC International doesn’t charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process from the applicants. Should you have any doubts about the authenticity of any communication purportedly on behalf of BRAC International please send us an email before taking any further action in relation to the issue at hand.

BRAC is committed to safeguarding children, young people, and adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation – regardless of age, race, religion, and gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. Therefore, our recruitment policy and procedure include extensive background checks and disclosure of criminal records to fully ensure safeguarding.

BRAC is an equal opportunity employer.