Summary of the assignment:

Nature of assignment	Short term
Location	Home Based with limited travel
Timeframe	Six (6) Months
Reporting	To Executive Director/CEO

1. ABOUT EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL

The East African Business Council (EABC) is the umbrella body of the Private Sector in the East African Community (EAC). It brings together national private sector umbrella bodies, manufacturers, employers, bankers, insurance and transporters associations, chambers of commerce, corporates, and medium and small enterprises from the entire East African region.

EABC’s mandate is to represent and promote the interests of the EAC business community, provide value-added services that enhance trade and competitiveness, and participate actively and positively influence legal and regulatory formulation to improve the business environment. EABC works with the major stakeholders such as the EAC Secretariat, Organs, Institutions and National Governments and provides input in policy discussion while advocating for the implementation of resolutions at the national level aimed at increasing intra-regional trade.

1. ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE (ITC)

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint technical cooperation agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC aims to contribute to the achievement of the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, generates sustainable incomes and livelihoods especially for poor households, by connecting enterprises to regional and global markets and enables small business trade success in developing and transition countries by providing, with partners, inclusive and sustainable trade development solutions to the private sector, trade and investment support institutions (TISIs) and policymakers;

ITC’s intervention’s activities through its One Trade Africa program shall be focused on empowering, enhancing and enabling Youth owned MSMEs to access business opportunities placing a particular focus on ensuring women and youth are part of the continental market equation. Through its technical assistance and advisory services, ITC will support women and youth-led enterprises to engage in green technology through the production of goods as well as service sectors.

1. Broadening customer reach by matching consumers and suppliers through established platforms. This also offers MSMEs the opportunity to access new markets both locally and internationally.
2. Lowering the cost of transacting through the integration of innovative digital financial services such as mobile money. In East Africa in particular, mobile payment channels continue to feature strongly on digital platforms.
3. Offering online payment for offline MSMEs, to enable start-ups and MSMEs to manage, receive and track online payments from their customers.
4. Digitizing operations and providing access to affordable capital to help small businesses grow by recording their sales, expenses, payables and receivables.
5. Enabling last-mile delivery through courier services – mobile and in-app notifications are a crucial linkage to support this advantage. Such a last-mile advantage will provide an advantage to accept online payments, track delivery and also offer insurance on packages.
6. BACKGROUND TO THE ONLINE MSME IN BUSINESS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, MSMEs may look to further rely on digital platform partnerships as a way to support their recovery, build resilience and drive future growth.  An online Digital Platform is therefore being developed with an aim to profile youth businesses and provide more market access to the youth and women across the EAC

The activities of the platform shall nit be limited to; the promotion of SME platform, with emphasis on increasing the participation of SMEs in intra-regional trade to contribute to boosting intra-African trade and obtain updates on the implementation as well as the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through a phone application that will facilitate flow of market access and realtime information flow on new business opportunities as well as market requirement and modern market trends.

The Project Assistant will work with EABC Executive Director and assigned programme staff to coordinate the full implementation of the project including a well-functioning and interactive online platform, the mobile app as well as provide access rights to business networks for usage.

The consultant will

The Project Assistant/consultant will undertake the following activities:

   VI.            Review/approval time

Achievement of deliverables/milestones will be reviewed and validated by the EABC Executive Director.

 VII.            QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The suitable candidate should hold the following qualifications and key competencies:

1. Academic and Professional Experience: a Bachelor’s Degree in any of the following fields, Information Technology, Business Administration, Economics or related fields.
2. Work Experience:
3.  At least 3 years of relevant experience, preferably in assising project coordination and implementation.
4. Demonstrate effective organisational skills and ability to handle work in an efficient and timely manner.
5. Working knowledge of handling social media platforms and website editing.
6. Demonstrated ability to coordinate tasks to meet deadlines.
7. Ability to work independently and to maintain flexibility in working hours
8. Ability to write in a clear and concise manner and to communicate effectively orally
9. Working knowledge of office skills
10. Knowledge of EAC Integration and the AfCFTA.
11. Languages: Fluency in oral and written English is required as it is the main EAC working language. Good working knowledge of French and Kiswahili will be an advantage.
12. Additional Skills: Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel), Email, analytical tools/software for data analysis, experience in working with internet searches, online databases, and data retrieval) are required.
13. Nationality: The position is only open to Nationals of any of the EAC Partner States, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan.

VIII.            MODE OF PAYMENT

A monthly payment arrangement will be done upon submission and approval of the project’s monthly implementation report by the competent EABC officials.

    IX.            MODE OF APPLICATION

Send the CV, Cover letter and certified copies of the Degrees and professional certificates obtained to EABC Secretariat MAFAO HOUSE, 9^th Floor, Old Moshi Road, and P.O. Box 2617, Arusha, Tanzania or to procurement@eabc-online.com  clearly marked “Application for a job a Project Assistant/Consultant for the EABC-SME Online Platform”. The deadline for submission is not later than 14^th February, 2022 at 17:00hrs EAT.

EABC is an equal opportunity employer thus recruitment is on merit and with no regard to one’s age, colour, gender, marital status, disability or impairment, race or creed. Canvassing shall lead to automatic disqualification. Environmental aspects will be taken into consideration.