NGO Water Entrepreneur Job in Nairobi Kenya

Water Entrepreneur
 

Tracking Code: 5159
 

PATH is an international nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. PATH’s mission is to improve the health of people around the world by advancing technologies, strengthening systems, and encouraging healthy behaviors. 

PATH has a mature and diverse portfolio of health interventions throughout Kenya with a focus on integrated service delivery, health systems strengthening and community engagement.
 

Throughout Kenya, small communities with low resources often have few options for water purification. 

People living in these communities often cannot afford to purchase household water treatment products, and there is not the infrastructure or access to capital needed for municipal treatment or water kiosks selling “off-the-shelf” water. 

These communities often reside some distance from reliable distribution networks and cannot easily access resupply items such as liquid chlorine or replacement filters. 

To address this, PATH intends to outfit private water kiosk entrepreneurs with a water purification technology known as smart electrochlorination (SE) and is seeking an individual with experience in working with small and medium-sized enterprises to help lead the effort out of our Nairobi office.
 

The individual hired to fill this position will work with a local implementation partner to build business capacity in water kiosk entrepreneurs in order to develop a thriving, sustainable water purification business. 

The incumbent will focus his/her efforts on creating a branding and marketing strategy around SE-treated water and use PATH commercial guidelines and tools to develop sales skills in water entrepreneurs and their staff.  

The individual hired will also work with local financing organizations to support the viability and growth of kiosk businesses through the use of microfinance to purchase the SE equipment and to provide necessary working capital.  

The incumbent will work with the implementation partner to identify challenges and best practices faced by the entrepreneurs and work to optimize this model for scale.
 

In addition to this scope, the recruited individual will provide technical assistance to PATH’s broader program portfolio in the area of microfinancing and enterprise development, as needed.

In particular, the individual will work with a project team in western Kenya to pilot microfinance models with organized groups of community health workers with the aim of sustaining the Ministry of Health’s community strategy.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Provide day-to-day technical support and training in enterprise development to water entrepreneurs and community health workers, in order to build business skills and capacity.  This includes face-to-face interaction, support, and advisement with individual entrepreneurs at implementation sites on a weekly basis.
• Act as local PATH liaison between implementation partners, water and community entrepreneurs and microfinance lender to ensure entrepreneurs have access to the tools, resources and services necessary to succeed.
• Assist PATH and our implementation partners in developing and maintaining effective monitoring and evaluation programs to identify best practices and respond to training needs of entrepreneurs.
• Assist PATH in reporting of results, challenges and best practices to public and private stakeholders and donors. 

Required Skills   

• Proven effectiveness working independently and as a team member and collaborating with partner organizations.
• Organized, responsible and concise, in order to meet reporting requirements and deadlines.
• Computer competency including proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, Word and Excel.
• Demonstrated knowledge of technical issues related to community health, water and sanitation in Kenya and the global context.
• Basic understanding of microfinance, specifically in Kenya.
• Proven skill successfully managing multiple tasks with competing priorities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in Swahili and English.
• Willingness to travel in country to support technical activities.

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in business and a minimum of five years of experience in business, preferably working with small and medium-sized companies or entrepreneurs. 
• A Master's degree in business is preferred.

Location:  Nairobi
 

Position Type: Full-Time/Regular

To apply: please visit our employment website, http://www.path.org/employment.php, click on the career site link, search for job code 5159, and apply online. 

PATH is dedicated to diversity and is an equal opportunity employer.