Business Analyst at Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Limited (SCANL)

Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Limited (SCANL) is a leading management consulting firm focused on the agricultural and nutrition sectors in Africa. We partner with government agencies, private sector companies and leading international development organizations to conduct research, analyze policies, develop strategies and implement programs that promote sustainable food security and improved nutrition. We have worked on a variety of projects across West Africa, including in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Business Analyst

Location: Lagos, with occasional travels across Africa as necessary

Background

Sahel Consulting and its partners have created an online platform called Nourishingafrica.com that will be the ‘Home for 1 Million Agri-Food Entrepreneurs Transforming Africa’s Agricultural Landscape’.
The mission of Nourishing Africa is to “attract, empower, equip, connect and celebrate over 1 Million dynamic and innovative young entrepreneurs who will drive the profitable and sustainable growth of the African agriculture and food landscapes”.
As such, this hub serves as a platform for these stakeholders to accelerate their work, connect with each other, and celebrate their successes on the continent
The portal includes information on funding, e-learning, data on the sector, African food and chefs, career opportunities, and other resources to develop one’s career in the agri-food industry.

Overview

The Business Analyst position is for young professionals with a passion for agribusiness, interested in getting exposed to a variety of private-sector interventions in the sector
Business Analysts have the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs across multiple value chains in the agriculture sector, from farm to fork, across Africa.

Job Description
In this role, you will be required to fulfill the following primary responsibilities working with the Nourishing Africa Team:

Evaluate business processes, anticipating requirements, uncovering areas for improvement, and developing and implementing solutions.
Lead reviews of business plans and developing recommendations for improvement and engagement.
Engage potential, new and existing entrepreneur members on the Nourishing Africa platform.
Leverage a variety of tools to manage an efficient business development process.
Provide tailored leadership and coaching to entrepreneurs on the Nourishing Africa hub.
Create strategic roadmaps to onboard new entrepreneurs and establish benchmarks for their success with Nourishing Africa.
Provide an informed customer-focused feedback loop into the product design and management.
Drive the adoption of features and new products and find new growth areas.
Conduct market research to stay current on industry and market trends and tailor approach to ensure that Nourishing Africa remains competitive in its service delivery.
Conduct meetings with agri-food SMEs and relevant stakeholders and create reports and presentations to share ideas and findings.
Analyze, track, and report results of entrepreneur engagement programs and campaigns to the management.
Perform analysis of primary and secondary data, and documenting and communicating the results of such analysis to cross-functional team members and management.
Create complete bibliography and contacts list of all sources of research information.
Create proposals, budgets and forecasts as required
Support the management on other Nourishing Africa initiatives as requested.

Minimum Qualifications & Requirements
We are looking for candidates with a passion for the agriculture sector and entrepreneurship development that are also driven and self-starters. Below are key qualifications that we require:

Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Agriculture, Business Management, Economics, Finance or related discipline.
Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills.
Strong business background with a minimum of 2 years experience in business development work with SMEs in Nigeria or other parts of Africa.
Ability to write and review business plans.
Superior presentation and negotiation skills.
Proven management and organizational skills.
Strong adaptability and capacity to work in fast-paced environments.
In-depth understanding of organizational data flow and its use in management decision-making.
Ability to influence stakeholders and work closely with them to develop acceptable solutions.
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal).
Willingness to travel.