Business Advisory Specialist – WEECAP
JOB DESCRIPTION
Position : Business Advisory Specialist Services
Country : Guinee Bissau
Type of Position : Local
Line Manager : Regional Supply Chain and Competitiveness Director
About WEECAP
The Women’s Economic Empowerment through Cashew Processing Program (WEECAP) is a five-year initiative, funded by the Mastercard Foundation, operating in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. WEECAP is transforming the West African cashew sector by aligning inclusion and competitiveness to capture global demand, attract investment, and open up economic opportunities for young women and men.
WEECAP tackles sector bottlenecks by connecting suppliers with strategic buyers, structuring resilient value chains, and mobilizing targeted financial solutions. At the same time, we strengthen the capacity of emerging businesses, help build robust policy frameworks, and foster concrete results through a practical, market-driven approach.
Our ambition: To make the cashew sector a regional engine of competitiveness, value addition, and inclusion.
- Create 330,000 jobs for young women and men through dynamic value chains and growing enterprises
- Mobilize $150 million in new investments through innovative financial solutions and private partnerships
- WEECAP acts as a catalyst—aligning supply chains, scaling up promising business models, deploying capital adapted to real business cycles, and supporting policy reforms that unlock sector growth. Inclusion isn’t an afterthought; it’s a lever for performance and market success. Our goal is a modern, competitive, and inclusive industry where women and youth are full economic actors.
Position Overview:
The Business Advisory Manager plays a vital role in supporting processors, producer organizations and business development advisory service (BDSP) providers in Senegal with capacity building, strategic guidance, financial planning, and operational improvements
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning
- Develop in collaboration with the Competitiveness & Supply Chain Regional Director a work plan with tangible goals and timelines to deliver business development advisory services to cashew producers and processors in Sénégal
- Lead the development of a local BDSPs network for cashew producer and processor support in Senegal.
- In collaboration with the BDSPs, develop periodic and ongoing intervention plans
- Utilize information from market assessments to support development of a roadmap for the development of the cashew sector in Senegal.
- Conduct business assessments for cashew processors and producer organizations, identifying needs and opportunities
- Advise MSMEs on strategies for growth, partnership development, and market access
- Integrate gender inclusion and youth employment into all advisory activities
Capacity Building
- Assess processors and producer organization need of business development advisory services in terms of operations, management, access to finance, traceability, sustainability- Link tailored business advisory services to cashew processors and producer organizations to enhance efficiency and profitability
- Collaborate with the BDSPs to provide trainings and services to WEECAP supported producers and processors in business management, financial planning, and operational best practices
- Develop training material/programs on business management, financial planning, and operational best practices
- Ensure tight integration of Advisory activities with other WEECAP activities related to competitiveness, supply chain access to finance, policies and gender.
Supply Chain Optimization
- Strengthen connections between cashew producers, processors, and service providers to improve value chain integration
Communication and Project awareness
- Provide input for the cashew promotional campaign addressing local consumption, including a media campaign
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agribusiness, Economics, or related field. Master's preferred.
Preferred Experience:
- At least 7 years’ experience in coordinating trainings and capacity building for MSME development
- Strong leadership and innovative mindset
- Knowledge of cashew industry
- Business management skills.
- Analytical thinking skills.
- Knowledge of training and the ability to design training material
- Customer service skills.
- Shows an advanced understanding of group efficiency.
- Proficiency in English and or French is required
Winrock is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal treatment for all people. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by law.
At Winrock we have a clear mission: Empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources through unwavering dedication to accountability, equity, innovation, integrity and transformation.
