Opportunity International

The Business Support Agents (BSA) Project Officer will focus on driving the work of Business Support Agents, who profile and train Micro, Small, and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) primarily in rural and peri-urban settings, as well as some urban MSMEs. The role will manage, train, and monitor the BSAs in the delivery of capacity-building training to young women (under age 35) from rural client groups, promoting new and improved jobs in agriculture and ag-adjacent sectors. The Project Officer will provide oversight across three regions, ensuring the quality delivery, accuracy of data, and effective coordination of BSAs under the guidance of the BSA Project Coordinator.

RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Business Support Agent (BSA) Management

• Recruit, onboard, train, and support groups of Business Support Agents (BSAs) to deliver Business Development Services to MSMEs.
• Monitor and verify BSA data collection activities, providing technical assistance and troubleshooting support, including the use of data management systems (e.g., CommCare).
• Facilitate regular training-of-trainers sessions in collaboration.
• Ensure effective delivery of BSA-led training at the MSME level.
• Identify operational challenges and bottlenecks within the BSA model and collaborate on practical solutions.
• Assist the Agriculture Finance team in managing and administering the BSA network in collaboration with partners.

Partner Coordination

• Build and maintain strong relationships with local stakeholders, including MSMEs, financial institutions, private sector partners, and government agencies within assigned regions.
• Develop working knowledge of financial products offered by partner institutions and coordinate with their branches to support project success.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Track progress against work plans and project targets across the assigned regions.
• Validate and verify BSA data entries related to MSME profiles, training activities, and surveys.
• Guide BSAs in data collection, report development, and capturing client success stories.
• Prepare timely weekly reports for AgFinance management highlighting progress and challenges.
• Support impact assessments using monitoring and evaluation tools developed by Opportunity International.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree or Diploma in agriculture, community development, finance or related fields.
• A minimum of 3 years of experience working with rural communities, youth (up to age 35), and/or women-focused projects.
• Practical experience working with community-based financial organizations (VSLAs, etc.)
• Project management skills to effectively perform activities/tasks in a manner that consistently achieves high standards.
• Proficiency in the use of MS Office applications and Android Apps. Must be able to demonstrate competency.
• Ability to self-empower to enable the development of open communication, teamwork, and trust needed to support performance and a customer-service-oriented culture in agriculture.
• Passionate about Opportunity International’s mission and able to effectively communicate organizational goals.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Written and verbal fluency in English and one Ghanaian language is required.
• Must be able to attend & fully participate in meetings conducted in English.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• The position will require frequent domestic travel, up to 70% of the time, throughout the project areas.
• International travel may be required one to two times per year for team meetings or cross-learning trips.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Opportunity International Ghana is a consortium member of the First+ Scale Up program focused on stimulating demand for capital in agriculture and ad-adjacent value chains among young people, especially women and people living with disabilities. The goal is to build the capacity of young people (smallholder farmer groups and ag-adjacent MSMEs) by deploying a network of Business Support Agents (BSAs) to increase incomes and jobs among youth in Ghana.

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL

Opportunity International is a global non-profit that has been equipping people to build sustainable livelihoods and educate their children for 54 years. Opportunity provides 21 million families with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. In 2024, Opportunity International and its partners helped fund 19,000 schools that reached 3.4 million children. We respond to Jesus Christ's call to love and serve people living in poverty. We seek to emulate the Good Samaritan, whose compassion crossed ethnic groups and religions. We serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. Discover more at opportunity.org or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

ABOUT AGFINANCE

Opportunity’s AgFinance model is structured to bring scalable and high-impact loans and training to rural families living in poverty to build thriving rural communities. AgFinance accomplishes this by building relationships with financial institutions to support the provision of tailored agricultural credit products and services to smallholders and agribusinesses while providing technology-enabled training and services directly to farmers. Learn more at agfin.org.

CHILD PROTECTION COMMITMENT

Opportunity believes that all children have a right to protection from any form of abuse regardless of gender, culture, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, or ability. Opportunity operates in line with international best practices for child protection and recognizes its responsibility to ensure that all employees. This policy applies to anyone acting on behalf of Opportunity or is involved in its programs in any capacity. All employees are subject to background checks, which include criminal checks and sex offender list checks, as allowed by local law.