Vacancy title:
Business Development Officer

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Financial Services, Category: Agribusiness, Agricultural Services & Products, Business Operations, Sales & Retail, Social Services & Nonprofit]

Jobs at:
Opportunity International Malawi

Deadline of this Job:
Wednesday, March 18 2026

Duty Station:
Malawi | Lilongwe

Summary
Date Posted: Friday, March 13 2026, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:

Job Description

The Business Development Officer will support the implementation of financial inclusion and market systems activities under the PRIME and CMAAF Projects. The role focuses on strengthening access to affordable post-harvest technologies by improving financial linkages, supporting MSMEs, and providing supply-chain financing solutions. The role will work closely with agro-dealers, suppliers, MSMEs, cooperatives, and financial institutions to accelerate the uptake of Food Loss Reduction Solutions (FL-RS) by farmers. The role also involves field-level coordination, market research, training delivery, credit monitoring support, and regular reporting.RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.Technical Implementation

• Support rollout of FL-RS financing models (loan products, lease-to-own, supplier credit).
• Facilitate linkages between farmer groups, MSMEs, cooperatives, and financial institutions.
• Conduct financial literacy sessions for farmers, MSMEs, and service providers.
• Assess the financial capacity of MSMEs and document their support needs.
• Support the onboarding of MSMEs, agro-dealers, and suppliers participating in the project.
• Assist in collecting and validating data on technology uptake and financing performance.
• Support procurement and distribution coordination for post-harvest technologies in collaboration with the Financial Sector Specialist.
• Provide follow-up support to ensure MSMEs adhere to agreed business and repayment plans.

Market Systems & Value Chain Support

• Conduct routine market assessments to understand availability, pricing, and distribution gaps of FL-RS technologies.
• Strengthen relationships between agro-dealers, suppliers, service providers, and cooperatives.
• Monitor supply and demand dynamics for targeted post-harvest technologies and flag emerging bottlenecks.
• Facilitate small business coaching for MSMEs on pricing, governance, record-keeping, and service delivery.
• Support the development of business models for MSMEs involved in shelling, drying, or storage services.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Documentation & Reporting

• Conduct regular field visits to verify MSME activities and financing usage.
• Document success stories, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Submit weekly and monthly progress reports to the Financial Sector Specialist.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date records of MSME engagements, training sessions, and financial linkages.
• Contribute to project baseline, midline, and endline assessments.

Stakeholder Coordination & Relationship Management

• Liaise with local government offices, district stakeholders, and private sector partners.
• Represent OIM at district-level technical working groups and agricultural platforms.
• Support district entry meetings and community sensitization events.
• Identify risks, constraints, and opportunities across the supply chain and recommend solutions.
• Promote good relations between OIM, implementing partners, and market actors.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor's degree in business administration, economics, agribusiness or any related qualification from an accredited institution.
• Minimum 2–3 years experience in microfinance, agribusiness, MSME development, or financial inclusion.
• Understanding of rural markets, agro-dealer networks, and smallholder financial challenges.
• Experience working with cooperatives, farmers, or micro/small enterprises.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to assess MSME financial readiness.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and training skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and digital data collection tools.
• Motorcycle license is an added advantage.
• An understanding of and a commitment to advancing the mission and values of Opportunity International.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Written and verbal fluency in English, and additional 1 or 2 local languages required. Must be able to attend & fully participate in meetings conducted in English.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Frequent travel (up to 80%) to project districts for stakeholder engagement, monitoring of MSMEs, financial institution coordination, and support to field officers.
• Occasional travel to other districts or regions for cross-learning, multi-stakeholder platforms, training events, or project review meetings.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 24

Level of Education: bachelor degree

Job application procedure

Interested candidates should review the full job description and submit their application through the link above.

Click Here to Apply Now

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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