Program / Department
Summary: Mercy Corps has been operational in Kenya
since 2007 and currently implements programs in Rift Valley, Central and Wajir
districts with funding from USAID, Gates Foundation, ICDF and private Horn of
Africa drought response funds.
Mercy Corps’ efforts are
focused on supporting youth so they have a voice and opportunities for growth.
We are also helping drought affected communities recover and be more resilient.
Social Venture Customer Development Internship - Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: The Social Venture Team has three phases (assess, prove and scale) for ideas that receive grant funding from the Social Venture Fund and can become a sustainable social business.
Each phase must meet
certain criteria to be eligible for the next phase with the ultimate aim of
spinning the business off on its own as a successful social business.
The team is in the early
stages of the assess phase testing a youth employment social enterprise of an
online and mobile marketplace for short term and repetitive jobs.
The aim of this marketplace
is expand the networks of youth to allow youth to become more productive and
hire additional staff to meet growing needs as well as stimulate job creation
for new services to capture latent demand by the growing lower to middle
class.
This business functions
both via mobile and web, leveraging SMS and mobile payments to link youth to
individual employers for specific jobs followed up by individual reviews.
You will be a part of a
cross-functional team working on new products development, in a startup-like
environment, following Lean Startup methodology.
You’ll bridge technical and
business worlds as you participate in the design of new products using rapid,
customer-focused iterations. You will also take part in brainstorming,
evaluation and development of ideas gathered through internal company
innovation pipeline.
The intern(s) will support and participate in the work of the social business.
Areas of focus may
include:
1. Supporting program in
recruiting customers and validating profiles.
2. Supporting field tests
and interviews documenting key learnings and summaries.
3. Supporting business team
in developing business models and measuring key metrics.
Learning Objectives:
During the internship you
will have a chance to get familiarized with following concepts
- Lean Startup
- Customer
Development
- Business
model design and prototyping using business model canvas.
- Idea
brainstorming,
- Idea
evaluation
- Marketing
research
Deliverables:
The Intern will support the
team through the following activities:
1. Support the design of
monitoring and database indicators, forms, and tools of data collection
instruments.
2. Work with team to
organize, summarize and utilize data and data findings.
3. Assist in preparation,
participate and coordinate pilot development, business product development, and
trainings.
4. Supporting program team
in incorporating social media into business.
Ideal candidate should possess the following qualifications:
- Last year
students with strong interest in entrepreneurship and new emerging
technologies.
- Excellent
organizational and analytical skills with strong technical abilities
- Excellent
written and oral communication skills
The
following skills will be considered as advantage:
- Programming
- Experience
with Agile Software Development
- Experience
developing Internet products and technologies
- Experience
with Google analytics or similar analytics tool
- Online and
social marketing
Mercy
Corps interns and volunteers represent the agency both during and outside of
work hours and are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and
respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all
times and in all in-country venues.
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit on or before August 1, 2014 a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references to hrkenya@ke.mercycorps.org.
Applicants must clearly
indicate on the email subject: “Social Venture Intern”.
Applications without the
right subject heading will automatically be disqualified.
Please do not attach any
certificates.
Only qualified short-listed
candidates will be contacted.
NB: Mercy Corps does not
charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
