Social Enterprise trustee/Adviser - Volunteer in Wideopen

This is an exciting role for someone with social enterprise experience to help develop our partnership approach to international development which is based on sharing, not shifting power. We are looking to make change happen through collaboration, innovation and shared responsibility.

We need your expertise in social enterprise to ensure the success of the Karibuni social enterprise strategy and our ambition for Twende Pamoja to be more self-sustaining and independent. Board members have a lot of experience in education but as our joint focus shifts to social enterprise we need to increase our capacity and expertise in this field.

Although there are several small scale social enterprise activities currently, we are aware that much more could be achieved by establishing a coherent strategy which will:

• Allow for an upgrade to the facilities at Karibuni
• Increase visitor numbers to the eco-cottages from businesses, colleges, community groups, individuals, schools and universities
• Develop the demonstration farm at Karibuni, training local people to grow crops resistant or adapted to the changing climate and to convert crops like roselle into value added products to generate income
• Provide support for women and youths to develop entrepreneurial skills so they can start small businesses to support themselves and their families

We know the impact of this could be life-changing for the local community, now and in the long term, but need your expertise to ensure we can secure the income needed to kick start the project and support Twende Pamoja to successfully implement and grow the range of planned activities. This means you will play a crucial role in driving real change and transforming the lives of a small rural community in western Kenya.

What are we looking for?

We are keen to hear from people who have experience of developing small scale social enterprise with the potential to grow, which empower local communities to tackle issues of poverty and inequality whilst ensuring future economic and environmental sustainability. Ideally this experience would be related to agriculture and/or regenerative tourism.

Ideally you will have:

• A successful track record in social enterprise development and implementation
• Experience of working at a senior management / leadership level
• Demonstrable and practical experience of delivering transformational change to processes, delivering and reporting on agreed outcomes
• Experience of current agile project management practices
• Ability to work as part of a team and willingness to take collective responsibility for the governance of our charity
• Ability to work at a strategic and visionary level whilst understanding the detail and complexities of delivery, and the influencing skills needed to bring staff and stakeholders along with plans
• Strong communicator
• Ability to analyse risks and opportunities, and take a balanced approach to both
• Extensive networks, and a willingness to draw on contacts as appropriate
• Willingness to make a long term commitment to Team Kenya and Twende Pamoja

Hybrid

What will you be doing?

As a small, volunteer led charity, we rely on trustees to support the implementation of our strategy. We have always worked in collaboration with our partner organisation, designing projects based on local community knowledge and needs. You will support staff from our partner organisation Twende Pamoja as they develop, implement and evaluate their varied community-led agricultural and tourism-based social enterprise activities.

You will help develop and implement the strategy for Karibuni Eco Cottages so that visits there can be reintroduced and grown, generating income which will help establish other associated social enterprises within the community. Currently there are small scale projects around forest gardens, value added agricultural produce. Our long term goal is that income from these activities will not only make them self-sustaining but also be sufficient to support the various girls’ education projects and provide support for even more schools in the Ndhiwa region.

Working alongside trustees, advisors and volunteers, it will be important to ensure that everyone understands the potential and importance of social enterprise to our mission. This will underpin other key strategies and activities linked to communications and engagement.

As well as attending quarterly online meetings and attending an annual face to face workshop, you will have the opportunity to visit our partner organisation to meet the staff and learn about the local community and their ideas. This will allow you to understand the region and community and ensure Team Kenya are providing the best support for Twende Pamoja to achieve their goals.