Innovative industries development lеad

Job Overview

Business Revival / Growth is ERA’s largest component, working with a wide range of beneficiaries across many business sectors/industries. Business Revival / Growth focused on multilevel support for MSMEs from all over Ukraine with an inclination toward relocated businesses or those who face more considerable risks due to proximity to borders with russia and the frontline.

Now, ERA is looking to extend the work in the innovative industries (including, but not limited to, support for the following businesses)

• Product-based IT companies* and startups. * — not including traditional / outsourcing type IT businesses.
• Industry 4.0 product manufacturers and developers. (IoT, smart products, etc.)
• Companies with a significant level of novelty and innovativeness that doesn’t lay to the previous categories

ERA aims to introduce Technical Assistance (TA) interventions at the company level. The Innovative industries Development Lead will be working with Ukrainian companies and startups in order to support their resilience and development as successful businesses being a foundation of the Recovery Economy of Ukraine. The lead will be looking for a comprehensive partnership that may include but is not limited to, consultants, service providers, profile associations, venture capital firms and other financial institutions, and donor-funded initiatives in and outside of Ukraine.

The Innovative Industries Development Lead will organize the conduct the comprehensive stakeholder analysis and build the pipeline of promising companies and startups. Organize and provide the TA programs to leverage internal and external resources to reach the goals of sustainable development of the existing and in Ukraine, their stay, and tax revenues growth inside the country. Facilitate the creation of new companies working in innovative industries. As a result, supported companies shall achieve to the most extent possible the following goals.

• Revenue growth in Ukraine
• New investments raised
• New markets entered
• New jobs created

The Innovative Industries Development Lead coordinates the efforts of different ERA instruments such as (including but not limited to) subcontracts, direct procurement, consultancies, and grants to achieve the goals set for the ERA Innovative Industries sector. The Innovative Industries Development Lead reports to Business Revival / Growth Component (II) Manager and is based in Kyiv (remote mode until further notice).

Responsibilities

Technical Tasks:

• Perform a comprehensive industry assessment based on the available and relevant research to organize additional research if needed. Regularly update it
• Develop a comprehensive strategic approach to the support. Identify target audience (s) and develop support programs that meet the goals and criteria.
• Build a pipeline of eligible companies, and ensure timely awareness and access to the provisional TA programs.
• Develop and implement the programs through leveraging ERA internal as well as external resources (VC, Donor-funded innovation support (e.g., Horizon Europe) from the U.S., EU, and G7 countries)
• Develop consultancy assistance for addressing bottlenecks of sales, marketing, finances, strategy, and other elements of business performance
• Build partnerships with major public (e.g., Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Ukrainian Startup Fund) and private sector actors (IT/I4.0 corporations) to ensure Private Sector Engagement to address the development goals through the blend of ERA and external resources.
• Develop export acceleration and support programs to help beneficiaries to reach new markets.

Others

• prepare procurement technical documents (RPF, RFQ), SOWs

Grants Management: in coordination with the grant management team,

• works with grant recipients and the ERA technical staff to develop new grant proposals and ensure that they are aligned with the USAID ERA objectives and performance indicators;
• provides technical assistance to grant recipients to support the implementation of their grant agreements;
• coordinates with procurement personnel purchases approved under grant contracts.

Monitoring & Evaluation: in coordination with the M&E team,

• supports data collection during the implementation of the technical tasks;
• monitors the implementation of activities according to the ERA M&E plan;
• provides information and data to the M&E team in a required format.

Communication: in coordination with the communication team,

• professionally represents ERA to relevant stakeholders;
• fosters ongoing positive cooperation with the stakeholders and ERA staff;
• ensures that the correct USAID ERA branding and marking are utilized during the performance of the technical tasks.

Reporting:

• maintains records of all activities using existing reporting tools;
• prepares accurate and timely progress reports quarterly and contributes to the preparation of annual reports;
• compiles technical information for the Growth manager and ERA Senior Management Team (SMT) upon request.

Job Expectations

In this position, you are expected to share the DAI’s four core values:

• Integrity: commit to civil and ethical behavior, play by the rules, and do the right thing;
• Responsibility: Be accountable to clients, partners, grant recipients, beneficiaries, colleagues, and communities where we work. If you fall short, you own up, fix the problem, and get it right the next time;
• Excellence: adhere to the highest technical and professional standards in innovation, learning, and service;
• Global Citizenship: respect the cultural diversity and treat everyone everywhere with professionalism and dignity to make the world a better place.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in IT, Venture Capital, Innovations

• Master’s degree preferred (IT, Management, Law, Economics, Engineering);
• Good understanding of sectoral development and donor-funded principles
• Experience in business management is an advantage
• Experience in a relevant role in donor-funded projects or international development projects Is an advantage
• Experience in the investment sector is an advantage
• Ability to work well independently and with a team
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Detail-oriented with good organization and prioritization skills
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office and Outlook
• Written and spoken fluency in Ukrainian
• Excellent written and spoken fluency in English

WE OFFER

Contract length: 12-months employment agreement with a possibility of extension until August 2026.

Salary Level: We offer competitive market-based salary level for candidates with relevant experience.

Duty station: remote

Benefits: all benefits envisaged by Labor Code of Ukraine, corporate medical insurance for employees and immediate family members.

Start date: January 2023

Application process

All applicants must send a cover letter and updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English to [email protected]

Closing date for applications: January 15, 2023 COB

For further information about the DAI GLOBAL LLC, please consult our website dai.com