Business Development Services (BDS) Specialist - The Gambia and Senegal

What you'll do

CrossBoundary is recruiting Business Development Services (BDS) Specialists to support the design and delivery of enterprise development services across multi-country, donor-funded programs in West Africa. The BDS Specialist will lead country-level BDS implementation, ensuring high-quality training, coaching, and enterprise support in coordination with implementing partners, financial institutions, and other ecosystem actors. This role will focus on building viable enterprises, strengthening coach capacity, improving financial literacy, and preparing participants to access finance. 

Who We Are 

The CrossBoundary team is a unique group made up of people who are genuinely excited by the opportunity to make a difference in some of the most challenging yet exciting markets in the world. Team members come from diverse backgrounds but share several qualities: curiosity, humility, integrity, a drive for excellence, and a bias for action. 

Who You Are 

• Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in frontier markets 

• Willingness to take on new types of work, even without prior experience or direct supervision 

• Willingness to work and live in a sometimes-challenging environment 

• Comfort with ambiguity; ability to operate effectively in a changing context 

Primary Responsibilities 

Curriculum Development and Adaptation 

• Support the development and adaptation of BDS curricula and training materials 

• Ensure training content is suited to local contexts and literacy levels 

Coach Training and Certification 

• Design and deliver Train-the-Trainer (ToT) programs to train and certify agribusiness coaches 

• Train coaches to deliver the full BDS curriculum, including participant readiness assessment and business planning 

Quality Assurance 

• Conduct regular field visits to observe coaching sessions and address coach performance gaps 

• Oversee pre- and post-training assessments of participants 

• Provide targeted refresher training where assessment results show gaps 

• Support follow-up with participants between training sessions 

Financial Management and Access to Finance Linkage 

• Support delivery of financial management training for community groups and savings groups 

• Coordinate with the Access to Finance team to align BDS milestones with financing requirements 

• Support BDS refresher training for borrowers where repayment challenges stem from business capability gaps 

Coordination, Reporting, and Safeguarding 

• Coordinate BDS activities with implementing partners 

• Contribute BDS data and insights to program reporting and learning 

• Ensure BDS activities adhere to safeguarding and inclusion standards 

Qualifications 

The ideal candidate will have the following skills and qualifications: 

• 5+ years of relevant experience in business development services, enterprise development, or agribusiness support within donor-funded or development programs 

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Agribusiness, or related field; Master's or another advanced degree strongly desired 

• Demonstrated experience designing BDS or entrepreneurship curricula for low-literacy and rural audiences 

• Proven experience designing and delivering Train-the-Trainer programs and supervising large networks of trainers or coaches across multiple locations, including quality assurance 

• Proven track record supporting women-led or youth-led micro and small enterprises, preferably in agricultural value chains 

• Experience preparing micro and small enterprises for financing, including credit readiness assessments and business plan development 

• Understanding of how financial service providers appraise and lend to first-time borrowers, including group lending and seasonal repayment structures 

• Practical experience with savings groups, cooperatives, SACCOs, or microfinance; familiarity with the regulatory frameworks that govern them in West Africa is an advantage 

• Experience using assessment and monitoring data to improve training quality 

• Understanding of safeguarding, client protection, and gender-responsive approaches 

• French and English business fluency is required; knowledge of local languages is a strong advantage 

• Knowledge of the West African agricultural and financial sector landscape (or previous work experience in it) 

• Experience working in developing countries 

• Demonstrated leadership skills; preferably in fast-moving and complex environments 

• Excellent analytical ability and discipline; ability to think clearly, structure problems logically, and then design and implement solutions that focus on the core issue 

• Strong facilitation skills; ability to translate business and finance concepts into practical content for diverse audiences 

• Ability to build strong relationships with clients and colleagues in stressful environments 

• Excellent presentation skills; ability to communicate clearly and effectively with diverse audiences 

• Comfort with ambiguity; ability to operate effectively in a changing context 

• Willingness to work and live in a sometimes challenging environment 

Think you have what it takes but not sure you check every box? Research shows that while men apply to roles when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women often only apply when they check every box. If you’re passionate about what we’re building, send us your resume and a note to human.resources@crossboundary.com. We’re always looking to meet great people! 

Location 

The BDS Specialist will be based in Dakar, Senegal and Banjul, The Gambia (one position per country), with frequent travel to field locations.