Business Development Specialist

Business Development Specialist 

The Commons Project Foundation, Africa (TCP-Africa) 

TITLE: Business Development Specialist

REPORTS TO: Business Development Director 

PROGRAM: KoraLink Program

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full Time 

DUTY STATION: Kigali, Rwanda 

I. Organization Background 

The Commons Project Foundation, Africa (TCP Africa) is driving a person-centered health revolution across the continent. As part of the Commons Project Foundation (TCP), TCP Africa was established to build and operate digital platforms that enhance healthcare accessibility and empower individuals with secure, verifiable access to their health data. Founded in 2022, TCP Africa is developing and promoting interoperable digital health tools and open standards that enable individuals to access, oversee, and share their records seamlessly. In partnership with governments, foundations and other stakeholders, TCP Africa is working to digitize healthcare, build a skilled digital health workforce, and strengthen personal ownership of health data. 

TCP Africa implements the KoraLink Program (2025–2028), a joint initiative of the Mastercard Foundation and The Commons Project Foundation, in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Society for Family Health (SFH) Rwanda, and the Rwanda ICT Chamber. KoraLink recruits, trains, and equips young people, particularly young women in rural and poor-urban areas, as “KoraLink Agents”: community-based digital sales agents who sell health and essential household products and services to their communities through a digital marketplace.

Within TCP Africa, the Business Development function builds and manages the Program’s supply-side and employer partnerships, including manufacturers, distributors, vendors, and SMEs, so that KoraLink Agents have consistent access to a well-priced, well-performing mix of products, services, and other earning opportunities. The Business Development Specialist is part of this function. 

Headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, TCP Africa is growing rapidly. Committed to diversity and inclusion, TCP Africa welcomes applicants from all backgrounds and ensures equal employment opportunities for all. 

II. Position Overview 

The Business Development Specialist is a fixed term (2 years\) position supporting the business development work stream of the KoraLink Program reporting to the Business Development Director. The Business Development Specialist conducts the research, analysis, and coordination behind the earning opportunities’ work stream portfolio and partnership decisions scanning the market for products, services, gig work, and job opportunities that can raise agent earning;, supporting the screening and onboarding of suppliers, partners, and employers; and maintaining the transactional data and trackers that show how agents are performing, covering orders, sales, commissions, and learnings by product, district, and cohort. The Specialist turns this information into practical insights and recommendations that help the program refine the product and opportunity mix, target underperforming segments, and move agents toward descent income, coordinating with the Society for Family Health (SFH), the ICT Chamber, and other TCP Africa program teams.

III. Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Earning Opportunity Identification 

• Scan the market and assess demand for new ways KoraLink Agents can increase their earnings, and screen new products against the program’s selection criteria. 
• Research and shortlist suppliers, distributors, digital service providers and SMEs; run initial due diligence, pricing and margin analysis, and quality checks before products are listed. 
• detect employers and institutions with demand for gig work, contracts and jobs that Agents can fill, onboard them onto the marketplace, and keep the employer pipeline. 
• produce new offerings for launch by supporting supplier onboarding, product information and training materials, and coordinating quarterly vendor workshops. 

Marketplace Agent Earnings Tracking 

• Track agent orders, sales, commissions, and earnings against targets by product (including digital services), district, and cohort, including progress toward target monthly incomes and the gap between stock ordered and stock sold. 
• detect high performers, underperforming agents, and inactive or non-ordering segments; analyze the commercial drivers (product availability, pricing, margins, demand, and stock-outs); and recommend portfolio adjustments to the program and targeted assist to the field teams and supervisors who deliver it. 
• Use Revolving Sustainability Fund repayment data (devices and starter stock) maintained by the program to relate repayment performance to agent ordering and sales patterns flagging commercial risk factors (such as sustained non ordering or slow moving stock) to the program as input to the RSF Governance Committee. 
• Consolidate agent earnings’ feedback on products, pricing, and supply received through supervisors, SFH, the call center, and other channels, into a single log; follow up product quality and supply issues with vendors until resolution and escalate recurring issues to the Business Development Director. 

Reporting & Analysis 

• keep the business development dashboards and trackers covering the supplier and employer pipeline, product listings, agent earnings, and placements, as the working source for the program’s portfolio and partner decisions. 
• produce monthly product performance and sales and commissions summaries, and contribute data-driven analysis and recommendations on the product mix to the quarterly business development workstream report and program learning products. 
• produce the agent performance data packs for the monthly pause and reflect sessions with partners and record and follow up the agreed action points. 
• deliver data inputs to promotional campaigns with the Branding and Communications team, highlighting products and segments that need a boost.

Coordination & Administrative assist 

• track product availability across the regional warehouses and sector level shared stores in coordination with SFH, flagging stock-outs, delivery delays and supply gaps that would cost agents earnings. 
• Draft, track, and keep MOUs and partnership agreements with suppliers and other partners, keeping a current repository of signed agreements, key obligations, and renewal dates. 
• deliver administrative and coordination assist to the workstream, including scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and following up on action points, and perform other related duties as assigned in assist of KoraLink program objectives. 

IV. Qualifications and Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Economics, Marketing, Statistics, Development Studies, or a related field. 
• Minimum of three (3) years’ experience in business development, market research, sales or performance analytics, or partnerships, ideally within a social enterprise, NGO, FMCG, or last-mile distribution context. 
• Strong analytical skills, with advanced Excel proficiency and demonstrated experience working with sales, marketplace, or performance data to produce dashboards, reports, and recommendations; experience with data visualization tools is an advantage. 
• Experience supporting supplier or partnership negotiations, or drafting MOUs and agreements, is an advantage. 
• Experience with community-based programs, agent or last-mile distribution models, or ecommerce platforms is strongly preferred; familiarity with the Rwandan entrepreneurial ecosystem, health sector, or regulatory environment is a plus. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda required; working knowledge of French an added advantage.

Attributes: 

• Curious, resourceful, and proactive, able to spot earning opportunities for agents and follow them through. 
• Detail-oriented and well organized, able to oversee multiple trackers, partners, and deadlines at once. 
• Strong interpersonal skills and a service orientation, able to engage respectfully with agents, suppliers, employers, and partners. 
• Deeply committed to creating economic opportunity for underserved youth, especially young women. 

V. Location and Travel 

This position is in person at TCP Africa’s offices in Kigali, may allow for some remote work, and will require regular travel to program districts for agent visits, supplier visits, distribution checks, and employer engagement. 

VI. Safeguarding 

KoraLink works with young people, predominantly young women, including vulnerable groups. The post-holder must adhere to TCP Africa's safeguarding policy and code of perform, complete safeguarding training, promptly report any concerns through established channels, and model safe, respectful behavior in all interactions with program participants and communities. Employment is contingent on satisfactory background and reference checks. 

VII. Submission Requirements 

Interested candidates who meet the listed qualifications are invited to submit their application via email toprocurement@thecommonsproject.org no later than November 2, 2026, at 5:00 PM. Applications must include a cover letter and an up-to-date CV. Please ensure the email subject line reads:Business Development Specialist. Kindly note that late submissions will not be considered, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. 

VIII. Equal Opportunity Employer 

TCP Africa is an equal opportunity employer. We value a workplace that is diverse in terms of gender, race, class, age, geographic origin, sexual orientation, and other differences that enrich our society. We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, gender identity, and those who may not meet every requirement listed in the job description.