IFMR LEAD

About LEAD at Krea University:

LEAD is an action-oriented research centre of IFMR Society (a not-for-profit society registered under the Societies Act), leverages the power of research, innovation and co-creation to solve complex and pressing challenges in development. LEAD specialises in developing in-depth granular understanding of socio-economic contexts and harnessing actionable insights that have a wide range of applications in industry, policy, and academia. LEAD is a collaborative hub that brings experts from diverse disciplines and sectors together to develop innovative solutions by harnessing innovation, technology and analytics.

STREE is a technical assistance initiative spearheaded by LEAD at Krea University in collaboration with (DAY-NRLM), which aims to drive women-led enterprise development, with research at the core of its work.

About the Position:

We are seeking a dynamic candidate with expertise in marketing and digital marketing to support rural SHG made products and services.

Responsibilities :

- Design and implement customised marketing solutions for rural women micro and macro entrepreneurs, including product development, capacity building, and financial solutions and marketing plan;

- Ensure achievement of sales targets by the Saras Gallery and ESaras platform and the Saras Melas;

- Define and improve processes of the application, selection and training for achieving sales targets for the various marketing interventions;

- Develop an industry-standard marketing curriculum for women entrepreneurs and community cadres;

- Strengthen the existing cadre of grassroot trainers to troubleshoot queries and develop community-level ecosystems to provide practical solutions on e-marketing;

- Provide support to SRLMs and NRLM in implementing marketing initiatives, and report across thematic areas, as well as inter departmental coordination;

- Develop plans and training modules which will include components on product development, product standardisation, financial management, branding, packaging, and marketing;

- Participate in the existing non-farm programs and initiatives;

- Build relations with potential clients, government departments and private players for potential collaborations;

- Design communication tools to be shared with customers/distributors;

- Design any specific communication and marketing plans for days/festivals and SARAS;

- Create monthly marketing reports and updates internally and externally to key stakeholders;

- Manage and track marketing spend and budgets closely on a year-to-year basis;

- Ensure that all marketing materials, POSMs, content, tools and all related deliverables needed by distributors and commercial teams are delivered on time and in full;

- Assist in documenting progress against project implementation plans, results matrix, milestones and targets and compiling quarterly and yearly reports;

- Perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of NRLM;

- Develop guidance notes, guidelines and other documents at the National level for supporting programme implementation.

Qualifications and Key Requirements:

- Candidates with a full time two years postgraduate degree / diploma in MBA, Marketing Management, Development Studies or related field from an institute of national and international repute;

- 5-8 years of work experience at a middle management level of working in retail sales, marketing or digital sales, preferably on rural products;

- High levels of proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Internet applications;

- Proven experience as Marketing Manager or similar role;

- Good understanding of market research techniques, data analysis and statistics methods;

- Thorough knowledge of strategic planning principles and marketing best practices, covering retail chains, e-commerce, supply chains, and logistics;

- Familiarity with social media and web analytics;

- Creativity and commercial awareness;

- Excellent communication and people skills.

Preferences:

- Experience of managing for rural poor and/or experience in enterprise promotion, business advisory services, forward and backward linkages;

- Track record of working with rural areas and promoting non-farm livelihoods of rural communities;

- Experience of working with various groups, like SHGs, producer companies, joint liability groups, etc.

If you meet the above qualifications and are passionate about supporting small businesses and driving impactful projects, we would love to hear from you.