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Uganda jobs at Mercy Corps- Uganda
Position Title:Consumer Preference & Market Research Consultancy (219079-927)
Organization:Mercy Corps
Primary Location:Uganda
Education Level: Bachelor’s degree OR Master’s degree
Minimum Experience : 5 (Years)
Job Type : Full-time Employment
Closing date: 27 Jul 2014
Brief Company Profile:
Mercy Corps implements high-quality, analytical work in the world s
toughest places. Within Uganda, Mercy
Corps works principally in post-conflict
or transitional areas, including the Karamoja and Acholi sub-regions, to
integrate targeted assistance for the immediate needs of critically vulnerable
populations with a larger strategic focus long-term systemic change. By
addressing a number of interrelated needs within a wide range of activities
(economic development, health and nutrition, financial access, good governance,
energy), Mercy Corps applies a broad but integrated approach to address
challenges to product and service availability, access and utilization.
Mercy Corps believes that access to modern energy services underpins social
and economic development. Energy poverty drives poverty in the developing
world; poor energy access results in ill health, environmental degradation and
limited economic growth.
In Uganda, Mercy Corps has played a
valuable role in accelerating improved and efficient household energy product
availability, access and uptake for families across the Acholi sub-region of
northern Uganda.
Over the last few years, Mercy Corps
has helped to establish distribution networks, to grow energy resale business
savvy, to embed financing within energy product value chains and to catalyze
consumer demand for both improved cookstoves and solar lanterns.
So far, the team has had great success; as a nontraditional,
socially-driven service provider, Mercy Corps has developed both pathways for
private sector suppliers to establish and to scale operations and sales across
the sub-region as well as for families to adopt energy efficient products that
increase monetary and time savings while improving health and food security
outcomes.
Throughout our work, however, one of the most important barriers to scaled
energy efficient, improved cookstove uptake has been the consumer credit gap.
The cost of improved cookstoves is out of reach for most consumers and
especially women --- affordability is an important barrier.
Most consumers are unable to pay for
an improved cookstove product in a single cash outlay and have no access to
credit options. To begin to address this challenge, Mercy Corps built on recent
academic research, field testing flexible, reseller-led consumer credit options
that push liquidity down to consumers while circumventing the need for outside
financing. We found that price and non-price promotions offered through
resellers that target liquidity constraints, consumer confidence constraints,
and imperfect information while also appealing to underlying consumer demands
can significantly increase cookstove uptake (in this case, there was a 121%
increase in sales among participating cookstove retailers). We also went a step
further, demonstrating that retailers in post-conflict, rural and marginalized
markets are willing to extend credit to their customers and to employ new sales
and marketing strategies at their own risk and of their own cost when the
business case can be made.
Mercy Corps provided only information and encouragement to retailers; no
subsidies, no consignment, no sales staff and no guarantees.
Though research on price and non-price promotions is compelling and
important, it isn t enough. Novel offers have targeted all-encompassing
challenges, treating all consumers alike. But all consumers aren t alike. More
often than not, it s women who are being left behind and with them, overall
improved cookstove sales. This is particularly true for female consumers who
are more price conscious and who face additional barriers to formal financial
access. Failing to address female consumer finance for improved cookstoves
means missing out on the consumer segment with the highest capacity and
suppressed demand for improved cookstoves. Female consumers can drive cookstove
sales when appropriate financing and sales strategies are in place to meet
their needs.
Mercy Corps was recently awarded a small grant from the Global Alliance for
Clean Cookstoves to scale and to focus our research to test price and non-price
promotions to grow improved cookstove uptake among female consumers.
Specifically, Mercy Corps will develop a portfolio of proven, innovative,
scalable financing and sales schemes that bring women front and center,
attracting female consumers and increasing their cookstove adoption.
In line with this, Mercy Corps is seeking a qualified consumer preference
and market research specialist to assess barriers to female consumer improved
cookstove adoption and to design a basket of financing and sales
offers/promotions that target these barriers, enabling women to access improved
cookstoves and encouraging their improved cookstove adoption.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES & DELIVERABLES OF THIS ASSIGNMENT
Objective 1:
To analyze consumer preferences and constraints for both females and males
related to improved cookstoves within the Acholi Sub-region.
Deliverable:
A detailed assessment and analysis of female consumer preferences,
constraints, and ability and willingness to pay for improved cookstoves across
key consumer market segments within the Acholi sub-region (eg: urban/peri-urban
and rural, fuel use, income groups).
The assessment will examine spending patterns, savings patterns, income
streams, social network access, household decision-making and power
differentials, marketing messages, and cooking concerns, among others.
The assessment will examine male
consumer segments as a comparison group.
Objective 2:
To design a portfolio of financing and sales offers/promotions with
high-potential to grow women s cookstove adoption.
Deliverable:
A detailed basket of high potential pro-poor, female-oriented
financing/sales mechanisms/promotions designed to address barriers and to
leverage opportunities highlighted within the consumer preferences assessment.
The basket should include multiple innovative offerings, including offers,
bundled offers, products and services, and associated marketing tactics.
Thebasket of options must be assessed against the viability and likelihood that
improved cookstove wholesalers/resellers within Acholi can and will employ
them.
This should also include recommendations for testing, including where Mercy
Corps financial assistance would be best placed to support offer testing while
ensuring long-term, market-driven viability.
ROLE OF MERCY CORPS
Mercy Corps responsibilities in this study include the following:
·
Provision of the necessary
documents for review
·
Administrative assistance with
in-country research, including gathering interviews with consumers, resellers
and related companies/NGOs
·
Avail team members in the
planning, execution and discussion
·
In-country travel and related
expenses
·
Economic and Market Development Manager &
Gender Adviser will provide input, direction and comments to assessment,
packaged offerings and other recommendations.
TIMELINE
This work is expected to transpire in June 2014. Overall level of effort up
to 20 days.
SKILLS REQUIRED
·
Extensive consumer preference and
market research experience, including some experience with gender disaggregated
analysis.
·
Experience developing promotions
and sales offers, including bundled offers and marketing, preferably targeted
at women.
·
Proven ability to work
independently, delivering high-quality end products
·
Ability to structure and manage
complex tasks
·
Team management, excellent
analytical and facilitation skills
·
Prior experience in developing
countries preferred Mercy Corps is an AA/EOE.
Mode of Application:
If you are qualified and interested in
please submit your resume online by visiting the e-recruitment website HERE.
