Job Description

BACKGROUND

A vacancy exists for the position of Business Development Officer for the above-mentioned incubator to support its current intake. The incubator, located at Mpophomeni, Howick, develops, supports and nurtures emerging, small and medium-sized township-based businesses (a mix of industries: tourism, services, agriculture, other).

The desired candidate, working closely with the Centre Manager, will be responsible for the provision of targeted and needs-based business support to township-based SMME clients of the incubator. The Business Development Officer will be responsible for exposing, upskilling and disseminating business and entrepreneurial skills to any start-up, entrepreneur or enterprise through nurturing, mentoring, coaching, facilitation of access to linkages (markets and funding), and monitoring and evaluation to achieve sustainable SMMEs.

This position is full-time, contract-based (5 months), renewable annually subject to performance and funding.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

Reporting directly to the Centre Manager of the Incubator

Servicing all beneficiary businesses (incubatees) of the incubator in an effective, and impactful manner to drive their growth and sustainability

Initiate, support and grow SMMEs within the tourism, agri, services, other key industries

Align key and effective business support interventions for SMMEs, and based on need of the business/ entrepreneur

Facilitate relevant beneficiary trainings and business mentorship sessions at the incubator

Help achieve the vision of the Incubator

Providing needs-based business mentorship and coaching services to the participating SMMEs

Relevant knowledge dissemination to SMMEs participating in the incubator, that contribute to their growth and sustainability

Tracking (monitoring and evaluation) of incubatee business performance on a monthly basis for assessment and reporting

Collecting, collating and uploading incubatee business development interventions MoVs (Means of Verification), onto reporting system

Assist SMMEs with the use of the Incubator facilities

In person visits/ meetings to incubatee premises on a regular basis and where needed

Incubator and Incubatee documentation management in an accurate, consistent, safe and confidential manner, in line with Centre policies and procedures and POPI Act

Support the Centre Manager in management of the Centre operations and facilities, as well as on staff supervision (Admin support and Maintenance staff)

Knowledge of and compliance to all statutory regulations, including the Public Finance Management Act, Basic Conditions of Employment, Health and Safety acts, as well achieved SABS SATS 2234:2020 (Business Incubator) and ISO 9001:2015 standards for the Incubator

Continuously and consistently strive towards the achievement of the Organizational and Own KPIs

Stakeholder engagements and identification of potential partnership opportunities, as is relevant

Participate at business seminars/ webinars if and where relevant and practical

Report-writing on progress of the beneficiaries and reporting to funder requirements (including the collation of evidence of support)

Experience and Qualifications

The successful candidate will:

Be in possession of a suitable financial/ business management qualification, (honours level preferred)

An experienced (all-rounder) enterprise development practitioner is required (who can work independently), with a proven track record in business development support for SMMEs (across a spectrum of industries) (experience in development of township-based business/ entrepreneurs a plus)

Be in possession of minimum 5 years business development/ business advisory/ mentorship/ coaching experience (particularly community/ rural business development experience)

Must have strong experience in advising both start-up and established business alike, with strong understand of the local SMME development landscape

Be a Team Player and work closely with the Centre Manager

Ensure compliance to SATS 2234:2020 standards for Incubators, ISO 9001:2015 and PFMA policies and procedures

Be Multilingual (Proficient in English and isiZulu)

Preferably locally-based

Use of AI tools, such as MS Copilot and ChatGPT will be beneficial

Other Attributes:

Strong report-writing and able to write business/ funding plans for start-up/ existing businesses or assist with funding applications collation for the Centre

Excellent financial acumen skills

Deadline-driven and results orientated

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Be in possession of very strong report-writing, reporting and presentation skills

Very strong computer literacy (MS Office) skills

Be willing to travel to meet stakeholders and clients, as and when required (driver's licence and own vehicle mandatory)

Build effective relations with the local community

A strong knowledge of funding opportunities for small businesses by National Government and other agencies.

Please submit applications, including:

A cover letter

Your most recent CV demonstrating the above requirements

Examples of business report writing

Three contactable references

Applications must be submitted by close of business 24th October 2025 to shamantha@sigmaintl.co.za

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you have not received a response by 31st October 2025, please regard your application as unsuccessful.

NOTE

All shortlisted candidates may be subject to both a credit, reference check and a police clearance check.

Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held virtually (via Zoom or MS Teams) in November 2025

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: In person

Application Deadline: 2025/10/24