GDC EVENTS OFFICER At Practical Action

ABOUT THE ROLE
The Events Officer will be a member of Practical Action’s Global Distributors Collective (GDC) team.
For the past five years, Practical Action has been hosting and building the GDC: a collective of 200 last mile distribution companies that cumulatively reach millions of the poorest consumers in the world with beneficial products like solar lanterns, water filters and improved cookstoves. The GDC provides a collective voice for distributors to ensure their voice is heard; drives research and innovation across the sector; facilitates the exchange of information, insight and expertise; and provides critical services that leverage economies of scale.

After a successful first phase, the GDC is scaling up its operations in six key areas:
• Accelerating innovation, e.g., through our Replication Facility
• Building capacity, e.g., through information exchange, formal training for managers and agents, and mentoring programmes
• Helping members access products, suppliers and services at affordable prices
• Helping members access finance and become investment-ready
• Undertaking market intelligence and research, e.g., by creating a performance benchmark for the last mile distribution sector
• Engaging with members and advocating for their interests

The Events Officer is a new role in the GDC team, which is essential to driving forward our member engagement and advocacy workstream; which sits at the heart of everything we do. The post holder will be responsible for planning, delivering, and evaluating the GDC’s online webinars/workshops series, as well as bringing to life our in-person GDC member learning and collaboration events, and coordinating the team’s engagement at global and national forums.

The person in this role will work very closely with the wider GDC programmatic and communications teams, while also regularly liaising with GDC members around the world, external partners and suppliers, and colleagues at GDC strategic and implementing partner Bopinc.

ACCOUNTABILITIES
Project management 40%
• Develop event planning processes, tools, and templates (e.g., using Asana, GANTT charts, etc.) for consistent use across the programme.
• Develop individual event plans, with particular attention to financial and time constraints, to ensure on- and offline events are delivered on schedule and to agreed standards.
• Manage all event arrangements, including sourcing and preparing venues, considering technological and catering requirements, ordering and coordinating materials from external suppliers, organising transport for site visits, etc.
• Support sponsored GDC members to attend events, including purchasing tickets/flights, drafting letters of support, and responding to GDC member queries.

Stakeholder liaison 30%
• Act as the main point of call for event participants, including briefing speakers, coordinating planning and preparation calls, and reviewing presentations.
• Work closely with partner organisations who may be event co-hosts, sponsors or donors, including participating in planning calls, coordinating partner visibility and co-branding, etc.
• Liaise with a range of external third-party suppliers to obtain quotes and book venues, including negotiating with vendors to get the best value for money.
• Coordinate timely inputs from the wider GDC team.
• Support other GDC team members to prepare for external event participation.
Content creation 10%
• Work closely with the GDC communications team to develop and disseminate event marketing materials.
• With support from the wider team, develop presentations, speaker briefings, agendas, etc, that leverage and champion the GDC brand.
• With support from the wider team, design engaging, interactive, and inclusive virtual and in-person session formats, e.g., panels, TedTalk-style presentations, networking/match-making sessions, peer learning groups, etc.

Event delivery and evaluation 15%
• Manage end-to-end delivery of online webinars/workshops, including speaker tech checks and backend Zoom functionality e.g., breakout groups, polls, etc.
• Act as the central point of contact for in-person event to ensure high quality delivery, e.g. room setup, speaker coordination, technology, time-keeping, catering, transport, etc.
• Evaluate event successes and required improvements, including supporting the GDC communications team to draft and analyse participant surveys, and draft evaluation reports as required by the donor(s).

Other (5%)
• Support other GDC projects, as needed; for example, the peer mentoring programme, training programme, bi-annual member survey, etc.
• Other reasonable tasks and duties as requested by the line manager.

PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following experience and knowledge:

Essential

• Hands-on experience of designing and delivering high quality in-person and online events, including using Zoom and MS Teams
• Exceptional relationship management skills, with experience of working with internal and external suppliers and stakeholders at all levels
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Organised, able to prioritise tasks, and adept at working on multiple projects at once
• Excellent oral and written communications skills
• An aptitude for problem solving and works well under pressure Ability to work independently and flexibly
• Self-starter and able to work remotely with limited supervision
• Proficient in using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint)

Desirable

• Familiarity with project management approaches, tools, and phases of the project lifecycle
• An understanding of monitoring, learning and evaluation in a development setting
• Qualitative analysis skills
• Experience working with networks, membership organisations or communities of practice
• Experience in last mile distribution
• Understanding of, or a willingness to learn about, gender dynamics within inclusive business

About the role
We are seeking a dynamic and motivated individual with exceptional attention to detail, and first-hand experience of designing and delivering high quality in-person and online events to join our team!
As the GDC Events Officer you will be responsible for coordinating our series of topical webinars and virtual workshops, leading the design and delivery of our regional GDC member learning and collaboration events, and supporting the team’s engagement at global and national forums. These activities are key to our member engagement and advocacy workstream, which sits at the heart of everything we do.
Practical Action is an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world. For the past five years, Practical Action has been hosting and building the Global Distributors Collective (GDC): a collective of 200 last mile distribution companies that cumulatively reach millions of the poorest consumers in the world with beneficial products like solar lanterns, water filters and improved cookstoves.
The GDC provides a collective voice for distributors to ensure their priorities are heard; drives research and innovation across the sector; facilitates the exchange of information, insight, and expertise; and provides critical services that leverage economies of scale.
The GDC’s 2022-25 strategy focusses on six key areas:
• Accelerating innovation, e.g., through our Replication Facility
• Building capacity, e.g., through information exchange, formal training for managers and agents, learning events, and mentoring programmes
• Helping members access products, suppliers, and services at affordable prices
• Helping members access finance and become investment-ready
• Undertaking market intelligence and research, e.g., by creating a performance benchmark for the last mile distribution sector
• Engaging with members and advocating for their interests

About you
You will be expected to have excellent event/project management, interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to multitask, work independently and adapt in a fast-paced environment. To succeed as the GDC Events Officer you should be organised, creative, and self-motivated with a keen interest in communication for impact. It is essential that you have demonstrative experience of planning and delivering high quality in-person and virtual events, (on popular communication platforms, e.g., Zoom) using a range of approaches and formats, ideally within the international development sector.

Why join us?
Practical Action believes that having a diverse and inclusive workplace culture based on respect will enable us to be an effective organisation. We seek to create an inclusive workplace in which people are accepted as individuals, regardless of their differences and where they feel their contribution is valued. We treat all applications for employment on their merits and do not take into consideration any factors that are not relevant to the job such as disability, race, age, religion, gender, gender reassignment or sexual orientation.

Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks including criminal checks and terrorist financing.
Additional information
Please note that should we recruit a suitable candidate before the closing date, we will close applications earlier than the specified date.
We are seeking candidates based in Kenya, Nepal, Senegal and Zimbabwe. The successful applicant must have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the country from which they will be based. Please note this is being recruited as a 2-year fixed term contract initially.
The final salary for this role is dependent on the country of base and job market conditions.
Closing date for applications: Thursday 10th August 2023

Interview Process:
The first round of interviews will be held the week commencing: 21st August 2023
If needed, the second round of interviews will be held the week commencing 28th August 2023

A detailed Job Description can be accessed here: https://practicalaction.org/careers/