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I have been in Bamako for three weeks now and am in the midst of interviewing. myAgro needs a smart and passionate field animator to lead myAgro’s marketing, planting demonstrations and formations (instructional demonstrations) in the field. If you know anyone in Mali who might be a great fit, share the job description with them!
It’s been a competitive process so far – candidates have come from all kinds of backgrounds – microfinance, women’s health, community savings groups and of course, plenty of candidates who have spent most of their professional career working with small holder farmers. To find the best candidate out this stellar group is an exciting challenge- besides the regular set of interview questions to get to know the candidate’s work history and goals, there’s also a series of mini projects that candidates must complete and explain their thought process when developing their final project.
An example of one of these mini projects is to develop a manuscript that explains the myAgro model to village vendors. We imagine that their audience has never heard of myAgro before, which means candidates need to develop a manuscript that:
1) Explains myAgro’s model and objectives
2) Explains the role of the village vendor
3) Explains how the village vendor can benefit from working with us
Did I mention that the manuscript must also be short, exciting and motivating? This is no easy feat! So far our candidates have come up with really innovative and interesting takes on how best to explain the model to village vendors. One candidate came up with a great slogan too, “Everyone wins when you work with myAgro”, that we will most likely use during our marketing campaign later this year.
One of the benefits of having candidates complete mini projects is that I get to see how well the candidate can communicate a complex message along with a chance to see how creative and motivated they are when faced with a challenge. After narrowing down the interview pool, the top candidates will complete baseline surveys and farmer interviews to gather more information on the potential villages myAgro will work in. Stay tuned for the results in the next blog post!
