Support Entrepreneurship Skill Development for Local Artisans

Activity/project background

The Tesoros del Atlántico project supports local producers, entrepreneurs, and artisans to strengthen their business models and organizational capacity. This includes support in digital marketing, export, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and local identity. The goal is to promote sustainability and local production as competitive advantages, while fostering the development of collective value chains. Currently, many of these small businesses still operate in isolation, often lacking the organizational structures, integrated business strategies, and coordination mechanisms necessary to access to broader markets through cross-sector collaboration and product-service system approaches.

In response to these needs, SENA requests the support of a Virtual Service Pilot Participant to join its technical team to address these challenges through strategic guidance and virtual community-based trainings. While this would be the first VSPP in this specific role, two-year Volunteers are currently involved with the project in areas such as financial education and entrepreneurial skills. The VSPP will assist in creating a contextualized organizational assessment tool, designing and facilitating training sessions on topics that support cooperative entrepreneurship, and facilitating participatory planning processes. The VSPP will collaborate directly with SENA’s technical team and artisans.

The organization has previously collaborated with the Peace Corps. They understand that the role of a VSPP is very different than a Peace Corps Volunteer or Peace Corps Response Volunteer.

Engagement and tasks

The VSPPs will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their host country partners:

• Conduct initial assessments of each organization or individual artisan’s digital marketing and business development skills (under the umbrella of cooperative entrepreneurship skills)
• Co-develop training and teaching materials, informed by assessment findings. The training sessions will be 90 minutes and may include digital marketing, cooperative management structures, small business management, and other topics
• Deliver a training of trainers (ToT) to the SENA technical team on the sessions
• Co-facilitate and deliver six trainings to artisan organizations and entrepreneurs
• Provide one-on-one or small group coaching to artisans

VSPPs are expected to engage on the tasks listed above for an estimated 5–15 hours per week. This engagement is estimated to be 15 hours per week.

Online collaboration will generally occur between 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Colombia time. Specific times will be determined during orientation.

The host country counterpart will have access to Microsoft Teams and Zoom for regular communication and collaboration.

Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0–18), two adults must be present.

Optional additional activities

The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:

1. To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Goal 1 will be achieved through the VSPP's engagement and completion of the above tasks. The counterpart and VSPP may also choose to identify an activity that aligns with Goal 2. Additionally, the VSPP may identify a Goal 3 activity to implement during their engagement. See recommendations and tools for Goal 3 activities.

Essential qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field

Language: Advanced Spanish

Experience:
• 3 years of technical experience in digital marketing, organizational development, and/or entrepreneurship training
• Supporting strategic planning, results-based management, and report writing.

Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually

Desired qualifications

Education: Master's degree in digital marketing or any relevant field, including social sciences, education, business, management and organizational development

Experience:
• Work with rural or community development projects, especially in sectors such as tourism, agribusiness, or cultural economies
• Knowledge of local development models or other community-driven economic development strategies
• Design and delivery of capacity building workshops focused on strengthening digital marketing, organizational development, business development, or sustainability
• Facilitate participatory processes with diverse stakeholders, including local communities, government institutions, and private sector partners

Terms and conditions of engagement

VSPPs will be engaging with the host country partner, in coordination with Peace Corps post staff, remotely from the US. They should have access to a computer, internet, and telephone in order to enable direct engagement with the Peace Corps overseas office and the Host Country Counterpart assigned by the host country partner.

Orientation with the host country partner will be provided, within the designated virtual service hours, during the first week of virtual service via an online presentation and discussion. The host country partner will provide an overview of its organization, the local context, and how they envision collaborating with the VSPP.

The VSPP will have regular check-ins with their counterpart and bi-weekly check-ins with Peace Corps staff. Spending unstructured time with counterparts can be critical to relationship-building and is encouraged through activities such as coffee chats and informal calls within the weekly 5-15 hours.

Engagement safety and security

The VSPP will receive an orientation on Peace Corps’ Child Protection Policy and how it relates to online engagement along with IT security best practices. The VSPP will be expected to follow safety and security guidelines for online engagement to ensure their safety and that of the Host Country Partner and their counterpart, and any beneficiaries of the engagement.

Supervision requirements

The VSPP will report to a designated Peace Corps staff member. The VSPP will be expected to abide by the Virtual Service Pilot Participant and Donation Agreement and Participant Principles of Engagement. The VSPP will also be expected to check in with the designated host country counterpart as assigned by the host county partner.