INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FELLOW
Winter 2010 - Shenzhen, China
D.light Design is seeking passionate and talented professionals to contribute to one of the world’s leading social enterprises through 6-month+ fellowship. As a company that strives for excellence and innovation, we are committed to providing our fellows with a uniquely invigorating, challenging, and life-changing experience.
Fellows will be supervised by one of our senior managers and partner with our diverse team across three continents and multiple countries. Each fellow will be a major part of growing a multi-national, one-of-a-kind company that will alter the global landscape.
International Business Development Fellowship Description
The Fellow will work in the Shenzhen, China office, and will be supervised by the International Sales Manager. The fellowship is for a minimum of 6 months, but individuals who are able to commit to 9 months or more are preferable. There may be some additional travel to international markets.
The ideal start date is before January 1st, 2010, but this is flexible depending on the candidate. The Fellow will be provided with a small living stipend and housing.
The International Business Development Fellow will support D.light’s international sales efforts as well as lead various projects and studies in connection with D.light’s new market development strategy. The Fellow will be expected to engage in:
• Market Research - Conduct a study to determine feasibility of entering strategic markets and monitor business landscapes in prospective countries in terms of both market and non-market forces
• Emerging Markets Development - Develop distributor relationships and institutional partners (public sector and NGOs) in emerging markets on an ongoing basis
• Marketing Support – Assist the international sales manager in providing marketing support to key distributors
• Partnership System - Create systems to identify new international partners and gather best practices for developing those relationships
• Field Work - Participate in field work as necessary
Qualifications
All fellows are expected to be passionate about D.light's mission to develop high quality solutions for families living without adequate electricity. They should be committed to completing their deliverables during the fellowship period and be willing to work long hours in order to do so.
The International Business Development Fellow should also have the following qualifications:
• 2-5 years of professional experience in management consulting, business
development or international sales within a multi-national company
• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree in related field; MBA or related graduate degree preferred
• Experience in developing countries and base-of-the-pyramid markets strongly desired
• Ability to think creatively about business development in new markets
• Solid project management, research and analytical skills
• Excellent written and oral English communication skills, with fluency in a additional languages preferred
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills
• Detail-oriented, highly-motivated, independent worker
• Desire to work in social enterprise
• Enjoys the fast-paced, high-pressure environment of a start-up
• Ability to live in China for the duration of the fellowship and travel to D.light markets as needed to conduct field visits
How to Apply
Interested applicants should complete the Fellows Program application (available at www.dlightdesign.com/fellows.html) and submit their most recent CV/resume. Responses to the following short essay questions should also be attached separately (each response should not exceed 500 words):
1. Briefly describe your professional and/or educational background and how that experience makes you a good fit for this fellowship.
2. Why are you interested in the International Business Development Fellowship in particular?
3. What are the unique skills and knowledge that you would bring to this position?
4. What do you see as the opportunities and challenges for companies targeting base-of-the-pyramid markets?
5. Are you able to live in China for the duration of the Fellowship? How long would you like this fellowship to be and when are you able to start? Please address any additional concerns or issues you may have.
Please submit all application materials no later than November 25, 2009, to
fellowship@dlightdesign.com with the subject line: “International Business Development Fellow (China)”. Qualified applicants will be contacted regarding the interview process within 2-4 weeks of the application deadline.
About D.light Design
D.light Design is an international consumer products company providing high quality solutions for people without access to reliable electricity. Our mission is to enable households without reliable electricity to attain the same quality of life as those with electricity. We will begin by replacing every kerosene lantern with clean, safe and bright light. By 2020, we aim to have improved the lives of 100 million individuals.
D.light is financed by prestigious venture capital firms including Nexus Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Garage Technology Ventures, the Mahindra Group; with investment from leading social enterprise funds Acumen Fund and Gray Matters Capital. It was recently awarded the Social Venture Network 2009 Innovation Award, and named as one of the world’s top 100 clean technology enterprises by the CleanTech Group.
To learn more, visit www.dlightdesign.com.
