A Project Manager makes sure that we deliver agreed outputs and outcomes to the best of everyone’s ability. Our Process Guide details how we go about our project work. Increasing numbers of projects are delivered with local partners. The role includes:
- Making sure that applicants are suitable beneficiaries. This usually happens in country face-to-face.
- Project design, budgeting, planning and approval.
- Securing of adequate funds.
- Monitoring and managing project delivery. This involves in-country visits and sometimes delivering training and training and assessing local trainers.
- Controlling project budgets.
- Reporting on progress.
- For our current projects please visit our projects page.
A successful Project Manager is:
- A competent beekeeper beyond BBKA Basic Assessment level – and not just with gentle bees.
- Familiar with general business skills. Our projects are about setting up small businesses, not just beekeeping.
- An excellent communicator and networker, particularly good at listening, sensitive to other cultures, tactful and diplomatic.
- Highly capable in planning and organising, including financial control.
- Able to work in difficult conditions and not risk-averse.
- Enthusiastic, flexible, able to work alone and take responsibility yet a keen team player too.
- Available for sufficient time to maximise success.
Induction process – three routes:
Pre-Existing Project Experience
If you have already managed beekeeping projects in the developing world why not get in touch? We can offer the opportunity to share knowledge with our team and the benefits of being part of an organisation dedicated to the relief of poverty through beekeeping.
Apprenticeship with a Bees Abroad Project Manager
There are sometimes opportunities to travel to a project or projects with an experienced Bees Abroad project manager. You will need to fund your own costs (or fundraise to do so) and should budget in the region of £1500. There are some suggestions below about raising funds.
Apprenticeship without a Bees Abroad Project Manager
We can help with visits for individuals to existing mature projects in Kenya or Uganda to observe and learn about the challenges of beekeeping in Africa. Again you will need to self-fund or fund-raise for this initial visit and the cost is typically £1000 to £1500.
Fundraising routes for Initial Visits, some suggestions:
Self-Funding – Donations of personal funds to Bees Abroad which are then used for visits attract gift aid of 25% if the donor is a taxpayer.
Local Beekeepers – A recent recruit convinced her local Beekeeping Association to give the money made from their annual raffle to help fund her visit and to give any surplus to Bees Abroad. The raffle raised £1300 which Santander Bank agreed to match fund to a tune of £1000. A school at which one of her friends does some beekeeping work raised £163 in a bucket collection. Result £2463 raised in 5 months.
Relatives and Friends – ‘No birthday presents thanks – give to Bees Abroad this year’.
Buy & Sell on eBay – it works for one of our project managers for continued project funds.
Swarms & Nuclei – Ask for donations to Bees Abroad when you collect a swarm or give bees away.