Smiling Through Light is seeking a number of Advisory Board Members to help us fulfil our ambitious growth plans. We are looking for people willing to bring energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to the roles, and who will broaden the diversity of thinking on our Board with particular focus and experience in the following areas:
Development Finance
Marketing and Communications
Operations/Data/Systems
Business Development
Legal
Smiling Through Light focuses on clean energy access. We work with a network of local women to provide clean, reliable and sustainable energy in Sierra Leone through the distribution and sale of solar products, focusing on the last mile. By setting up distribution networks and supporting small female-run businesses, the organisation helps communities’ access safe, clean light technology, whilst simultaneously creating employment and income opportunities. The profits of the company are reinvested in the social enterprise: buying more solar products, providing capacity building training and ongoing support to the women. Smiling Through Light aims to provide women, girls and their communities access to clean energy, create jobs and income opportunities to lift them out of poverty.
Key Impacts to Date
Over 1,000 products sold of which 150+ PAYGO reaching +8,000 people who are now able to access clean energy products instead of kerosene lamps, creating savings of $30-40 at a household level per month.
Implemented a PAYGO platform (Solaris PayOps), QuickBooks for accounting, Financial Standard Operating procedures and a Customer Credit Assessment score.
Secured further funding to open a new Sales Hub.
Job Creation in Sierra Leone empowering women as clean energy leaders.
Trained over 800 community members on clean energy through storytelling.
Key Strategic relationships with UN SE4ALL, Power for All, PwC Social Entrepreneurs Club, Renewable Energy Access of Sierra Leone (REASL), Global Distributors Collective (GDC), ACCESS Coalition, USAID Power Africa West Africa Energy Program, ECREEE and solar manufacturers.
Secured funding of £120,000 from SHINE CAMPAIGN, School for Social Entrepreneurs, AFFORD UK, UN Women, GIZ, Project Rome Foundation, Whole Planet Foundation, founder capital, family, and friends.
60 Decibels Energy Top Performer 2024, a global industry for Customer Effort Score (customer service) based on their work with 200+ companies in 2020-2023.
Time Commitment
The trustee position requires a commitment of approximately 10 hours per month, including attendance at quarterly board meetings and participation in committee work and special initiatives as needed. In return for the above the successful candidate will have an opportunity to be part of a growing organisation working to make a meaningful difference in the clean energy access space.
TO APPLY
Please submit a CV with a cover letter outlining your interest to the Advisory Board Role and commitment to this position to info@smilingthroughlight.org by 19th July 2024. In case of questions or queries contact Smiling Through Light at info@smilingthroughlight.org
You can read about the different positions and application process here -https://www.smilingthroughlight.com/s/STL-Trustee-Advert-and-Role-descriptions-April-2024_Final-w2s9.pdf
