Financial Inclusion Officer at Finpact Development Foundation (FINDEF) - 3 Openings

Finpact Development Foundation (FINDEF) is an indigenous non-governmental organization. Our focus is on delivering lasting value through the work we do, making us trusted advisors to all our partners. We are actively involved in the food security, livelihood and education projects, as well as government-led NGO coordination committee platform. Our local presence, capacity, experience, relationships, understanding of local culture and context are all major factors that enable us deliver humanitarian response. We are guided by humanitarian principles and our working philosophy with partners includes commitment to transparency, accountability, shared goals, honesty and trust. We keep a fast paced environment where self-motivated and independent Individuals who are looking to constantly develop themselves thrive well. We pride ourselves in working at hard to reach communities while maintaining keen focus on culture and management structures that support excellent interaction with partners and stakeholders.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Financial Inclusion Officer

Locations: Katsina, Sokoto & Zamfara
Employment Type: Full Time

Job Summary

• In close collaboration with the Program Coordinator, the position holder will have a broad range of tasks and responsibilities related to programme design, monitoring and evaluation, partnerships creation, and support of field operations.
• S/he will be responsible for supporting field operations with the screening and implementation of financial inclusion projects and partnerships; building the capacity of beneficiaries in financial management and identifying new areas to promote access to finance for the participants we support in these communities.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify new areas to support the planning and successful implementation of our livelihood projects through sustainable partnerships with relevant financial institutions, and development financial institutions.
• Document the impact of any project in financial inclusion, ensure acknowledgement for its relevance, and dissemination of its findings.
• Design and deliver capacity strengthening programs for project participants and field staff involved in financial inclusion operations, particularly in relation to the identification of suitable financial institutions to partner with, data-collection and performance/outcomes monitoring.
• Support FINDEF’s field operations to raise awareness about access to finance for participants within the communities we support and to establish partnerships with qualified financial service providers.
• Provide technical guidance to FINDEF’s programme team engaged in partnerships with financial service providers.
• Identify and build solid partnerships within the financial sector, research institutes, competent technical agencies and others that can bring knowledge, know-how and networks in support of creating financial inclusion opportunities for participants and other host community members.
• Support the monitoring, reporting on measurement of results/impact of financial inclusion projects implemented by FINDEF.
• Support the identification and assessment of technical / financial assistance needs of participants.
• Raise awareness about the needs of vulnerable people in access to finance and on the work done by FINDEF in this area by writing/editing impact stories from our work.
• Proactively seek new opportunities for effective shared value partnership building and resource mobilization amongst highly qualified financial institutions, as well as development actors and donors.
• Support in reviewing project proposals coming from field offices to promote access to finance for our project participants.
• Research and write/edit knowledge products pertaining to financial inclusion/resilience of vulnerable people for publication.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field (Business Management, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Community Development or its equivalent).
• 4 - 6 years of field experience in leading and managing economic recovery/livelihoods programming in an NGO or other relevant agency. Experience implementing Financial Inclusion interventions and models (VSLA/GS&L, Financial Education, savings groups-bank linkage) is an added advantage.
• Fluency in written and spoken English essential; Hausa preferred
• Technical experience in financial inclusion programming, including working with VSLAs, developing the capacity of small, medium and micro-enterprises, working with micro-loans and formal financial institutions, providing financial inclusion training.
• Strong project management skills, with experience managing multiple locations, sector project budget.
• Experience working in remote communities, providing displacement responses and in multi-sectoral interventions.
• Experience in the digitization of savings groups project, enterprises, or social associations is an added advantage.
• Strong planning, organization and problem-solving skills with ability to work both independently and within a team in a demanding working environment.
• Good analytical and strategic planning skills.
• A demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, partners, local organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Good level of communication and interpersonal skills.

Application Closing Date
5th June, 2024.