FINANCIAL SERVICE ADVISOR

I. JOB SUMMARY:

The purpose of Financial Service Advisor is to lead all RFSA/ SPIR II consortium efforts on Financial Services. Based at Consortium level, s/he supports all implementing partners (IPs): WV, CARE, and ORDA Ethiopia on design, implementation, and management of financial service-related interventions. S/he ensures that project staff and partners have clear understanding on financial service-related strategies, approaches, and modalities. S/he leads establishment of village economic and social associations (VESAs) and implementation of related activities including training on group governance and management, saving and lending methodologies, financial literacy, and income generating activity (IGA) Selection Planning and Management (SPM). S/he ensures that regular VESA discussions are conducted as planned, and supports compilation of qualitative monitoring across all IPs. S/he will also make sure that savings and loan performance data are properly tracked, compiled, and documented for performance management and learning. S/he is also expected to advise IPs on strategies to maximize VESA sustainability.

Moreover, the post holder leads project clients’ linkage to financial service providers (RuSACCOs, MFIs, and Banks). S/he ensures that VESA and other financial service-related interventions are implemented as planned and bring about the desired impact in the livelihood of targeted households.  S/he leads the organization of different learning events/ forums and engage partners for mutual learning and collective decisions. The position is based in Addis Ababa consortium office with frequent travel to project sites in Oromia, Amhara, and Tigray regions, and directly reports to Senior Livelihoods Advisor/ P2 technical Lead.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

Job Responsibility #1:  Technical Assistance/ Program Planning and Implementation

Percentage of Time:  30%

• Leads the development of strategies, approaches, systems, and tools to ensure access to financial services to young women, men, and youth clients.
• Lead technical planning, implementation, and management of all financial service interventions.
• Ensures that implementation of financial service interventions is according to approved plans and brings expected result.
• Facilitates linkage of target households with MFIs to engage them in the selected value chains and other IGAs.
• Provide technical support on establishment and functionality of VESAs, and facilitation of VESA discussions.
• Lead the qualitative monitoring of the VESAs, group discussions, facilitation, and problem-solving when challenges arise.
• Support IPs to ensure all VESAs meet minimum standards.
• Ensure target households are linked to formal financial service providers to access larger loans for business financing.
• Lead design and implementation of livelihood cash transfer interventions and its utilization for the intended purposes.
• Participate in preparation of PREP, DIP, and progress reports pertinent to financial services, and review of the same.

Job Responsibility #2: Capacity Building:

Percentage of Time: 25%

• Conduct capacity assessment and based on the findings advise or plan for consortium partners to develop key competencies and skills to produce quality results.
• Work with IPs to identify key capacity building strategies to maximize sustainability of financial services.
• Provide quality technical support to consortium partners, government counterparts, private financial service providers and project participants.
• Identify and establish partnership with digital technology service providers to enhance women, men, and youth clients’ financial inclusion.

Job Responsibility #4:  Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning  

Percentage of time: 20%

• Closely works with the SPIR II/ RFSA M & E, and CLA team to ensure that monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems are in place and used.
• Works with MEAL team to systematize progress and information flows and produce and share reports as it relates to RFSA-support PSNP clients.
• Establish and ensure proper sex and age disaggregated database is in place to track clients’ progress related to financial inclusion.
• Ensure that regular monitoring visits are conducted at field level, progressis tracked, and learnings are generated.
• Lead routine and quality monitoring interventions for VESAs and discussions
• Monitor progress and provide on-going feedback and recommendations to project management.
• Proactively engage with the learning agenda partners to identify and explore learning opportunities and issues.
• Lead the facilitation of the financial service-related events like financial forums, review meetings for better engagement of different actors and promotion of collective decisions.
• Identify, produce, and document lessons on program processes, practices, and results, and share it with internal staffs, consortium partners and other stakeholders.

Job Responsibility #4:  Collaboration and Networking

Percentage of time: 15%

• Collaborate with the Gender and Youth technical team, ensure that all guidelines, modalities, and implementation tools are in line with the needs of and are uniquely placed to facilitate empowerment of women and youth.
• Coordinates with US-based Technical Advisors to support improved implementation of RFSA financial services strategies and interventions, including meeting targets set by the project.
• Works closely with financial service providers (RuSACCOs, MFIs, and Banks) to create better functioning and sustainable institutional linkages between project clients and service providers.
• Represent RFSA/ SPIR II and attend events related to financial services.

Job Responsibility #5:  Perform other duties as assigned.

Percentage of Time:  10%

III GENDER EQUALITY

• Understanding and demonstrated commitment to the importance of gender, youth, and social inclusion issues.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of Gender Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and PSEAH (safeguarding), as evidenced in previous positions / programming

IV Qualification:

A) Education:

• Master’s Degree in relevant field: Finance, Business, Economics/Agricultural Economics, Development Studies, or other relevant fields.

B) Work Experience:

• 5 years of relevant experience with the first degree or 4 years of relevant experience plus post graduate degree in direct experience in the financial services programs
• At least 1 year of  management experience.
• Experience in informal and formal saving and lending methodologies, mainly establishment and support of VESAs
• Experience in financial inclusion of women, men, youth, and other marginalized groups.
• Demonstrated experience in working with PSNP households and resilience building interventions.
• Deep understanding of Ethiopia financial sector landscape and strong network among stakeholder in the finance sector.
• Experience in gender mainstreaming.
• Experience and knowledge in digital technologies.

C) Other requirements:

• Understanding and demonstrated commitment to the importance of gender, youth, and social inclusion issues.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of Gender Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and PSEAH (safeguarding).
• NGO experience is a plus

D) Additional skills:

• Strong analytical and operational knowledge of financial services.
• Strong networking, partnership, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to communicate effectively in oral and in writing, work independently and as part of the team, and work effectively with co-workers, partner agencies and the private sector.
• Computer proficiency is required.
• Ability to travel frequently to the project operational areas.