MSD Financial Inclusion Advisor 48 views

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. With the launch of Mercy Corps Global Strategy, Pathway to Possibility, the country office is poised to operationalize its three-year strategy with a vision to enhance the resilience of climate- and conflict-affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. In Ethiopia, our strategy focuses in the four outcome areas: 1) Economically marginalized populations have improved and diversified livelihoods, income, and assets; 2) Pastoralists, farmers, and households have access to sustainably produced, safe, nutritious food; 3) Social cohesion and inclusive governance processes are built in crisis-affected communities; and 4) People have equitable, sustained access to clean water and sanitation for domestic and productive use. Currently, we operate in six regional states – Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and South Ethiopia. Working with a diverse base of donors that includes United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union, GAC, Hilton Foundation, United Nations (UN), JOA, Sweden, EKN, and other foundations, Mercy Corps Ethiopia empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

Position Title: MSD Financial Inclusion Advisor

Duty Station: Gambella

Open Position:  1

Safeguarding Risk Level: Medium  

Program / Department Summary

Integrated Smallholders Farmers Resilience and Livelihood Support (ISRLS)  and  Peace building social cohesion, improved economic/livelihood opportunities and market access Project is a WFP and Hilton Foundation funded projects with the aim of building the resilience and improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Gambella region with the specific objectives of increasing agriculture production and productivity, access to market and market linkages, financial inclusion, and promotion of production and consumption of diversified crops to improve nutrition status of the population in target woredas.

The implementation of this projects will improve smallholder farmers productivity, enhance income and build resilience which contributes to country’s vision becoming middle income country by 2030.

General Position Summary

The market Systems Development (MSD)-Financial inclusion Advisor will facilitate access to market and inclusive finance for smallholder farmers (SHFs) by organizing them into village saving and loan association (VSLAs), cooperatives and unions, facilitating market linkages and forums between SHFs, market actors, aggregators, inputs providers and financial service providers such as micro finances, banks, facilitate and lead market assessments such as market functionality, VSLAs’ operational and capacity gaps, needs assessment etc, and building relationships with key market actors like private sectors and government institutions. The advisor will also be involved in designing Intervention Concept Notes (ICN), Activities Concept Notes (ACN), Term of references (TORs) and Memorandum of understanding (MoUs) regarding access to market, financial inclusion, market linkages, forums and assessments etc, helping to ensure robust M&E and working with our MEL team. S/he will also play a role in representing Mercy Corps’ access to market and financial inclusion work externally, through building relationships with key partners and participating in relevant coordination and learning events.

Essential Job Responsibilities

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Support the development of work plan, activities, targets, budget, standards for measuring progress and results and determine the processes, tools, and methodologies to be used to ensure effective and efficient program implementation and operations.
• Design interventions Concept notes for MSD programs, using tools such as Results Chains and ‘Who Does, Who Pays?’ matrices.
• Lead the establishment, strengthening, and digitization of Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs), cooperatives, unions under ISRLS and Trade for peace projects by upgrading of such groups into micro and intermediary aggregators.
• Facilitate and technically support market linkages between smallholder farmers, refugees and other key actors to access agriculture inputs and output markets
• Facilitate and organize forums for/between market actors such as smallholder farmers, producers, processors, collectors, traders, aggregators, financial institutions to enhance access to market and finances.
• Facilitate and provide capacity building trainings to VSLA groups, their members, cooperatives, unions and other key market actors
• Provide technical support to integrate access to market, Digital financial services (DFS)  & financial inclusion into the ISRLS and trade for peace  projects.
• Facilitate and engage in conducting various assessments like market functionality assessment, VSLAs operation and capacity gaps assessment, providing the foundation for program design.
• Facilitate and/or provide technical support for market actors and aggregators in developing financial proposals to access finances from financial institutions like microfinance, banks etc.
• Develop standard operating procedures (SOP) on business to business in collaboration with related government institutions
• Support and strengthen the formation of agriculture market coordination platforms by and in collaboration with concerned government bureaus
• Facilitate and technically support the formulation of long-term trading agreement between key market actors and SHFs covering the supported value chains
• Facilitate learning and experience sharing visits for key actors within and across regions
• Undertake Comprehensive mapping and profiling of market actors and market channels
• Ensure gender integration and mainstreaming are incorporated into financial inclusions interventions.
•  Monitor progress and identify risks for timely action and early resolution.
• Responsible for the full compliance with Mercy Corps rules and regulations and policies on financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and follow-up on audit recommendations.
• Actively support knowledge building, sharing, and applying in the program.
• Submission of high-quality reports for financial inclusion programming to the Program Manager and other relevant Mercy Corps Ethiopia team members.
• Closely work with key stakeholders such as smallholder farmers, refugees, financial service providers (MFls, Banks, cooperatives, unions, VSLA groups), government, etc. by establishing partnership and managing relationship on regular basis.
• Develop program implementation strategies, including partnership frameworks, beneficiary targeting and distribution.
• Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target and within budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization wide guide.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.
• Perform other duties assigned to by other team members

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Hire, orient and train field officers and field agents as necessary.
• Plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines.
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations.
• strong leadership capacities to guide a multi-cultural team in difficult circumstances.
• Support the identification of program issues, challenges and risks, appropriate recommendations and implement them.

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Adherence of gender minimum standards
• Support the organization’s commitment to age and gender inclusive team building process
• Work closely with team members and partners, to support capacity-building and gender integration into the programs.
• Promote an inclusive and equitable workplace culture

Supervisory Responsibility

MSD Financial Inclusion specialists (for ISRLS and T4P projects)

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Gambela area manager

Technical Line Report To: ISRLS and T4P Project Coordinator

Works Directly With: projects team

ISRLS and T4P Financial inclusion Specialist,

ISRLS and T4P Field officers,

ISRLS and T4P Agriculture and Post

ISRLS and T4P harvest specialist T4P

ISRLS and T4P Project Financial Inclusion Specialist

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.