Inclusive Finance Specialist (USAID)

Inclusive Finance Specialist for USAID Climate Resilient Agriculture in the Mekong Delta Project

Company Description

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) is a non-profit, international development organization founded 57 years ago, and now operating in 24 countries in Africa and Asia. Our global team of local and international advisors use their expertise in three sectors – Agri Food, Energy and Water systems as well as the cross-cutting topics of gender, social inclusion climate change and governance to contribute to solving some of the leading problems facing the world today. We work with local partners to equip communities, businesses and organizations with the tools, knowledge and connections they need to increase and gain access to basic services – empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development.

SNV has been working in Vietnam since 1995, and currently has over 40 national and international staff. SNV Vietnam operates from a head office in Hanoi and projects in over 50 provinces in the country, including in the poorest and most remote areas.

The United States Agency for International Development Climate Resilient Agriculture in the Mekong Delta Project (CRM) works with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to enhance the resilience of the Mekong Delta’s communities, ecosystems, and livelihoods. The overall goal of CRM is to advance low-emissions, climate-resilient, agricultural livelihoods combined with biodiversity conservation to support carbon sequestration, healthy ecosystems, and resilience of vulnerable communities in the Mekong Delta.

CRM works across five provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Soc Trang, and Tra Vinh and focus on three interconnected objectives and one cross-cutting theme:

• Objective 1: Strengthen climate change resilience of the most vulnerable populations. CRM will engage stakeholders to assess and address vulnerability through enhanced climate information services, resilient livelihood, and safety net models, improved provincial plans, and increased access to finance.
• Objective 2: Strengthen management and restoration of natural ecosystems to provide ecosystem goods and services. CRM will take an inclusive participatory approach to identify entry points to support evidence-based transformation of legal and governance frameworks, improve management capacity, and incentivize natural resource conservation.
• Objective 3: Reduce methane emissions through low-emission and sustainable agriculture practices. CRM will work with GVN and stakeholders across value chains to assess gaps and opportunities and harness payment for environmental services schemes and other results-based finance mechanisms to reduce intensive rice farming and GHG emissions and drive transformation through a market systems approach.
• Cross-cutting focus: Develop and implement policies to advance climate actions and biodiversity conservation. CRM will also work with GVN and stakeholders to enhance development, harmonization, and implementation of policies, as well as to strengthen national and sub-national coordination. CRM will engage key stakeholders to influence and incentivize policy, practice, and behavior in favor of transformation.

CRM will be implemented during the period of 2023-2028 by Winrock International (WI) with a consortium of Vietnamese and international partners, including Netherlands Development Organization (SNV). GVN counterparts are the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Management Board of Forest Projects (MBFPs).

Job Description

The Inclusive Finance Specialist (IFS) will be responsible for working with financial institutions and private sector to improve access to finance for the most vulnerable in the Mekong Delta and to develop innovative finance products and services for financing Nature based Solution in the Mekong Delta. IFS will serve as investment officer looking for bankable projects in Mekong Delta.

IFS will be responsible for identifying ways in which CRM could add value to the financial inclusion strategy, and to lead the design of inclusive financial development interventions and activities that will reinforce the financial inclusion component in the overall impact of the project. S/he will provide technical assistance to the activities related to planning, organizing, training/implementing, monitoring, and reporting of inclusive finance activities in collaboration with other CRM members and partners in five project provinces.

The IFS is expected to be based in either Ho Chi Minh or Can Tho city, with frequent travel to the project’s target provinces and other places as required for the project activity implementation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist the Team Leader of Objective 1 to explore viable financial inclusion strategies, develop appropriate interventions, prepare workplans, and accelerate planned activities to increase access to financial services for underserved population, including vulnerable groups in the project sites.
• Work with different financial service providers such as banks (e.g. Agribank, Banks for Social Policy), microfinance institutes or MFIs (e.g. Capital Aid for Employment of the Poor (CEP), People’s Credit Funds, e-MFI/banking (e.g. Kiva at kiva.org) and community group leaders to develop viable cost-effective programs to facilitate better access to savings, credit and insurance services for the (underserved) target beneficiaries, especially vulnerable groups.
• Contribute to the design of suitable insurance products (e.g. crop insurance, satellite-based weather insurance, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and life insurance, health insurance, etc) in cooperation with potential insurance companies (e.g. Bao Minh Insurance, Hillridge Technology, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, etc).
• Work with other CRM’s team members to leverage financial resources from enhancing public-private-producer partnership (4P) to scale up viable low emissions/resilient business models (including finance for technology investment and innovative transformation) aimed at building resilient capacity for vulnerable communities.
• Develop technical content for training materials on financial inclusion, and provide capacity building on finance, insurance, DRR, safety net literacy, including digital/e-banking skills for target groups.
• Work as a proactive team member to ensure collaboration and to support integrated implementation and management for cross-sectoral/Objective integration approaches (including policy advocacy, gender equity and social inclusion (GESI), environmental mitigation and monitoring plan, and climate vulnerability and resilience communications-knowledge products).
• Maintain records of relevant financial inclusion operations for climate chance resilience and other activities of CRM to contribute to producing success stories, required technical progress reports, especially report on key indicators of the project.
• As a senior staff member proactively develop and maintain relationships with development and private sector partners, donors, local organisations (e.g. microfinance institutions, agri/rural finance institutions) and relevant government agencies.
• Support Project Manager to mobilize investment for climate change adaptation and mitigation for Mekong Delta.
• Other duties required by the line manager.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in banking, finance/microfinance, business administration, agribusiness, sustainable development studies, or related field.
• Minimum five years of professional experience implementing inclusive finance development projects or companies.
• Experience in working in microfinance schemes, implementing financial education/ literacy programs, provisioning of financial services in underserved areas.
• An understanding and experience in the use of technology to drive the development of alternative delivery channels for financial institutions.
• Experience in provision of financial inclusion capacity building, coaching, and mentoring.
• Experience with resource mobilization, public-private partnership engagement.
• Experience mainstreaming diversity, equity, and inclusion related to gender and vulnerable populations and communities desired.
• Good social, analytical and planning skills.
• Be self-motivated and have the ability to work independently as well as in a team.
• Good written and oral communication skills in English and Vietnamese required

Additional Information

SUPERVISOR

CRM applies a “One Team” approach, where staff hired by different consortium members are fully embedded within the CRM’s Office and staffing structure. Within this arrangement, the IFS will follow a parallel management structure:

• As an SNV employee, for contractual and administrative matters, the IFS will work under the overall management of the Project Manager.
• For CRM activities and day-to-day work, the IFS directly reports to the CRM Team Leader of Objective 1-Climate Change Resilience.

CONTRACT DURATION 

1 year contract with the option of extension based on performance and budget availability.

CONTRACT TYPE 

SNV National Staff Contract

DESIRED START DATE: ASAP

DUTY STATION: Can Tho preferred (other locations such as HCMC can also be considered)

HOW TO APPLY 

Join our team by applying today! If you are passionate about making a difference in people's lives and possess the required qualifications, we encourage you to submit your application to this LINK until 5PM, July 24th, 2024. At SNV, we value your privacy, and rest assured that all your information will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.

Applicants will be asked to give us the contact details of three people willing to act as a reference. We will only contact these references after your explicit permission.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Should SNV wish to proceed with your application, two interviews with a Selection Committee will take place.

Applicants will be reviewed, and interviews conducted on a rolling basis to identify appropriate candidates as soon as possible.

SNV is an equal opportunities employer and female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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