Director of Operations at Vision Fund Rwanda: (Deadline 27 October 2025)

% Time

Major Activities

End Results Expected

(15%) Planning

• In coordination with the CEO and CFO, prepares Annual Business Plan by determining the key business, social, growth and staffing objectives, efficiency and productivity standards/targets and ensures operating costs are in line with acceptable budget ratios at both branch and overall institutional level;
• Set specific operating targets and objectives for individual branch / office plans, for products and services;
• Prepares work targets/schedules/budgets and assigns duties to operations personnel to ensure efficient and effective operations department;

• Reviews and approves Annual Work Plans of all branch offices (overall and by Client Service Officer);
• Reviews, consolidates, prepares and recommends to CEO the Annual Work Plan of the Operations Department.
• Demonstrates a proven track record of developing and executing strategic plans while effectively managing organizational change to drive operational excellence and sustainable growth.

• Annual Business Plan in place aligned to MFI/VFI’s strategy.
• Operational reports produced regularly to track Key Performance Indicators
• Strategic initiatives are delivered on time, within budget, and achieve their intended impact.
• Adequate staff in place with recruitment or staffing plan that is tied to business plan
• Smooth change adoption, employees and stakeholders adapt positively to operational or structural changes with minimal disruption.
• The organization can anticipate, respond to, and recover quickly from industry shifts, market pressures, or internal challenges.

(13%) Monitoring of Operations Performance

• Closely monitors implementation of the approved Business Plan ensuring all departments and branch offices are achieving set goals and targets;
• Evaluates operational performance of branch offices and implements strategic interventions to help low-performing branch offices;
• Evaluates the performance and products to ensure that they meet the impact and profitability goals of the institution.
• Sets targets for field visits, verification visits, and meetings with branch office personnel and clients;
• Evaluates operations departments’ performance, identifies problems or issues and recommends corrective measures when necessary;
• Assists CFO in controlling supply of money on hand to meet branches’ daily requirements for savings and lending transactions, and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

• Compelling dashboard tracking daily performance of the MFIs against set targets.
• Regular operational reports that provide an accurate view of performance trends, results to targets / standards and help to identify operational problems
• Proposals for changes to policies, procedures, and other operational changes
• The turnover of clients remains below 10%.
• Net number of savings accounts opened
• Value of savings deposits

(12%) Risk Management and Control

• Oversees the implementation of the internal control systems, ensuring the smooth running of the business and safeguarding the institution’s assets; Follows-up with the relevant manager(s) to ensure any actions related to audit findings are implements by branches and/or departments;
• Shares information and communicates openly with senior managers; facilitates good flow of information flow between departments and around the branch network.
• Ensures compliance with all existing MFI and VFI policies; Risk appetite statement; with local regulations; and with all VFI/Lender covenants;
• Ensures that policies and procedures are applied consistently and uniformly across all branches;
• Plans and ensures the implementation of an adequate and timely reporting system with focus on each branch’s asset quality, liquidity, capital adequacy, and provisioning;
• Consults with the IT department on any issues related to monitoring or reporting, and ensures IT resolves issues as soon as possible;
• Takes an active leadership role with branches that are underperforming or are not compliant with any policy or regulation, etc., ensuring that appropriate measures are taken to bring the branch’s performance or compliance back to required standards;
• Actively works with the risk manager and all departments to identify and measure all risks, and actively develops mitigation strategies.

• Portfolio at risk over 1 day within acceptable limits.
• Loan loss ratio within acceptable standards.
• Operational sustainability ratio is attained.
• Branch and institutional compliance with VFI policies
• Branch and institutional compliance with regulations
• Timeliness and quality of branch reports submitted to Head Office
• # of critical/ important audit findings
• Time to close critical and important audit findings
• All Branches are rated with cautionary audit rating of better.

Problem solving (15%)

• Quickly identifying and then putting in place plans to resolve problems, particularly related to portfolio quality, staffing and product performance as they relate to specific branches or regions or entire MFI.

• Quick resolution of problems in branches

(5%) Marketing

• Supervises creation and implementation of plans and methods to create awareness of all products and services offered by the MFI (e.g. newsletter, radio advertising, posters, school competitions, press releases, etc.);
• Regularly conducts customer satisfaction surveys to determine areas for improvement in products and services.  Recommends corrective actions and develops plans for CEO and Board approval.
• Provides regular updates for the MFI website (where relevant) and as needed by VFI or WV.
• Assists with drafting answers to public queries needed by the CEO or the Board;
• Interacts with World Vision, with the local community, business organizations, and industry networks to promote goodwill and generate new business (integration opportunities);
• Where the MFI has a Marketing resource, works directly with Marketing to develop and deliver promotional activities, gather information about competitors, etc

• Net increase in client numbers
• Number of new branches opened
• Number of client surveys conducted, and satisfaction ratings achieved
• Number of promotional activities carried out
• Competitor and market information gathered to assist in refining products and services

(5%) Public Relations

• Keeps track of international developments related to microfinance and informs CEO and Board of potential opportunities for MFI
• Develops good relationships with clients, local business owners, community leaders, and civic organizations to promote goodwill and generate new business;
• Safeguards the institution’s reputation by ensuring strict compliance to existing regulations (liaising with the institution’s legal counsel);
• Institutes regular communications with branch staff partners and clients to prevent and/or immediately resolve problems;

• Partnerships lead to increased client acquisition, business referrals, and long-term loyalty.
• The MFI operates with zero or minimal regulatory breaches
• Staff morale, partner cooperation, and client satisfaction remain high due to proactive problem-solving

(10%) Social Performance and Integration

• Ensure that the MFI reaches its target clients (poor, women with dependent children, ADP areas), making necessary adjustments to do so (changes in geographical location, introduction of new products, linkages with WV Savings Groups, etc) while balancing the need for institutional sustainability;
• Ensure that the products provided and the delivery methods meet the needs of the target client (group loans? client education? savings? CWB loans?);
• Ensure that clients and their children are protected and treated with respect in the provision of financial services through implementation of the client protection policies. This includes not over-indebting clients, appropriate debt collection practices, and active mechanisms for client complaint;
• Actively promote and ensure child well-being through gathering and reporting child well-being data, accurate children impacted figures and integration with WV and ADPs;
• Ensure that branch managers and credit staff are trained in and apply strong social performance practices (per points above);
• Include social goals and indicators into business planning, receive regular reporting to track progress and make operational decisions (new products, delivery methods) to reach those goals;
• Take necessary actions to avoid social performance risks (mission drift, harm to clients, client turnover, etc).

• % of clients in Area Development Program (ADP)
• % of new clients under poverty line
• % of women clients
• Child Wellbeing Outcomes (CWBOs) / social indictor targets and results
• SMART Campaign / Social Audit Scores

(15%) Staffing, Performance Management and Capacity Building

• Participates in the interview, selection and hiring of new employees;
• Recommends promotion, suspension, dismissal, and/or transfer of staff;
• Ensures the annual appraisal Cycle (agreeing annual and learning and development objectives, mid-term reviews and end of year reviews ) is implemented and evaluates job performance of operations department managers and branch managers;
• Recommends salary and/or merit increases; recommends the  granting of other incentives;
• Regularly conducts a skills analysis for Operations Manager and Branch Managers, analyzing gaps and developing plans for capacity building;

• Guides the development of succession plans for new employees;
• Recommends promotion, suspension, dismissal, and/or transfer of staff within Operations
• Ensures the annual appraisal Cycle (agreeing annual and learning and development objectives, mid-term reviews and end of year reviews) is implemented and evaluates job performance of operations department managers and branch managers;
• Recommends salary and/or merit increases; recommends the granting of other incentives;
• Regularly conducts a skills analysis for Operations Manager and Branch Managers, analyzing gaps and developing plans for capacity building;
• Guides the development of succession plans for department managers and branch management;
• Implements the Management and Staff Capacity Building Plans to ensure productivity, effectiveness and compliance in order to reach standards and targets;
• Monitors and evaluates the progress of capacity building and revises plans as necessary;
• Ensures all high-performing staff have a development plan in place;
• Ensures all under-performing staff are closely managed so that performance improves or separation is managed according to local regulations (as guided by MFI P&C or HR Director/Manager).

• % staff promoted to senior position.
• Development plans for relevant managers in place
• Training manuals are in place
• Staff capacity building programs are in place
• Performance agreements are in place for all staff
• Formal, written performance reviews are conducted for all staff at six monthly intervals
• Staff turnover below 15% Development plans are in place for high-performance staff

(10%) Product and Service Development

• Continually gathers information and analyzes the strategic position of the MFI compared to the industry;
• Conducts/directs market research activities and analysis to determine new products and service areas that may be explored;
• Reviews internal and external studies on new methodologies/approaches to improve field operations and social performance for review by CEO/BOD;
• Once approved, pilot tests new product/methodologies, monitors and evaluates results and proposes actions to be taken to introduce into MFI (if warranted);
• Plans implementation of new products/services and details positive results / risks for presentation and approval by the Board; and coordinates with project management team on implementation and monitoring of plans.

• Number of products and services developed and refined

• Number of Products and Services enhanced

Any other duties that may be assigned by the CEO from time to time