Rural Finance Specialist Under Contract at CommercializationmDe-Risking for Agricultural Transformation Project: (Deadline 24 January 2023)

Rural Finance Specialist Under Contract at CommercializationmDe-Risking for Agricultural Transformation Project: (Deadline 24 January 2023)

Job description

Overall Function of the Position

Reporting to the Senior Value-Chan Development Specialist, the Rural Finance Specialist is responsible for coordinating and supporting the implementation of the project activities. She/he works in close collaboration with services providers in financial aspect. More specifically, the Rural Finance Specialist is responsible for:

 Establishing contracts and agreements with service providers and monitoring their implementation;
 Helping to ensure that the rural poor, including specifically women, have sustainable access to financial services.
 In collaboration with rural finance service providers introduce these products in the intervention area which includes: (i) product development in savings, leasing, value chain financing products (including the exploration of warehouse receipting), and index-based weather insurance; and (iii) capacity building and linkages for rural women and men (financial literacy), their organizations and farmer associations to microfinance institutions (MFIs); and (iii) promoting sustainable rural financial services through financial support of the Access to Finance Rwanda initiative. Identifying institution-building needs of MFIs and other partners as appropriate and organizing the provision of related support;
 Strengthen women and men management skills as individuals and cooperatives in order to enable them to transform their income generating activities into sustainable microenterprises along the selected commodity chain.
 Provide overall guidance and support the implementation of group enterprises and market-based initiatives, in close collaboration with financial institutions working with the project. This includes setting up a financial facility to finance activities under this sub-component;
 In collaboration with other heads of units, preparing the annual work plan, budget and reports.
 In collaboration with other unit heads and the M&E specialist, monitoring the implementation and impact of Project activities in his/her area of specialization.
 Ensure follow up of budget execution under “Rural finance unit.
 Field monitoring in collaboration with M&E and ensure that progress reports are submitted on time to the relevant authorities;
 Undertake any other assignments or relevant duties in the field of his/her competences as may be assigned by his direct supervisor.

Qualifications:

 Master’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree in Rural Finance, Economics, Agricultural Economics/Business Management,
 For Master’s Degree, three (3) years of experience in the implementation of Rural Development Programs and Projects.
 For Bachelor’s Degree, five (5) years of experience in the implementation of Rural Development Programs and Projects.
 Having worked with IDA projects is an added advantage
 Extensive experience of relationship with government institutions and international cooperation agencies;
 To explore the readiness of MFIs/FIs to provide loans to traders, farmers and other value chain actors;
 Rural finance experience in Rwanda such as rural and agricultural finance, value chain finance and access to finance services or smallholder farmers and farmers’ organizations,
 Capacity building of smallholder farmers in finance literacy and farmer cooperatives and linkages to financial institutions to access finance services, and promote bankable projects;
 Development, design or refining of agricultural financial products tailored to farmers ‘needs;
 Capacity building of microfinance institutions and enable them to deliver better services to smallholder farmers;
 Capacity to organize work at different levels of participation.
 Good skills in coordinating and working in teams.

 Good writing skills and competence in the use of computer software applications
 Fluency in Kinyarwanda, English or French is required; fluency in both English and French an advantage.