Job
description
Mennonite Economic
Development Associates of Canada (MEDA) invites applications for the overseas
post of Financial Services Specialist for a large scale, long term women’s
economic development project in (“the Project”) in Burma. Conditional
upon MEDA sign
ing a contract for recently awarded funding, the successful
candidate will ideally be able to assume duties in June/July 2015. MEDA is an
association of Christians who invest in people living in poverty around the
world so they can unleash their potential to earn a livelihood to provide for
their families and enrich their communities. To learn more about MEDA and our
work, please visit www.meda.org.
The project will
address women’s agriculture and economic development challenges in Burma to: a)
strengthen select value chain markets and regional trade; b) improve
agricultural practices and value added processing; and c) improve agriculture
inputs and sector services.
Financial
Services Specialist, Burma (1 year contract, renewable up to 3 years)
The Financial
Services Specialist will:
- Serve
as the principal liaison between MEDA and the local financial service
partners, including banks, micro-finance institutions and other financial
service providers;
- Improve
access to finance for women in selected value chains, and/or women’s
organizations and their members through advising and assisting financial
service providers to design and implement new financial services and
products;
- Conduct
and design an initial financial sector assessment and strategy for the
project;
- Support
the development of larger Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) loan offerings
to reach women;
- Advise
the MFIs to develop new lending products in the agriculture sector and in
Southern Shan and Kayin states;
- Provide
ongoing support to the MFIs to promote MFI capacity development;
- Write
scopes of work and support short term technical experts delivering
technical assistance and training for MFIs;
- Draft
sections of program reports, identify, and report on program successes and
achievements
- The
duty station for this position is likely to be in, or in the vicinity of,
Yangon and involves frequent travel to project locations country-wide.
Qualifications
- A
minimum of five years’ experience in banking or financial services with
specific experience developing products for the agriculture and
agri-processing sectors - University
degree (ideally Master’s) in economics, international development, or an
MBA, or other related field required - Strong
interpersonal, communication, and training skills desired - Understanding
and experience in women’s economic empowerment programming is preferred - Strong
understanding of competitive market environments & inclusive financial
services - Strong
understanding of marketing, business planning, business growth advisory
service or related areas. - Fluency
in English is required. - Prior
work experience in Burma or Southeast Asia is desirable - Appreciation
and support of MEDA’s faith, values, mission and purpose
Please send your
resume by no later than Friday, April 17, 2015 to:jobs@meda.org
Project
Quick Facts
- Budget
$17 million over 5 years - Sectors:
agriculture/agribusiness, with a focus on women’s economic empowerment - Geographic
Scope: Shan and Karen States, Yangon. .
The project will
support 25,000 women in the Burmese ethnic states of Shan and Karen grasp the
opportunities offered by the changing environment and become active, respected
and empowered economic actors and leaders. Over 5 years, the project will work
primarily within agricultural markets where women are active participants.
Early field research indicated that strawberries, rice and horticultural
products (vegetable gardens) would be appropriate target value chains. In-depth
research at the inception mission will confirm and deepen this analyses. The
ultimate outcomes are to improve women’s incomes and agricultural productivity
and increase the number of women assuming leadership roles as economic actors
in their communities. The project also wil facilitate and strengthen the
provision of goods and services to women small scale producers by Burmese
public and private sector actors, thereby improving the enabling environment
within which these producers operate. Finally, the project will improve the
standard of living and the business environment for at least 125,000 indirect
clients who will directly benefit from women small producer’s improved incomes
(household) or enhanced goods and services provided by stronger MSMEs.
How
to apply
Please send your CV
by email to jobs@meda.org