Senior Technical Agricultural Finance Manager World Vision

VisionFund is World Vision’s microfinance provider serving vulnerable clients through loans, savings, and insurance. We enable families to grow their livelihoods in hard to reach, rural locations in 28 countries so that caregivers can create secure futures for their children. We believe in brighter futures for children; empowering families to create incomes and jobs; unlocking economic potential for communities to thrive. Join VisionFund as we seek to end intergenerational poverty through microfinance.

Job Summary
VisionFund primarily focuses on rural clients and 40% of its 466m portfolio is in Agriculture. This position is to provide technical support to agricultural finance provided by our MFI network. The position is a grant-funded position and will primarily focus on 10 countries but will also be able to provide support to the rest of the network. To date, much of VFIs agricultural finance has been simple “vanilla finance” and balloon loan as being often the only distinguishing component. This position will seek to provide more hands-on technical support in the assessment, design, pilot and roll out of new agricultural products that will allow VF MFIs to finance farmers that World Vision is facilitating through its local value chain work (LVCD) and as savings groups (S4T) continue to grow with the support of FAST.

Additionally, as climate change increasingly impacts our rural clients the position will look to expand both our capacity and profile in developing climate appropriate products and services. The position will also seek to bring together all our learnings and practices to enable VFI to more competitively compete for grants and position us as more of a leader in the agricultural finance space.

Major Responsibilities
Support World Vision in new or revised market assessments and building the capacity of the local MFI team to engage more effectively in these assessments.
Contribute to the analysis and bring an agricultural finance lens to the assessments
This role should lead the documentation, monitoring, technical support to the agricultural and product technical teams (or person) in the MFI.
• Providing advice
• Mentor and coach
• Sharing best practice
• Linking with other potential agricultural partners
• Linking with other colleagues in our network
• Ensure credit risk is effectively understood
• Technical support for agricultural finance products

Support in market assessment work and building capacity to better understand the needs of farmers and off farm agricultural enterprises
• Support in the actual design and piloting (including the documentation of the product)
• Support the business processes (Staffing, credit policies, digital processes etc) to ensure the product can work for the farmer and the MFI
• Undertake deep dives into key MFI products (that are not working) or into strategy focuses for MFIs seeking to expand their agricultural footprint
• Advise and direction on how the impact of climate change can be mitigated
Support in innovative agricultural finance products. This is a subset of the above section, but intentionally focused on new and innovative products
• Supporting the local MFI teams in the piloting and testing of new products
• Providing timely advice on minor changes and improvements in the product during the pilot stage
• To actively pursue partnerships and opportunities particularly in the digital space
• To actively engage and understand trends in the industry.
• Provide technical advice and support in the design and writing of new and existing agricultural grant applications

Review grant applications for agricultural finance opportunities
• Write sections as needed
• Join grant calls and donor visits as needed
• Review and provide advice on grant implementation reports
• Working with the Partnerships Director, key support offices and the fundraising team to support how VisionFund can better engage with World Vision both in its existing network, but also outside of its network in developing funding applications for agricultural finance programs

Support in the design and assessment
Support in the implementation as needed
• This role should lead the learning and dissemination of VF work in agricultural finance
• Providing regular articles (blogs, reports etc) on our networks work in agricultural finance
• Internally within the network share best practices and better understanding of the risk and financial viability of agricultural lending based on data
• Provide regular engagement with key support offices and the GC livelihoods team on the role of agriculture
• Engage around opportunities for agricultural finance to complement climate responses

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Required Professional Experience:
• 10 years + working in agricultural finance field in Africa either for Banks, MFIs, Finance companies or NGOs
• Agricultural Economics or relevant agricultural degree
• Postgraduate level degree
• At least 5 years of this must be in providing financial services to farmers and not just in an advisory/ consulting manner
• Experience across a range of countries (not limited to one or two places)
• Experience of Value chain finance or finance to agricultural cooperatives
• Experience of working with International organisations on projects (E.g World Bank, IFAD, FAO)
• Demonstrated experience of working on and or designing programs with a climate change component (e. FMNR)

Preferred knowledge
• Experience of working with NGOs and agricultural partners
• Experience in delivery of training in value chain development
• Any formal training courses/ certificates in agricultural finance
• Digital experience
• Spanish or French spoken