Financial Inclusion Officer at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an International non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 100 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS re-established presence in Nigeria in 2000 and currently focuses on vulnerable children, agriculture, health and HIV, extractives and governance, and peace building programming.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Financial Inclusion Officer

Job Ref Code: FIR25919
Location: Yola
Band: 7
Department: Programs/Water for Agriculture
Reports To: Senior Agronomist

Job Summary / Background

The Financial Inclusion Officer (FIO) will support the delivery of USAID-funded Water for Agriculture project by promoting financial inclusivity and expanding the reach of financial services.
At the community level, FIO will work with groups of herders and farmers to increase awareness and demand for competitive credit; to establish community-level savings and lending schemes; and, to support entrepreneurs and producers to access financing from micro-finance institutions (MFIs).
At the institutional level, FIO will work with MFIs to develop and market culturally appropriate and affordable financial products and services to smallholder farmers, MSMEs and other agricultural / livestock value chain actors. Key performance indicators (KPI) of this position will include the number of famers / herders’ groups that establish and sustain ‘Savings and Internal Lending’ (SILC) groups; proportion of targeted communities and populations that report increased access to affordable financing; and, an increase in the reach and utilization of financial services.

Job Responsibilities

Develop and implement models to increase access to financial services for the targeted communities. The models must be culturally sensitive, client-responsive, tailored to the Northeast Nigeria context, and evidence-based.
Support the Senior Agronomist to create, identify and support viable economic opportunities along agricultural and livestock value chains by linking them to financing sources.
Carry out new / collate existing assessments to consolidate and map financial services and products in target communities; and create information products to increase farmers and herders’ knowledge on how to access these services and products.
Support farmers and herders’ groups to self-organize into SILC groups and support such groups to obtain government registration and embark on savings and lending activities using CRS-established methodologies.
Support water assets management committees to create savings and lending schemes that will group their income.
Provide targeted technical, financial and management trainings using CRS’ SMART skills curriculum to farmers and herders’ groups and WASHCOMs.
Working closely with SEARCH, build the capacity conflict management capacity of SILC groups.
Manage the SILC activities of the project with a focus on mentoring and coaching of partner staff. Ensure that all activities related to SILC in the project are implemented according to CRS standards and protocols.
Create and facilitate linkage meetings and workshops with government, NGO, private sector, and community partners to increase knowledge on financial services.
Build and support relevant governments’ Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to create a conducive and enabling environment for financial services and to enforce responsible management of communities’ savings.
Identifying and integrate best practice and trends including use of ICT4D within the project.
Lead CRS Nigeria’s development of a financial inclusion strategy and scaling of competitive financial services to the rural poor.
Work closely with the MEAL team to monitor, evaluate and document results and outcomes emanating from improved access to financial services and products.

Background, Experience & Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Micro-finance, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration or other relevant fields.
A minimum of 5 years of experience in provision of financial services particularly to rural unbaked populations.
Experience working with agricultural and livestock value chains.
Demonstrated ability to influence private sector actors to generate financial products for the poor and rural communities.
A deep understanding of the impact and influence of culture, religion and other socio-economic factors in acceptance and uptake of financial services and products.
An active pro-poor approach to provision of financial services.
At least 3 years’ experience on similar donor-funded programs.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; knowledge of Hausa will be an added advantage.
Strong computer literacy with a full knowledge of office applications.
Travel Required 60% to field locations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa

Equal Employer Opportunity:

“CRS is an equal –opportunity employer, does not discriminate based on race, color, religion and we are committed to gender sensitive programming and management’. etc.
Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply”

Safeguarding

By applying to this job, I understand and acknowledge that CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, I understand that if I am a successful candidate, I will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and my personal/professional references will be asked to evaluate my behaviors related to the above safeguarding-related topics.

Statement of Commitment to Protection: