ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:
Founded in 1964, International Executive Service Corps (IESC) is a Washington, DC based not-for-profit organization that focuses on private sector growth. It supports and catalyzes the development of private enterprises, business support organizations, financial institutions, and public institutions around the world. Its mission is to focus on improving the lives of people throughout the world by strengthening private enterprise.
Background: The Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program is designed to enhance agricultural competitiveness in the MENA region and to ensure reliable and consistent national food supplies. To help improve agricultural competitiveness in the MENA region, the F2F program seeks to increase access to rural finance by enhancing access to finance for infrastructure upgrades essential to improve quality assurance. It also aims to support financial institutions to better serve farm enterprises that seek to implement quality assurance protocols.
ABOUT THE JOB:
IESC is seeking a Livestock Lending Expert. S/he will be responsible for designing a tailored lending program for livestock producers based on market research to be conducted in January, 2015.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
- Attend assignment briefing meetings at the F2F program office on October 6, in Cairo;
- Meet with representatives from one of the two lenders – Alexandria Businessmen Association (ABA) and First Micro Finance Foundation (FMFF);
- Analyze and discuss data collected by ABA and or FMFF;
- Formulate a lending program concept for livestock activities;
- Conduct a pre-testing of the suitability of the proposed concept and modify it accordingly;
- Visit other potential partners/players to ensure the success of this program, such as veterinarians, insurance providers, etc.;
- Create a pilot test plan to 1-2 branches for the new loan for FMFF and ABA to follow up;
- Attend a debriefing session with reps for ABA or FMFF to share with them final observations and recommendations;
- Attend a debriefing session with F2F country director and staff members to report feedback and discuss the suggested follow-up plans on the recommendations, as well as capture impact;
- Submit a final report summarizing observations, findings and recommendations.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 15 years of experience in banking or microfinance with an emphasis in agricultural lending;
- Regional experience in MENA highly desired;
- Experience with graphic design and/or creating PowerPoint presentations is desirable;
- Background in livestock activities especially dairy farming is a plus;
- U.S. Citizen or U.S. permanent resident (as required by the F2F program);
- Writing skills: reporting requires good computer skills including, but not limited to, working and generating reports with MS Word;
- Ability to achieve desired results in accordance with the work plan and submitting requisite reports, written and spoken fluency in English is required. Ability to work through translators in the field, however, is essential;
- Arabic and/or French language skills a plus, but not required.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates can send their resume and cover letter to volunteer@iesc.org
