ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:
Founded in 2009, Zidisha is an online community that enables direct person-to-person lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Zidisha helps connect lenders and borrowers directly across international borders - overcoming previously insurmountable barriers of geography, wealth and circumstance.
ABOUT THE JOB:
Zidisha is seeking a P2P Microfinance - Francophone Liaison Intern. S/he will be responsible for ensuring that organization's borrowers in francophone West Africa are always provided with timely, friendly, and professional customer service. S/he will also be responsible for determining the quality of clients' borrowing experience and the resulting quality of their relationship with organization.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
- Ensure that organization's francophone applicants and clients have access to quick, pleasant, and professional assistance and support at any time:
- Respond to email customer service inquiries from francophone West African clients within one business day of receipt;
- Use organization's Skype account to assist francophone clients via SMS messaging as necessary.
- Ensure that new applicants' profiles are reviewed thoroughly and timely:
- Work with applicant volunteer team to review all incoming francophone borrower applications within one business day of receipt;
- Assist francophone borrower applicants to complete any missing information in their applications.
- Ensure that organization's website is kept current with accurate loan disbursement and repayment information:
- Monitor online banking statement for assigned country, and post all disbursement and repayment transactions to the organization's website within one business day of receipt.
- Ensure that clients in individual's country have their funded loans disbursed promptly:
- Send disbursement forms for authorization and payment within one business day of loan funding;
- Coordinate with clients regarding next steps for receiving their loan disbursement payments.
- Provide understanding, effective support to any members who experience difficulties in making on-time loan repayments:
- Contact members who miss scheduled loan repayment installments, and gain an understanding of the reason the payment was missed;
- Assist the member to propose a new repayment schedule through their member account in the organization's website.
- Develop familiarity and a friendly, professional rapport with the clients in assigned country or countries:
- Follow the news and conduct basic background reading as needed to gain a familiarity with political, economic, and cultural conditions in assigned country or countries.
- As time permits, send personalized welcome messages to new clients in individual's country;
- Monitor comments and business updates posted by clients in individual's country. As time permits, send personalized responses to the clients who post comments.
- Innovate:
- Propose creative ways to make the experience of organization's francophone members even better;
- Execute proposals to leave a lasting impact on organization.
Qualifications:
- Proficiency in spoken and written French;
- Highly organized and detail-oriented;
- High degree of dependability and strong time management skills;
- Warm, outgoing, and helpful personality;
- Empathy, discretion, and mature judgment;
- Skill in working with teams and in maintaining good communication at multiple levels.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates can send their resume and cover letter to service@zidisha.org
