Opportunity International
OMPANY OVERVIEW
Opportunity International was founded in 1971 and exists to bring about a measure of justice, dignity, and purpose for families living in poverty. We do this by supporting local financial institutions that provide innovative financial solutions to empower people, create small businesses and build vibrant communities.
We serve 12 million hardworking entrepreneurs in 28 countries around the world and have big plans for the world: a world without poverty where people can live with dignity and purpose. Our clients have ambitious dreams for their futures but lack the opportunities needed to make those dreams a reality.
AgFinance Overview
Opportunity International (OI) AgFinance model is structured to bring scalable and high-impact loans and training to rural families living in poverty to build thriving rural communities. AgFinance accomplishes this by building relationships with financial institutions (FIs) to support the provision of tailored agricultural credit products and services to smallholders and agribusinesses while providing technology-enabled training and services to farmers.
The AgFinance FI Services team is responsible for maintaining relationships with existing financial institutions, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions, coordinating or leading technical assistance, such as staff training, product development, portfolio management, capital and guarantee facility management, and more.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Technical Advisor, Malawi will oversee the financial institution (FI) relationships in Malawi for the AgFinance program, deliver technical assistance, and ensure program and project deliverables are achieved in a timely manner.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Financial Institution Partner Recruitment
- Engage FIs in Malawi to explore agriculture finance lending
- Complete due diligence and risk assessments of prospective partners
- Prepare and present proposals to the New Partner Approval Committee
- Facilitate partnerships to support the value chain development for targeted crops between financial institutions, extension service providers, offtakers, producers, and smallholders
- Conduct research into funding and investment opportunities that address the needs of partner financial institutions and in-country partners
Provide Technical Assistance to Financial Institutions
- Develop and deliver technical assistance plans for each financial institution, consisting of:
- Staff capacity building on agriculture finance products and portfolio management
- Assistance with the acquisition or utilization of loan guarantees, capital facilities, or insurance products
- Crop profiling, gross margin analyses, market assessments, landscape analyses, etc.
- Product design and product development, including core banking modifications and reporting
- Liaise with Opportunity’s Digital Financial Services (DFS) teams to identify and implement digitization efforts
- Develop systems and prepare data reports for the AgFinance program
Lending and Portfolio Management
- Manage relationships with stakeholders to maximize loan portfolios’ performance
- Monitor portfolio and guarantee reports provided by the FI
- Hold monthly meetings with the FIs to review ongoing concerns, challenges, and successes
- Validate data reported and conduct periodic monitoring of loans and core bank reporting
- Develop an understanding of the agriculture clients and translate the stakeholder needs into appropriate financial products
- Monitor and manage AgFinance loan guarantee facilities placed with the FIs, including approving qualified loans and ensuring claims are paid out
- Develop loan portfolio targets with each FI
Other Activities
- Coordinate project design and budgeting for new proposals with the fundraising teams
- Vet objectives with all FI partners and ensure buy-in on any new projects
- Assist with due diligence or monitoring visits by donors or funders, as required
- Assist Regional Impact Manager with FI data collection for impact surveys or research
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
- None
QUALIFICATIONS
- Degree in Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Agriculture, International Development, or related field or commensurate experience, Master’s Degree preferred
- Minimum of 8 years relevant experience in banking or microfinance, and/or working with smallholder farmer groups and agribusinesses at a management or supervisory level in Africa
- Senior-level management experience, with demonstrated ability to lead a team of people, manage diverse stakeholders and make strategic decisions
- Demonstrated experience presenting financial institution executives and ability to contribute to the strategy of growing financial institutions
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office apps, specifically Excel, Android Apps and other business intelligence tools. Experience in PowerBI is a plus
- Mission-aligned with Opportunity International and a passion for serving those living in poverty
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- Written and verbal fluency in English; Chichewa and/or other partner languages a plus.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
- AgFinance Operations Team
- AgFinance Client Services Team
- Financial Institutions
- Digital Financial Services
- Regional Impact Manager
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
Ability and willingness to travel domestically up to 40% of the time, and international occasionally.