Vacancies at Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA)

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Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) is a financial sector development organization that promotes financial inclusion in Nigeria. Established in late 2007, our vision is to be the leader in facilitating the emergence of an all-inclusive and growth-promoting financial system. EFInA is funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are recruiting to fill the position below:   Job Title: Digital Financial Services, Lead Location: Nigeria Job Description The role of Digital Financial Services, Lead is critical for the success of EFInA. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Digital Financial Services Lead will:

• Deepen and scale-up Digital Financial Services in Nigeria through the use of research, identification of alternate delivery channels, stakeholder (FSI regulators & providers) engagement and capacity building, technology and technical assistance.
• Support the sourcing & structuring of DFS- related Technical Assistant Grants or Innovation Grants.

Duties and Responsibilities The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conducts assessments of the DFS landscape in Nigeria to order to understand the DFS landscape (products, processes & channels) in Nigeria and identify opportunities to deepen DFS and develop annual strategic focus
• Understands and defines regulatory requirements for DFS and engage Financial Service Industry (FSI) regulators to provide advisory on policies, consumer protection, risk management etc.
• Identifies and understands different market segments such as telecommunication, transport & logistics, FMCG, Oil & Gas, Construction services and identify ways to leverage these business segments for DFS uptake in Nigeria
• Anticipates the Financial Sector data and market research needs and works with the EFInA team to develop targeted DFS content
• Contributes to the development of the financial inclusion sector and EFInA’s position as a thought leader by writing position papers/ focus/strategy notes, for advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria through Digital Financial Services
• As required, contribute to EFInA’s knowledge management by facilitating knowledge sharing sessions, creating training materials and ensuring these materials are consistently saved to the Group Folder for ease of reference and retrieval of information
• Supports the Communications Specialist in developing and executing effective marketing strategies for key stakeholders that increase awareness of the issues limiting the growth of financial inclusion and provide recommendations for addressing these issues
• Identify technical assistance gaps using analysis from stakeholder engagement and industry research
• Develops strategies to enable stakeholders utilise electronic channels and support the implementation of such strategies
• Identifies and addresses pertinent issues surrounding supply & demand of DFS products through the Working Group/ Breakfast Meetings
• Works /interacts closely with stakeholders to build their technical capacity for the delivery and scale-up of DFS in Nigeria
• Understands the global electronic payments industry trends and emerging practices & innovations and leverages same to deepen DFS in Nigeria
• Represents EFInA and deliver presentations at public events, as directed by the General Manager
• Oversees Specialists to ensure that EFInA develops and executes its DFS strategy
• Manages Specialists to document the status of Agent networks & Electronic payments/Mobile money in terms of key stakeholders, industry associations, policies, regulatory framework, impediments to growth, and barriers to access for the low-income population
• Ensures that the Specialists keep abreast of major developments in the DFS space by staying ahead of emerging issues, trends and opportunities in the electronic payments space
• In conjunction with the Grant Manager, identifies and develops a pipeline of projects related to women, Northern Nigeria and financial capability for the Innovation Fund; review relevant grant applications and make funding recommendations
• Manages the budget and track expenditure for the DFS programme, as directed by the General Manager
• Performs any other duties as required by the General Manager
• Leads, coaches and mentors the Specialists & Analyst  to  ensure  customer  focus  and  high standards of delivery
• Develops annual training plans for the DFS team for approval of the General Manager
• Monitors, manages and reports on the performance of Programme Specialists, including setting performance objectives and timelines, and conducting monthly reviews and annual performance appraisals

Required Experience and Qualifications Education:

• The ideal candidate should hold a Master's degree in International Development, Economics or other related discipline.

Professional Qualification:

• Certification in any global Banking Certification

Relevant Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years’ operational experience in DFS in Nigeria preferably with at least 5 years of direct experience in the use of technology to expand reach of mobile financial services to the low-income
• Strong awareness of the legal, regulatory & policy frameworks that govern Financial sector experience (banking/management consultancy/development/research
• Project management experience and relevant certification

Core Competencies:

• Deep Financial Services Industry Knowledge
• Ability to build partnerships across stakeholder groups
• Market Research
• Sound strategy formulation and implementation skills
• Strong Stakeholder management and engagement skills
• Strong analytical & problem-solving skills
• Understanding of business landscape (regulatory, legal & policy frameworks) that govern mobile money/ electronic payments & agent networks in Nigeria
• Agent Network Management
• Familiarity with technology platforms & business models associated with electronic payment services
• Excellent Communication skills

Terms of Appointment

• This is a full-time position with the successful candidate being contracted on a funding-cycle based contract.
• Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

      Job Title: Policy, Lead Location: Nigeria Job Description The role of Policy, Lead is critical for the success of EFInA. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Policy, Lead will:

• Lead EFInA ‘s advocacy initiatives, as well as provide technical assistance to research and policy components embedded within specific projects/programmes.
• Responsible for EFInA’s quantitative and qualitative research and managing the organisation’s evidence/research/data base, which supports EFInA’s policy and influencing activity and informs the strategic development of Financial Inclusion

Duties and Responsibilities The selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks: Policy, Advocacy & Stakeholder Management:

• Conducts assessments of current policies and regulations in the Financial Services sector in Nigeria to identify regulatory gaps and opportunities for advocacy to promote implementation of financial inclusion objectives in Nigeria
• Supports the development of enabling policies to drive Financial Inclusion in Nigeria by conducting research to determine the most effective and appropriate financial inclusion policies, and produce succinct policy notes outlining how they could be implemented in Nigeria
• Works with regulators/senior government representatives to develop, change and implement policies that promote financial inclusion based on compelling evidence-based insights from EFInA’s research data
• Ensures EFInA’s research findings are used to inform policy reforms and/or stimulate product innovation by consistently disseminating targeted research information to stakeholders
• Engages in advocacy activities with required stakeholders (FSI regulators, providers or the government) to solve industry problems identified during EFInA’s working group/breakfast meetings
• Works closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Financial Inclusion Secretariat (FIS), National Pension Commission (PenCom), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) National Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) and other stakeholders to support monitoring and delivery of relevant objectives in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy
• Leverages international best practices or strategies that have been proven successful in other countries to Nigeria’s financial landscape as may be required
• Forges new and maintains partnerships with key stakeholders to further leverage their influences to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria
• Engages in conferences, convenings, working groups, speaking engagements and other activities that reinforce EFInA’s role as a honest broker and though leader in Financial Inclusion as directed by the GM

Research:

• Leads the design and implementation of all EFInA commissioned primary & secondary research and policy analysis. Prioritises and manages all EFInA’s research projects, ensuring they are delivered to high quality standards by specified deadline
• Synthesises lessons learned from research findings of EFInA surveys and scoping studies conducted and draw implications and/or conclusions that are actionable, impactful and accessible to stakeholders, in the form of policy/strategy/technical notes
• Reviews and finalises the reports (prepared by the Research Officers) for all customised  requests received for analysis on the data from the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria surveys
• Provides insightful and meaningful data to the Programmes Team and Grants Manager to support the evaluation of proposals received
• Supervises the Communication Specialist to distil and disseminate EFInA’s primary research to relevant stakeholders. This will include implementing effective communication channels for engaging each category of EFInA’s stakeholders, the appropriate dissemination channels for all research commissioned and presenting research findings in a compelling and informative manner, e.g. by developing presentations, writing reports, producing brochures, developing info graphics/short videos, contributing to research publications, etc.
• Maintains relationships with major research firms in financial sector development and keep abreast of access to finance related research in Nigeria as well as in other relevant jurisdictions
• As required, contributes to EFInA’s knowledge management by facilitating knowledge sharing sessions, creating training materials and ensuring these materials are consistently saved to the Group Folder for ease of reference and retrieval of information
• Supports the Communications Specialist in developing and executing effective marketing strategies for key stakeholders that increase awareness of the issues limiting the growth of financial inclusion and provide recommendations for addressing these issues
• Performs any other duties as required by the General Manager
• Leads, coaches, and mentors  the  Communication Specialist, Research Officers/ Data Analytics Officer to  ensure  customer  focus  and  high standards of delivery
• Develops annual training plans for the Policy & Research team for approval of the General Manager
• Monitors, manages and reports on the performance of Communication Specialist, Research Officers/ Data Analytics Officer, including setting performance objectives and timelines, and conducting monthly reviews and annual performance appraisals

Required Experience and Qualifications Education:

• The ideal candidate should hold a Master’s degree in Economics, Statistics or International Development.

Relevant Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years In-depth and proven experience of delivering research projects and commissioning, project managing and quality assuring for external and internal research.
• Strong awareness of the legal, regulatory & policy frameworks that govern financial sector experience (banking/management consultancy/development/research.
• Prior experience in policy and regulation design and implementation.

Core Competencies:

• Excellent Communications, presentation and interpretation skills.
• Ability to build partnerships across stakeholder groups.
• Excellent qualitative and quantitative research skills
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of public (social and economic) policy processes
• Proven project management skills
• Proven ability to Formulate strategies/ analyse concepts
• Exceptional Planning and Organising skills
• Exceptional Campaign Management skills P

Personal Qualities:

• Commitment to the financial inclusion agenda
• Energetic leader with a strong vision and passionate commitment for EFInA’s strategic objectives, who will deliver EFInA’s programmes
• Gravitas, credibility and ability to initiate and develop strategic partnerships and alliances
• Driven and a self-starter
• Highly-organised and efficient; able to multi-task effectively and prioritise work based on minimal direction and multiple competing priorities
• Works well under pressure and meets deadlines
• Committed to delivering high quality results, with cost-effective use of resources
• Can-do approach
• Innovative
• High levels of initiative
• Enterprising attitude that is quick to search out alternative solutions to needs or problems
• Positive, flexible, supportive attitude to work
• Exhibits a helpful behaviour beyond strict job requirements
• Discreet and respects confidentiality
• Integrity and high personal ethical standards
• Confident
• Resilient

Terms of Appointment

• This is a full-time position with the successful candidate being contracted on a funding-cycle based contract.
• Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

  How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should forward a copy of their CV's and a supporting letter in Microsoft Word format, along with any relevant documentation to Ms. Carol Mallari via: [email protected] Note

• All information will be in the strictest confidence as we pride ourselves on our professional service.
• We will revert to you as soon as feasible when we have reviewed your application.

  Application Deadline: 20th September, 2017.

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