Agricultural Finance Advisor International Executive Service Corps

Agricultural Finance Advisor
Opportunity Type: Job
International Executive Service Corps
Yemen

About the Organization: 
Founded in 1964, International Executive Service Corps (IESC) is a Washington, DC based not-for-profit 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.

About the Job: 
IESC is seeking an Agricultural Finance Advisor (AFA) to lead an access to finance component of a USAID-funded sustainable agricultural development program designed to provide farmers access to high value markets and increased profit potential. This is a full-time position anticipated to last at least two years. The position will be based in Sana'€™a with frequent travel to targeted food-insecure governorates (Sana'a plus Dhamar, Ibb, Taiz, Raymah, Lahj, and Al Dhali).

Tasks and Responsibilities: 

• Under the supervision of the program chief of party, through organization’s partner, the Land O’Lakes, s/he will be responsible for leading the execution of the program’s agricultural finance development component. This component will work to reduce access to finance constraints within five value chains: specialty coffee, honey, horticulture, livestock, and handcrafts;
• Conduct a three-week access to finance analysis that will include interviewing major financial service institutions to identify those institutions best positioned to serve as program partners and the nature of each party’s role;
• In the second year, build a team with two additional personnel, an agricultural commercial banking specialist and a rural community finance specialist. Led by the Agricultural Finance Advisor, this agricultural finance development team will focus on engaging with partner financial institutions to facilitate additional capital investment into the targeted value chains, building the capacity of financial institutions, and developing or improving financial services and expand service provision to underserved markets.

Qualifications: 

• University degree, preferably with a focus on Finance, Business, Agricultural Economics or other relevant subject;
• At least 8 years of experience in commercial banking or formal financial services;
• At least 5 years of experience in agricultural finance or lending;
• At least 3 years of experience in Islamic finance principles and product design;
• Experience with microfinance and other forms of less formal finance approaches;
• Established network of financial professionals and investors in the MENA region;
• Strong organizational, writing, and communications skills;
• Fluency in Arabic and English;
• Ability to work as part of a team, to prioritize work, and handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines;
• Ability to travel throughout Yemen;
• Advanced degree, Master’s or higher, in relevant field is highly preferred;
• Fluency in local Arabic dialects is an added advantage;
• Prior experience working in Yemen, particularly in financial services and/or agriculture is highly preferred;
• Prior experience with trade finance, private equity, and impact investing preferred;
• Prior experience working on donor-funded development programs, especially USAID preferred;
• Familiarity with the value chain approaches preferred.

Posted: 24 Mar 2014
Closing Date: 20 Apr 2014

How to Apply:
Interested candidates can send their resume and cover letter to jobs@iesc.org

Please mention "Agricultural Finance Advisor" in the subject line.

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