Regional Lead, Access to Finance at Mastercard Foundation

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Head of Access to Finance, the Regional Lead, Access to Finance will be responsible for the development and management of a portfolio of financial inclusion programs and partnerships, to support regional and country strategies, as well as support the development and operationalization of the Access to Finance strategy in Africa. S/He will support and backstop the Head, Access to Finance and interacts with senior levels of partner organizations to advance the Foundation’s initiatives.

The successful candidate will be based in any of our listed offices in Africa: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

• Conduct access to finance assessments to understand the financial system as it applies to specific target groups, considering supply- and demand-side issues.
• Advise on financial inclusion strategies based on international best practice and emerging trends to support the Foundation’s design and management of financial inclusion programs in a variety of target groups including MSMEs, youth, women and small-holder farmers, to drive youth employment.
• Manage current and future programs as appropriate; including programs in the rural and agricultural finance initiative and distill learnings for Foundation staff.
• Communicate progress and learnings from projects to colleagues and the wider development community.
• Collaborate with regional and country teams to leverage synergies across programs and geographies.
• Participate in governance activities related to programs, such as investment committees, advisory committees, or other stakeholders to provide oversight or elevate and leverage learnings.
• Provide perspective and expertise on emerging issues and trends in the Financial Inclusion field, the MSME sector and entrepreneurship growth in Africa.
• Contribute insights to the Foundation’s thought leadership on youth employment in Africa.
• Contribute to works plans, assessments and reports as requested.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Build relationships with partner organizations, communities of practice, and global stakeholders.
• Represent the Foundation and collaborate with key internal and external audiences.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing between various Foundation programs and partners
• Lead and supervise small teams of colleagues and/or junior experts by providing coaching and support necessary for success and growth.
• Identify and overcome barriers to team effectiveness by sharing knowledge and learnings while offering insights and possible solutions to issues and/or program challenges.

WHO YOU ARE

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Finance, Economics, or Economic Development or another relevant field is required.
• Advanced knowledge of the financial inclusion sector for MSMEs, women, youth, and other marginalized groups, in Africa, demonstrating a strong understanding of MSMEs segments in the continent.
• In depth technical understanding of one or more of the Foundation’s areas of focus: financial sector development, market development and agriculture development, and astute ability to provide expert technical advice to program managers and implementers.
• Experience in the development of digital financial services is an advantage.
• Minimum 5 years professional experience in financial services in the private sector and demonstrated ability to apply those principles to financial inclusion in a creative, energetic, and non-traditional development approach.
• Proven track record of working with various types of financial institutions to enhance their ability to serve the underserved segments in Africa, including MSMEs.
• Experience working on donor funded financial inclusion programs across multiple financial sub-sectors will be an advantage, either in a program management function or technical expert.
• Experience working in a complex, fast moving environment, and dealing professionally with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience living and working in Africa and especially in Francophone or Lusophone Africa is an advantage.
• Strong ability to communicate progress and learnings from projects to colleagues and the wider development community.
• Command of quantitative and qualitative business analytical skills.
• Strong budgeting skills with the ability to manage a large portfolio of assets.
• Excellent project management skills, including multi-stakeholder projects management.
• An understanding and experience in the use of technology to drive the development of alternative delivery channels for financial institutions.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• Proficiency in English, written and oral is required. Ability to speak a local language is highly preferred. French is an asset.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to be flexible and adaptable.
• Proactive, engaged and a self-starter.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with others inside and outside the organization.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify the Foundation’s values.
• Demonstrate a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.