Agricultural Finance and Investment Director, Tanzania

For over 50 years and in 146 countries, ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that delivers technical and management assistance in agribusiness, financial services, enterprise development, community development and food security in order to promote broad-based economic growth and vibrant civil society. ACDI/VOCA currently has approximately 34 projects in 26 countries and revenues of approximately $174 million.

Agricultural Finance and Investment Director, Tanzania

We are currently seeking a long-term Agricultural Finance and Investment Director for a multi-year USAID-funded market development program in Tanzania. The project will have a strong focus on sustainable, private-sector driven market development in several agricultural value chains, including rice and maize.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the Agricultural Finance and Investment Component and team of staff, providing technical and managerial oversight and leadership, contributing to the design and implementation oversight of annual work plans and strategies, and ensuring that interventions respond to identified market opportunities and create sustainable development outcomes.
• Design and implement activities in partnership with banks, financial service providers, investors, and agribusiness clients that expands investment, increases the flow of financing, and supports the overall competitiveness of targeted value chains. As part of this, facilitate collaborations to leverage resources for investment in agricultural production, processing, technologies, and trading.
• Recommend finance-related solutions to value chain constraints identified by other project components and the ongoing market analysis by senior leadership.
• Support private sector partners to improve market and finance mechanisms that address finance-related constraints, such as secured receipt systems, toll milling, regional finance and payment systems, and reliable market information. Support increased access to financing for large and medium-term lending and working capital, including for traders, millers, processors, manufacturers, equipment and agro-input providers, etc.
• In collaboration with the project’s Director of Agribusiness Management Systems, strengthen capacity of start-ups and SMEs to produce the financial documents and business plans required to attract increased lending and equity investments.
• Assess the impact of financial products and pilot efforts and make adjustments as needed to expand the outreach of finance providers to underserved markets
• Support smallholder farmers’ access to financing for inputs (seed, fertilizer, agro-chemicals), funds for harvest post-harvest and commodity trading, as well as creative payment systems (leveraging e-money and other technology-enabled systems, in collaboration with the ICT Integration Manager).
• Design and implement technical assistance interventions to investment attraction and facilitation, commercial partnerships, and trade expansion.
• Consider/understand the obstacles to finance faced by women and ensure outreach is gender inclusive
• Make recommendations to senior leadership for creative solutions to problems, new lines of work and promising partnerships, scaling up or scaling down interventions as a result of continuous learning, and regularly contribute to strategic planning, problem solving, and collaboration across components.

Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree or similar qualification in Finance, Business, Marketing, or Economics is required. A Master’s degree or similar qualification is desirable.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in SME finance, banking and agricultural finance, with a strong knowledge of the financial sector and investment climate in Tanzania and the region
• Demonstrated experience designing products, services, and/or public-private investment partnerships that expand access to finance for rural clients and agribusiness companies and contribute to advancing development objectives
• Evidence of creative solutions to financing constraints for SME agribusiness companies and their diverse (often rural) clients/supply chain partners – such as embedded financing, leveraging the possibilities of e-finance and mobile money, purchase order financing, investment deals, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical assistance and advisory services to a range of financial service providers
• Collaborative, creative team player with minimum 3 years of leadership experience
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili

HOW TO APPLY:

Please apply online at http://acdivoca.bosmaxhire.net/cp/?E55469361D43515B7E59192F77501E6905627B4D. No phone calls please. Only finalists contacted. Women and minorities encouraged to apply. EOE.