Head of Client Centric Application

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION: 

FinMark Trust (FMT) and The Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri) are jointly establishing a new centre funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. The centre has secured funding for five years and will seek to achieve two broad objectives:

1. Improve the quality, relevance and comparability of indicators of financial inclusion and the data needed to design effective programs, products and policies.
2. Increase the access to, as well as the use and quality of client centric data, research and methodologies by financial services providers to inform business decisions in a way that would lead to the design of a greater range of more relevant and impactful financial products and services for financially underserved individuals. This will largely include developing data solutions for the private sector to promote financial inclusion.

FinMark Trust is a not-for-profit independent trust, based in Johannesburg, whose mission is to make financial markets work for the poor in Africa through research and by advocating for change on the basis of research findings.

Cenfri is an independent think tank, based in Cape Town, with a mission to support financial inclusion and financial sector development through facilitating better regulation and market provision of financial services. This vision is achieved through research, providing advice and developing capacity-building programmes for regulators, donors, financial service providers and other parties operating in the low-income market.

ABOUT THE JOB: 

The Head of Client Centric Applications (HCCA) position falls under objective two of the centre: to increase the access to, as well as the use of quality client centric data, research and methodologies by financial services providers to inform business decisions. The HCCA will therefore head up the client application work stream of the programme, and will also oversee the access work stream (the website portal hosting financial inclusion data sets and client centric research and research tools). 

This role will be based at FinMark Trust in Johannesburg, reporting directly to the Head of Client Centric Data and Research and will be supported by two researchers.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Engage with private sector Financial Service Providers in 8 countries across Africa including Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana;
• Generate leads and funding;
• Broker relationships with potential stakeholders;
• Linking formal and informal processes within financial inclusion;
• Identifying and engaging with FSPs on Technical Assistance needs and developing and implementing solutions to these needs;
• Using internal and transactional data to facilitate product development;
• Marry the client-centric research objectives of the centre with practical client centric applications;
• Combining technical experience with a client-centric research agenda to inform product development.

Qualifications:

• A Master’s degree is essential (Research based in Mathematical Statistics / Applied Statistics/ Economics/ Mathematical Finance/ Business / Psychology / Data Sciences);
• A Master of Business Administration degree is beneficial;
• A PHD is advantageous;
• Minimum 6 years’ experience in Microfinance/Financial Inclusion and client centric applications;
• Experience and exposure to working in developing countries is essential;
• Experience in dealing with a variety of stakeholders including private sector companies and research providers;
• Experience in and understanding of the processes behind product development, particularly within financial service providers;
• Experience in translating client preferences and behaviours into tangible shifts in business processes (i.e translating client data into practical market solutions);
• Experience in constructing, maintaining and analyzing business generated transactional databases;
• Familiarity with how data and research functions can be organised within FSPs;
• Solid understanding of internal business dynamics;
• Management experience.

HOW TO APPLY: 

If you feel you are suitable in terms of your experience and qualifications and would like to apply for the role please send your CV in a Word document to Rory Mackie at rory@rorymackie.co.za

Original Job Posting