Community Based Savings Groups (CBSGs) Coordinator – Arua – Aga Khan Foundation

About US:
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development. AKF (East Africa) has worked in the regionby forming intellectual and financial partnerships, focusing on specific social and economic development problems in sectors that include civil society, health, education and rural development. With a small staff, a host of cooperating agencies and thousands of volunteers, AKF reaches out to vulnerable populations on four continents, irrespective of their race, religion, political persuasion or gender. AKF supports programming in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda that contributes to a better quality of life for hundreds of communities.

About AKF Project:
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) seeks to implement a new project in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSD Uganda). The “Unlocking the Potential of Savings Groups” project in the West Nile region of Uganda will deepen sustainable access to formal financial services for targeted populations. The project will build capacity of CREAM to work with 800 CBSGs in Yumbe and Arua districts of West Nile, targeting 20,000 savings group members by the end of the project. Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) will provide the financial services, leveraging the mobile money channel and agents. The key objectives of the project include:
· Improving links to relevant digitalised financial services;
· Improving adoption of digitalised financial services through financial literacy of savings group members and;
· Contributing to learning and innovation on deepening access to finance for the poor through ICT platforms.

Job Summary: The Community Based Savings Groups Coordinator will oversee and execute AKF West Nile financial sector deepening project related programme work and activities. The incumbent will work closely with the MERL Officer, other AKF West Nile senior management team, and all technical staff including staff at AKF Country and Regional Offices. S/he will also work closely with DTB and CREAM, the select 800 CBSGs as well as mobile telephone agents. The CBSGs Coordinator shall ensure that cross cutting themes including gender are fully integrated in all program interventions, workplans and MERL frameworks (log-frames), and are monitored and evaluated/assessed.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: Ensure overall project delivery, coordination and capacity building of partners, actualization of bank linkages as well as development of CBSGs as viable financial propositions. This will include;
· Assessing DTB’s relative strengths and weaknesses to be the bank serving groups and members
· Finalizing the IT systems with DTBs development team
· Supporting CREAM develop its team and the field roles (community agents) for linkage
· In charge of developing the marketing strategy and materials with DTB and CREAM
· Working closely with DTB and CREAM to design relevant financial products
· Responsible for developing the assessment framework and consumer protection program
· Confirming the need of the groups to bank their surpluses, and where possible, the need of individual members to have their own accounts
· Responsible for ensuring the timely submission of quality program technical and financial reports
· Maintain high standards of accountability, effectiveness and efficiency of programming
· Ensure systematic documentation of best practices and experiences in program work and facilitate sharing and dissemination of lessons learned and promising practices among all project stakeholders

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
· The ideal candidate should hold a Bachelor’s degree in Development Economics, Economics, Business, Agricultural Economics or equivalent in relevant fields of micro-finance and financial literacy.
· A minimum of three to five years private sector experience especially in the banking and telecom sectors.
· Previous work experience with DTB is preferred OR five to ten years’ experience in business driven approaches and/or community development with bias to financial services including savings led methodologies, bank linkages and use of ICT platforms.
· Broad grasp of socio cultural economic issues with respect to poverty, savings and enterprise development in rural settings
· Excellent communication, facilitation, mentorship, negotiation and analytical skills
· Possess the ability to work independently, strategically, lead and work within a team
· Willingness to live in West Nile sub-region, undertaking frequent field travels in isolated rural settings

How to Apply:
All interested candidates should send a cover letter explaining why they are best suited for this particular position, updated CV (not exceeding 3 pages) and the names and contact information of three professional referees to: HR & Admin Manager – Aga Khan Foundation, Uganda via e-mail to: akf.uganda@akdn.org

Deadline: 12th October 2015