Access to Finance Analyst Full Time NEW

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Heifer International is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of disability.

THE ORGANIZATION:

Since 1944, Heifer International has empowered over 46 million smallholder farmer families globally to overcome hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. Our new goal is to close the Sustainable Living Income gap for 10 million more households by 2030.

Heifer Ethiopia’s contribution to the Global 10 million households target is to help 1 million of Heifer Africa’s 6.745 million households achieve sustainable living income by 2030 through effective implementation its signature program (RESTORE+ 2021-2030). Heifer Ethiopia’s signature program focuses on dairy, poultry, small ruminants, horticulture, and Apiculture (honey and beekeeping) as priority value chains.

FUNCTION:

The Access to Finance Analyst will work in different region of Ethiopia and reports to the Access to Finance Lead; supports the design, implementation, monitoring, and coordination of access to finance interventions within assigned geographic areas under the USDA Ethiopia Partnership for Productivity (P4P) Project. The post holder ensures target smallholder farmers, producer organizations, cooperatives, youth, and women engaged in the project have improved access to relevant, affordable, and market-responsive financial services and products aligned with their business and livelihood needs.

He/she is responsible for the design and implementation of inclusive financial access strategies, including financial needs assessments, financial literacy initiatives, cooperative strengthening, business planning support, savings mobilization, and facilitation of tailored financial products and services. The Analyst ensures that financial inclusion interventions are practical, inclusive, sustainability-oriented, and directly contribute to improved productivity, income generation, resilience, and market participation of project participants.

The position holders work closely with financial institutions, cooperatives, government stakeholders, insurance providers, and development partners to strengthen sustainable financial ecosystems and improve financial service delivery mechanisms within the project intervention areas.

He/she also supports the Project Team Leader and MEL function in monitoring financial inclusion outcomes, documenting lessons learned, and contributing to high-quality donor and internal reporting.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES:

Access to Finance Management (60%)

Day-to-day leadership and coordination of access to finance activities to ensure achievement of project objectives, outputs, and outcomes, including but not limited to:

• Lead financial needs assessments and analyses for project participants, cooperatives, producer groups traders, agrovets, feed producers, aggregators, and other value chain actors to identify gaps, opportunities, and barriers to financial inclusion.
• Facilitate access to tailored financial products and services, Coordination of branch-level engagements including microfinance, savings schemes, credit facilities, and insurance products for target beneficiaries.
• Provide technical support to producer groups, cooperatives, youth groups, and individual beneficiaries in preparing loan applications, business plans, financial plans, and financial records.
• Strengthen the financial management, governance, and operational sustainability of cooperatives and producer organizations.
• Support producer groups and cooperatives using Heifer’s Value Based Holistic Community Development (VBHCD) Approach and relevant cooperative development principles and government policies.
• Delivers training and coaching on business management initiatives focused on savings culture, financial planning, risk management, business growth, and responsible borrowing.
• Organize and facilitate training, workshops, and coaching sessions to strengthen financial management and business decision-making capacities of target participants.
• Conduct financial market assessments and analyses to identify relevant financial opportunities, constraints, and innovative financing approaches for project participants.
• Work closely with financial institutions and insurance providers to support development and rollout of appropriate financial and insurance products for target beneficiaries and producer organizations.
• Facilitate implementation of insurance schemes and support project participants and cooperatives to meet partner financial and insurance requirements.

Project Planning, Monitoring, and Reporting (20%)

• Collaborate with project teams to develop annual and quarterly access to finance plans aligned with the overall project work plan and budget.
• Support and monitor implementation of access to finance activities and assess outcomes such as farmer readiness support (KYC compliance, documentation support and business plan preparation), loan pipeline management, track applications submitted, monitor approvals and disbursements, and resolve bottlenecks.
• Ensure systematic documentation of results, success stories, lessons learned, and good practices for internal learning and donor reporting.
• Contribute high-quality technical input to monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual project reports in line with donor and Heifer International requirements.
• Regularly assess and report on the effectiveness and impact of access to finance interventions and recommend improvements based on findings and stakeholder feedback.

Coordination and Stakeholder Management (15%)

• Work closely with financial institutions, cooperatives, government stakeholders, NGOs, and development partners to strengthen coordination and financial inclusion efforts.
• Support mapping, engagement, and coordination of relevant project stakeholders, including producers, cooperatives, private sector actors, service providers, financial institutions, insurers, government agencies, and other value chain actors.
• Facilitate collaboration and learning platforms among financial actors, producer organizations, and project stakeholders to promote knowledge sharing and sustainable partnerships.
• Support integration of project access to finance approaches into existing local systems and institutional frameworks to enhance sustainability and scale.

Any Other Assigned Functions (5%)

Perform any other job-related tasks assigned by the supervisor that are consistent with the objectives and scope of the project.

Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Finance, Development Finance, Business Administration, Rural Development, or other related disciplines.
• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in agricultural finance, rural finance, financial inclusion, or access to finance programming.
• Experience supporting loan facilitation, financial literacy, cooperative finance, rural enterprise development or agricultural value chain finance.

Most Critical Proficiencies:

• Strong understanding of rural finance systems, financial inclusion, and agricultural financing mechanisms.
• Practical understanding of livestock value chain and the financing needs of producers, cooperatives, traders, agrovets and SMEs.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, and financial literacy training skills.
• Ability to design and implement inclusive and market-relevant financial access interventions.
• Strong analytical, documentation, and reporting skills.
• Effective communication and stakeholder engagement skills in English and relevant local languages.

Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands:

• Ability to facilitate training, coaching, and workshops in rural and semi-urban settings.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet strict deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to handle sensitive financial and organizational information with confidentiality and professionalism.

Travel Requirements:

The position holder should allocate up to 60% of his/her time to travel to project regions to support regional, district, and community-level activities.