Financial Inclusion Officer Full Time NEW

Job Category: Programming

Requisition Number: FINAN006971

Posting Details

Posted: August 3, 2026

Full-Time

On-site

• LocationsShowing 1 location
  Abala, 0000, ETH

Job Details

Description

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas in five regional states – Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara – and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs, and geographies as much as possible.  Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies, and communities.

Mercy Corps utilizes Markets Systems Development Approach (MSD) approach to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and social stability.

               Position: Financial Inclusion Officer

              Location: Abaala

              Position Status: Full-time, Regular

Risk Level: Level 3

The Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is implementing a three-year (36 months) program, ‘Resilience and Incomes for Smallholders in Ethiopia through Digital Financial Services II’ (RAISE-DFS II) , funded by Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA). Building on the success of RAISE-DFS I, which reached over 350,000 users with inclusive digital and Islamic financial services, this second phase moves from piloting to institutionalization and system-wide scale-up.

RAISE-DFS II will catalyze a transformation in Sharia-compliant and digital financial services across the lowlands and highlands of Ethiopia. The program will achieve its overall objective to increase incomes and enhance resilience for rural households, particularly women and youth, across Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali, and Oromia regions, targeting 100,000 individuals.

The program has three outcomes:

Outcome 1: Financial institutions provide climate-responsive products and services that enable rural women and youth to adapt and build resilience to climate change.

Outcome 2: Women and youth benefit from using DFS through strengthened consumer protection and improved trust and understanding of the services.

Outcome 3: Financial institutions expand outreach into new areas and to underserved populations through improved and expanded agent networks and services.

General Position Summary

The Financial Inclusion Officer will support the implementation of high-quality financial inclusion programming through capacity-building for teams, conducting market assessments, designing interventions, and building relationships with key market actors from the private sector and government. The Officer will also be involved in designing Intervention Concept Notes (ICNs) that integrate financial inclusion, climate responsiveness, and gender-transformative approaches, and will work closely with the MEL team to ensure robust monitoring and learning. S/he will also play a role in representing Mercy Corps’ financial inclusion work externally, through building relationships with key partners and participating in relevant coordination and learning events.

Essential Responsibilities

• Coordination and Collaboration
• Enhance strategic partnerships with financial institutions, fintechs, regulators, and other stakeholders to advocate, promote, and advance organizational issues, priorities, interests, and competencies for successful program delivery.
• Collaborate with clients, partners, and stakeholders to link and harmonize approaches and to promote common interests and achievement of results.
• Leverage synergies with complementary Mercy Corps programs (ESP+, ER-CAP, RLP) to accelerate last-mile distribution, strengthen value-chain finance, and deepen digital ecosystems.
• Program Management
• Support the development of work plans, activities, targets, budgets, and standards for measuring progress and results, and determine the processes, tools, and methodologies to be used to ensure effective and efficient program implementation and operations.
• Conduct high-quality market system assessments in financial services, with a specific focus on climate-responsive products, Sharia-compliant finance, gender-inclusive design, and consumer protection systems, providing the foundation for program design.
• Design Intervention Concept Notes (ICNs) for MSD programs using tools such as Results Chains and ‘Who Does, Who Pays?’ matrices, ensuring integration of gender equality, climate resilience, and conflict sensitivity.
• Lead the establishment, expansion, and digitization of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to facilitate formal credit and savings access for predominantly women members. This requires frequent travel to East and West Hararghe zones in Oromia region to directly oversee VSLA formation, training, digitization, and linkage to formal financial services.
• Support partner FIs to develop and scale climate-responsive financial products, including input-linked loans, solar and irrigation financing, drought-resilient livestock packages, and energy-efficient technologies, in line with Output 1.1.
• Support the expansion and strengthening of agent networks, including recruitment, training, and retention of women agents, improved liquidity management, and enhanced supervision systems, in line with Output 3.1.
• Support the strengthening of consumer protection systems within partner FIs, including complaint-handling mechanisms, transparency practices, and integration of Fayda National ID into onboarding and KYC procedures, in line with Output 2.1.
• Ensure gender integration and mainstreaming are incorporated into all financial inclusion interventions, with a minimum target of 50% women participants and specific attention to women’s economic empowerment, agency, and access.
• Monitor progress and identify risks for timely action and early resolution, with particular attention to data protection, safeguarding, and consumer risks.
• Responsible for full compliance with Mercy Corps rules, regulations, and policies on financial activities, financial recording/reporting systems, and follow-up on audit recommendations.
• Actively support knowledge building, sharing, and application within the program.
• Submission of high-quality reports for financial inclusion programming to the Program Manager and other relevant Mercy Corps Ethiopia team members.
• Closely work with a wide range of financial service providers (MFIs, Banks, VSLA groups, Fintechs) in establishing partnerships and managing relationships on a regular basis, ensuring alignment with the program’s co-investment and cost-share model.
•  Teamwork
• Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities, and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines.
• Work closely with team members and partners, to support capacity-building and gender integration into the programs.
• Very good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations.
• Very strong capacities to guide a multi-cultural team in difficult circumstances.
• Support the identification of program issues, challenges, and risks, appropriate recommendations, and implement them.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES 

Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.

Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.

Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: RAISE-DFS Programs Manager

Works Directly With: RAISE-DFS team in Addis Ababa, Oromia, Somali, Tigray, Amhara and Afar; other Mercy Corps program Teams; Operations and Finance Teams.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Security

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Apply conflict-sensitive and do-no-harm principles in all program activities, particularly in post-conflict regions (Tigray, Amhara).

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• A degree in Business, Economics, Development Studies, Program Management, or related Social Science fields.
• At least 4 – 6 years of work experience in program management and coordination, preferably in:
• Financial inclusion and digital financial services (DFS)
• Sharia-compliant/Islamic finance product development (Murabaha, Musharaka, Takaful)
• Climate-responsive financial product design (input-linked loans, solar financing, livestock resilience packages)
• Product and strategy development
• Financial literacy programs and community awareness campaigns
• Strong experience in VSLA operation and management, particularly in Oromia region (especially East and West Hararghe zones) , including group formation, training, record-keeping, and linkage to formal financial services.
• Practical job experience in the financial sector (banks, microfinance institution