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Job Title:  Financial Inclusion & Agricultural Marketing Specialist

Organisation: DanChurchAid (DCA)

Duty Station: Yumbe, Uganda

Reports to: Programme Manager – Food Systems

About the Company:

DanChurchAid (DCA) is a faith-based, non-missionary relief and development organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark and founded in 1922. DCA has supported development and humanitarian programs in Uganda for over 35 years, working in partnership with local partners. DCA is a member of the ACT Alliance. Our key competencies in Uganda are livelihoods and food security, humanitarian response, and civil society development.

Job Summary:   The Financial Inclusion & Agricultural Marketing Specialist Will provide high-level technical and professional support to DCA and its local partners on aspects of financial inclusion, digitalization of VSLAs, and overall inclusive pro-poor market system development. S/he will support the development and implementation of all financial Inclusion, digitalization and agricultural marketing including mobilization, beneficiary identification/profiling, formation of savings groups (VSLAs, YSLAs, SACCOs), training on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and business management. The incumbent will support the development and implementation of innovative blended finance strategies to utilize DCA’s and other development and/or climate funds as catalyst to mobilize additional finance, for example from private sector, to achieve sustainable and climate resilient development. S/he will support the development of financial literacy materials, linking savings groups to financial institutions for savings and credit, support the VSLA Game App project implementation and scale, and training and monitoring of the financial community agents. The incumbent’s work will target both refugees and host community members. The position will work very closely with the Digital and innovations coordinator and other Project managers to ensure all targets are met, high quality of work, identify and address programmatic and partner relations challenges in timely and effective manner.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial Inclusion capacity strengthening.

• Conduct knowledge and skills assessments to identify capacity gaps among DCA project staff, partner staff, and beneficiaries (small-holder farmers, refugees, and host communities) to determine what training and materials would be beneficial to build their capacity in market systems development, financial inclusion, business development and Incubation.
• Develop training materials and resources tailored to the needs of beneficiaries, local partners, DCA project staff; and conduct training sessions for farmers and local partners on best practices in financial inclusion, digitalization, and agricultural marketing.
• Provide mentorship and ongoing technical support to DCA staff and partner staff to ensure sustainability of initiatives.

VSLA and financial inclusion.

• Savings group support: Work closely with DCA project staff and partner staff, community structures to identify, establish and maintain savings groups to promote financial inclusion and improve livelihoods.
• VSLA capacity building: Ensure beneficiaries are trained on financial literacy, savings, and loan management. Develop strategies to enhance access to financial services for marginalized and vulnerable groups.
• VSLA empowerment: Empower groups by training beneficiaries on VSLA methodology, including group governance and leadership, group dynamics, rapid appraisal of income-generating activities.
• Digital platform training: Ensure inclusive digital literacy training for beneficiaries on use of digital platforms for savings, loans, and financial record-keeping.
• Financial Service Provider Liaison: Collaborate with Financial Service Providers to increase access of identified beneficiaries to financial services, including activities relating to Digitalization of savings groups and linkage to financial institutions.
• Awareness and Partnership Building: Support field operations to raise awareness about access to finance for refugees and host communities. Establish partnerships with qualified financial service providers.
• Advocacy and Representation: Raise awareness about the needs of refugees and host communities in access to finance and on the work done by DCA around financial inclusion.

Market system development.

• Develop and implement strategies for inclusive and pro-poor market system development; and Facilitate linkages between small-holder farmers, input suppliers, producers, and off-takers. These strategies should also consider relevant elements of climate resilience and environmental sustainability.
• Conduct market analysis and value chain assessments to identify opportunities and constraints of small-holder farmers by making presentations at coordination meetings or at other forums whenever requested.

Learnings and Impact or Communication and learnings.

• Stakeholder engagement: Actively participate in the periodic meetings and events documentation processes during community engagements and document change stories, develop weekly, monthly plans and produce activity, weekly, monthly reports, and stories of change.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Develop and implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track the progress and impact of financial inclusion and agricultural marketing activities. Produce periodic monitoring reports for submission to the supervisor.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, Entrepreneurship, Business Administration, Finance, Agribusiness, Development Studies, and 8 years of experience in financial inclusion, agricultural marketing, or related areas, preferably in both humanitarian and development context; or A Master’s degree in similar fields and 5 years of experience.
• Proven experience in organizing and supporting VSLAs, including digitalization efforts.
• Strong understanding of inclusive market systems and value chain development.
• Excellent training and capacity-building skills, with experience in developing training materials and conducting workshops.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data to inform decision-making.
• Excellent communication and people skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of local languages is an asset.
• Knowledge and experience of VSLA methodology.
• Knowledge of the financial literacy curriculum in Uganda’s context.
• Ability to work in a challenging and dynamic environment with minimal supervision.

How to Apply:

All candidates who wish to join DanChurchAid (DCA) should apply online at the link below.

Click Here

Deadline: 12th August 2024

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