Digital Financial Services (DFS) Platform Program Manager at Talentstone Africa

Background
Seven out of ten Nigerian adults are unbanked, and nearly half of the adult population is considered financially excluded. Some banking clients have to travel long distances to reach a branch, resulting in the travel cost sometimes being higher than the amount the client wanted to deposit on that day.

Digital Financial Services (DFS) has the potential to expand the delivery of basic financial services to the poor or underbanked through new technologies like mobile phones, computers, electronic money and new channels such as retail agents.

Role Summary

• Reports to - Head of Project Management Secretariat
• This position will be responsible for leading a diverse set of projects and stakeholders from initiation through closure to achieve the DFS Platform Initiative’s strategic objectives and benefits. These include the successful digitization of a core set of priority payment streams, with accompanying payment system changes, critical to driving overall financial inclusion in Nigeria.
• The DFS Platform Program Manager (PM) is expected to align and shape organizational and strategic decisions at the senior management level that affect initiative goals, including senior leaders and executives within government, commercial parties, and large non-profit organizations that assist the poor with the overall objective of financial inclusion. This position will manage resources, budget and key relationships and partners needed for success.
• This role manages people and is responsible for supervising the Program Management Unit within the Project Secretariat, managing employee engagement, communicating performance expectations, creating goal alignment, integrating project and change management, measuring progress and holding team accountable.

Responsibilities

• Work with national stakeholders to create and implement an implementation roadmap to strengthen existing platform or deploy a newly designed platform or components that enable digital financial services that work for poor people and are secure, robust and effective;
• Manage initiative related work in line with project budget, available resources, and contracts. Lead future efforts to refine and update country roadmap;
• Identify and mobilize national stakeholders who may be of strategic or tactical importance to the success of the initiative. Represent the importance of the initiative and related work efforts to the overall financial inclusion objectives. This role is responsible for high quality interactions and clear and consistent communications with grantees and partners;
• Create and leverage strong relationships and networks both in-country and regionally. Manage country efforts with cultural acuity;
• Orchestrate Initiatives execution that includes multiple strategic project teams;
• Responsible for initiative team management; identifying and on-boarding staff, assessing staff capacity and capability needed to support strategic priorities, monitor staff deployment and workload across the country initiative team.
• Provide integrated view of all initiatives.
• Oversee team budget, including forecasting and reporting activities;
• Serve as thought partner to national stakeholders and global sponsors of the DFS initiative. Stay abreast of and share developments in country that may impact initiative activities or outcomes;
• Identify and resolve major deployment issues, represent these issues and recommended solutions to the Head of the Project Secretariat;
• Builds a peer support and strong internal-company relationships with other key management personnel;

Competencies & Skills Requirements
Core Knowledge and Skills:

• Demonstrated record of success managing team with diverse skills on highly complex and risky, business critical problems in developing economies;
• Excellent analytical, writing and verbal skills for communicating and influencing a broad and diverse audience;
• Strong understanding of mobile payment solutions, especially in developing markets;

Communication and Collaboration Skills:

• Effective as an executive facilitator in complex internal and external organizations. Proficient at capturing and understanding stakeholder needs and expectations, analyzing the impact of the program on stakeholders, gaining and maintaining stakeholder support, managing stakeholder communications, and mitigating / channelling stakeholder resistance;

Decision-Making:

• Individual will be required to prioritize the critical and complex issues, work and activities that the Program Management Unit team needs to focus on.
• Navigate a variety of work environments, cultures and challenges that arise in working across key stakeholders.
• Build trust of stakeholders, grantees and partners to ensure alignment;

Internal & External Contacts:

• Manage day to day relationship with internal and external stakeholders, grantees, and close partners. Identify and develop internal relationships in support of program work;

Problem Solving:

• Problems are highly complex and require research and careful review of options.

Qualification and Experience

• Minimum of a First Degree and/or professional certifications in relevant technical fields or other social science disciplines from a reputable institution;
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years' cognate work experience within the financial or technology sector, ten (10) of which should be in a similar function at senior management level;
• Demonstrated proficiency managing analytically rigorous initiatives;
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office tools e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.

Compensation

• This position attracts a competitive compensation and benefits packages.
• The position is for a 2-year initial contract period, renewable subject to the project’s life cycle and per candidates’ performances.