Inclusive Products Specialist at Platinum Careers

About Our Client
Our Client is a leading financial sector development organization working to promote financial inclusion in
Nigeria. It is well renowned within Nigeria’s financial sector for providing thought leadership in financial inclusion
and championing the unbanked. Through funding and catalyzing innovation, providing cutting-edge research,
advocating for enabling inclusive policies and building capacity.

Our Client aims to achieve its goals through four pillars namely: Research, Innovation, Advocacy and Capacity
Building.

Job Objectives
Deepen and scale-up the uptake of Microfinance/Inclusive products (Micro Pension/loans, savings, mortgage, credit etc.) in Nigeria through the use of research, identification of alternate delivery channels, stakeholder (FSI regulators, MFBs MFIs & other providers) engagement and capacity building, technology and technical assistance.
Support the sourcing & structuring of Microfinance - related Technical Assistant Grants or Innovation Grants

Primary Relationships
Reports to: General Manager
Supervises: Micro Pension/Insurance Specialist and Associate

Core Functional Responsibilities

• Conducts assessments of the Microfinance/ Inclusive products landscape in Nigeria to order to understand the Inclusive products landscape (products, processes & channels) in Nigeria and identify opportunities to deepen the uptake of Inclusive products and develop Company annual strategic focus.
• Understands and defines regulatory requirements for the uptake of Inclusive Products and engage Financial Service Industry (FSI) regulators in order to provide advisory on policies, consumer protection, risk management etc.
• Identifies technical assistance gaps using analysis from stakeholder engagement and industry research.
• Develops strategies to enable stakeholders utilize electronic channels and support the implementation of such strategies.
• Conducts impact assessments for all inclusive product related grants and assists the Grant Manager in preparing project completion reports for sign off by the General Manager.
• Identifies and addresses pertinent issues surrounding supply & demand of Inclusive products through the Working Group Meetings.
• Works /interacts closely with stakeholders to build their technical capacity for the design, delivery and scale-up of Inclusive Products in Nigeria.
• Understands the global industry trends in the uptake of inclusive products and emerging practices & innovations and leverages same to drive the uptake of Inclusive products in Nigeria.
• Identifies and understands different market segments such as Agriculture, telecommunication, transport & logistics, FMCG, Oil & Gas, Construction services and identify ways to leverage these business segments for Inclusive products uptake in Nigeria.
• Anticipates the Financial Sector data and market research needs and works with the Company team to develop targeted Inclusive Product content.
• Contributes to the development of the financial inclusion sector and Company’s position as a thought leader by writing position papers/ focus/strategy notes, for advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria through uptake of Inclusive products.
• As required, contributes to Company’s knowledge management by facilitating knowledge sharing sessions, creating training materials and ensuring these materials are consistently saved to the Group Folder for ease of reference and retrieval of information.
• Supports the Communications Specialist in developing and executing effective marketing strategies for key stakeholders that increase awareness of the issues limiting the growth of financial inclusion and provide recommendations for addressing these issues.
• Represents the Company and delivers presentations at public events, as directed by the General Manager.
• Oversees Specialist to ensure that the Company develops and executes its Inclusive Products strategies.
• Manages Specialist to document the status of Micro Pension/ Insurance in terms of key stakeholders, industry associations, policies, regulatory framework, impediments to growth, and barriers to access for the low income population.
• Ensures that the Specialist & Associate keep abreast of major developments in the Inclusive products space by staying ahead of emerging issues, trends and opportunities in this space.
• In conjunction with the Grant Manager, identifies and develops a pipeline of projects related to women, Northern Nigeria and financial capability for the Innovation Fund; review relevant grant applications and make funding recommendations.
• Manages the budget and track expenditure for the Inclusive Products programme, as directed by the General Manager
• Performs any other duties as required by the General Manager.
• Leads, coaches, and mentors the Specialist & Associate to ensure customer focus and high standards of delivery.
• Develops annual training plans for the Inclusive products team for approval of the General Manager.
• Monitors, manages and reports on the performance of Specialists & Associate, including setting performance objectives and timelines, and conducting monthly reviews and annual performance appraisals

Competence Requirements

• Deep Micro Finance Industry Knowledge
• Understanding of business landscape (regulatory, legal & policy frameworks) that govern microfinance & inclusive products in Nigeria.
• Ability to build partnerships across stakeholder groups.
• Market Research.
• Sound strategy formulation and implementation skills.
• Strong Stakeholder Management engagement skills.
• Strong analytical & problem solving skills.
• Excellent Communication skills

Educational Qualification
Master’s degree in Economics, statistics or International development

Desired Experience

• Minimum of 5 years’ operational experience in design & deployment of Microfinance products and the use of technology to expand the reach of mobile financial services to the low-income.
• Sound knowledge of international microfinance good practices, current debates in microfinance and interventions in the industry.
• Strong awareness of the legal, regulatory & policy frameworks that govern Microfinance Banks & Institutions/Financial sector experience (banking/management consultancy/development/research.