GIZ GmbH is supporting the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development of the Government of Sierra Leone in the implementation of the Employment Promotion Programme (EPP). The overall objective is to create employment for the younger generation through business development in the agricultural and other sectors and to enhance the employability of young people in the but not limited to rural areas of Falaba, Kailahun, Kono and Koinadugu. Our approach is gender and inclusion oriented.

Women are strongly encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to women with equal experience, comparable education, and test scores.

As these are positions with important technical responsibility, we only ask candidates to apply who meet, exceed, or come very close to the following requirements. Please read the job advertisement carefully. Clearly state your preferred duty locations in descending order of preference. All applications must be written electronically and include a covering letter (1 page), a clearly chronologically structured CV (education first, then professional career starting with the last position), reference contacts and certificates. Non-compliance leads to exclusion from the application process.

Requirements (max scoring in brackets)

• Willingness and ability to work in remote areas of Sierra Leone (exclusion criterium).
• Diploma in economics or closely related fields (exclusion criterium).
• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in the field of private sector support (max. 20 points).
• Comprehensive knowledge and very good practical applicability of modern electronic data processing (max. 20 points).
• Knowledge and practical experience of the SME Business & Coaching Loop approach or/and Facility 4 Innovation approach of GIZ (max 20 points).
• Knowledge of effective methods to advance entrepreneurs/enterprises through training and financial support (max. 15 points).
• Understanding of the micro finance sector in Sierra Leone (max 10 points).
• Proven committed and goal-oriented self-starter. (max. 10 points).
•  Experience in rural community mobilization (max 10 points)
• Knowledge of designing and organising monitoring activities in the private sector (max 5 points).

The staff member reports directly to the District Coordinator. He/she will be involved in the implementation of GIZ EPP private sector development activities. The target group is mainly rural small enterprises with growth potential facing various difficulties in obtaining credit. He/she will implement the SME Business & Coaching Loop and Facility 4 Growth activities as well as the Private Sector Development (PSD) microfinance activities with a large number of entrepreneurs in either Falaba/Koinadugu and Kono and Kailahun districts and beyond. In the latter, he/she will help to ensure that 1500 micro-grants and 1500 micro-loans are properly utilised. The successful candidate will be technically supervised by the Field Monitoring & Evaluation Officer. He/she will be a member of the small PSD team consisting of Field Officers in the districts and Managers in Freetown and will be involved in planning and design as well as tracking activities and quality control. The duty station is either Kabala or Koidu or Kailahun.

Expected starting date is the 01.07.2021.

Suitable applicants are kindly asked to submit their complete application (cover sheet, cover letter, curriculum vitae and references) as hardcopy to GIZ GmbH, Human Resources Department, 32 d Wilkinson Road, Freetown (near Comium office) not later than the 04.06.2021 at 5.00 pm. Hardcopy applications have to be submitted in a sealed and labelled envelope.

Softcopy applications can be sent in pdf format to:

recruitmentsl@giz.de.

Again, only complete applications (Meaningful cover letter, detailed structured CV, copies of official references and reference contacts) will be considered, and only shortlisted candidates will be notified and possibly invited for an interview. Upfront inquiries can be made under 088386271 or 076290129. Interviewees should be prepared to be tested for writing and data processing skills (the tasks include the application of Excel formulas, structured writing with word and the creation of meaningful PowerPoint presentations).