🇸🇱 Job Vacancies @ Brac – 2 Positions

Brac-Sierra-Leone is recruiting to fill the following positions:

1.) Digital Financial Services Manager
2.) Knowledge and Grants Coordinator

See job details and how to apply below.

1.) Digital Financial Services Manager

Career with BRAC Microfinance Sierra Leone (SL) Limited

BRAC Microfinance Sierra Leone (SL) Limited (BMSLL) was launched in 2008, and has grown to become the largest microfinance institution in the country. Our mission is to provide a range of financial services responsibly to people at the bottom of the pyramid. We particularly focus on women living in poverty in rural and hard-to-reach areas, to create self-employment opportunities, build financial resilience, and promote women’s entrepreneurial spirit by empowering them economically.

Our core products include a group-based microloan provided exclusively to women, and small enterprise loans for entrepreneurs seeking to expand their businesses. We also provide loans for jobholders with low to moderate income who are often unserved by mainstream banks.

In all our endeavors, we adhere to the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management and the Client Protection Principles, placing clients’ well-being at the Centre of everything we do to achieve our social mission.

Position:  Digital Financial Services Manager

JOB PURPOSE:

The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Manager will drive the implementation of BRAC Microfinance Sierra Leone Limited (BMSLL) digital strategies that aim to increase outreach, deliver a superior customer experience, increase organizational efficiency, and find the right balance between tech and touch for BMSLL customers.

The DFS Manager will drive innovation and coordinate the digitalization of the BMSLL’s field operations, the implementation of digital delivery channels and the development and delivery of innovative DFS appropriate for BMSLL customers.

The DFS Manager will think creatively to innovate new uses for technology to address access, usage, literacy, security, and other barriers limiting the use of DFS by BRAC’s existing and target customers especially women and youth.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

DFS Strategy and Innovation

• DFS Manager will drive the implementation of BMSLL digital strategies and action plans to increase outreach, deliver a superior customer experience, increase organizational efficiency, and find the right balance between tech and touch for BMSLL customers.

• DFS Manager will work closely with BMSLL management to provide strategic input and thought leadership on the use of DFS to better meet the needs and improve the livelihoods of BMSLL existing and target customers especially women and youth.

• DFS Manager will conduct periodic analysis and review of BMSLL implementation of existing DFS strategies and its alignment to the BMSLL’s overall strategic business plan to ensure the use of DFS and technology is well aligned and is contributing to the achievement of BMSLL overall business strategy.

• Conduct market assessments to inform the refinement of DFS strategy and development of market-led and innovative technology-enabled financial solutions that meet the needs of BMSLL existing and target customers.

Digital Processes, Channels and Products: 

• DFS Manager will design, test, refine and implement DFS projects at BMSLL. S/he will develop and implement DFS project-specific pilot and scale up plans and activities including customer needs analysis, business requirements analysis, detailed project implementation planning, reporting, and change management to maximize the impact of DFS projects on business and customers.

• Develop detailed functional requirements for DFS tools and applications and coordinate the different functions/departments to implement DFS and work with the teams to adapt their processes and products accordingly.

• Monitor and track the progress of DFS projects to ensure project activities are achieved in an effective, efficient and timely manner.

• Design and implement monitoring surveys and use survey findings to refine and improve BRAC’s processes and products and enhance the customer experience in using DFS.

• Continuous training and handholding of BMSLL’s staff in defining and implementing business case and value proposition for DFS channels and products, piloting and scaling of DFS including documenting and sharing of lessons learned from the implementation of DFS projects

• Design and implement client and staff digital training programs in collaboration with relevant BMSLL departments/functions. This includes designing digital training content, training plans and training delivery

• Disseminate and share knowledge and lessons learned among the different BI MF countries to support the implementation of organizational best practices for designing and implementing different digital projects in BI MF

• Collaborate with industry stakeholders to design, develop, test and refine digital solutions under a structured environment and with ready-to-use tools.

• Support BMSLL to develop/refine and implement digital-related policies, procedures and standards in alignment with BMSLL digital strategies.

• Work with marketing and communication teams to design effective marketing campaigns and communication to enhance the adoption and active usage of DFS.

• Cooperate with BI MF digital transformation, IT, operations and other relevant teams in the implementation of BMSLL’s DFS strategies and action plans.

Develop and manage relationships with third parties such as digital solutions suppliers, FinTechs, developers etc.

Market and Ecosystem Intelligence

• Keep an active watch on digital technologies available in the market that may improve the quality and efficiency of BMSLL field operations, and product and service delivery.

Work with other enabling stakeholders, such as regulators, universities, governments, think tanks, BRAC’s fundraising teams, and others to innovate and maximize DFS for impact.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment and exploitation to achieve the programme’s goals of safeguarding implementation. Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.

• Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure safeguarding standards are implemented in every course of action.

• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure if any reportable incident occurs, and encourage others to do so.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

Master or Bachelor’s Degree in ICT, Engineering, Business/ Finance related field/ Economics, Statistics

EXPERIENCE (required):

• Five years of related experience working in financial inclusion, product development, digital finance, microfinance/micro-lending, technology for development, and/or payments platforms.

• Substantial exposure to DFS strategy management, with direct exposure to top management strategy formulation and decision-making. Exposure to a wide range of strategic decision-making processes and as a result have become comfortable assessing business processes and requirements to inform the design and implementation of DFS projects.

• Substantial exposure in conducting customer-centric research for DFS and using customer insights to drive DFS adoption, usage, and impact

• Substantial exposure in implementing digital field applications, mobile payments agent banking, and/or other DFS projects

• Experience in project management

• Experience working with MNOs, FinTech, financial institutions, regulators is an added advantage.

• Bachelor Degree in IT/Engineering/ Business Administration/ Finance/Economics, Development Studies

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & COMPETENCIES: (required)

• In-depth understanding of the key drivers in a digital product/emerging technology business.

• Insight into the way that digital transformation is affecting industry and knowledge of best practices.

• Experience in digital project management, including technological aspects that enabled you to develop skills in understanding business needs and transcribing them into functional specifications for digital tools.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to translate complex technological implementation language to non-technical people. Able to demonstrate effective analytical skills, an ability to translate raw information into actionable strategies and initiatives as well as the ability to perform standard analyses such as performance analyses, competitor analyses, market analyses, etc.

• Familiarity and experience with microfinance preferred.

• Excellent attention to detail and experience in managing multiple projects

• Drive, flexibility, resilience and the ability to work under pressure.

• Fluency in English required (spoken, reading and written)

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full Time

JOB LOCATION: Country Office – Freetown

If you feel you are the right match for the above-mentioned position, please follow the application instructions accordingly:

Interested candidates need to send a letter of interest indicating the title of the position applied for, an updated CV mentioning educational grades, through email to:

[email protected]

OR by hand to our BMSLL Country Office – 2 Samuel Bannister Drive, Wilberforce, Freetown.

Only completed applications will be accepted and shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Application deadline: 10th February 2023

BRAC Microfinance (SL) Limited is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and clients/beneficiaries to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation – regardless of age, race, religion, gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. Therefore, our recruitment process includes extensive reference and background checks, self-disclosure of prior issues regarding sexual or other misconduct and criminal records and our values are a part of our Performance Management System.

BRAC Microfinance (SL) Limited is an equal opportunities employer.

2.) Knowledge and Grants Coordinator

Career with BRAC Microfinance Sierra Leone Ltd

BRAC Microfinance Sierra Leone (SL) Limited (BMSLL) was launched in 2008 and has grown to become the largest microfinance institution in the country. Our mission is to provide a range of financial services responsibly to people at the bottom of the pyramid. We particularly focus on women living in poverty in rural and hard-to-reach areas, to create self-employment opportunities, build financial resilience, and promote women’s entrepreneurial spirit by empowering them economically.

Our core products include a group-based microloan provided exclusively to women, and small enterprise loans for entrepreneurs seeking to expand their businesses. We also provide loans for jobholders with low to moderate income who are often unserved by mainstream banks.

In all our endeavours, we adhere to the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management and the Client Protection Principles, placing clients’ well-being at the centre of everything we do to achieve our social mission.

Position:  Knowledge and Grants Coordinator – Readvertised

Duty Station: BRAC Sierra Leone Country Office 

Purpose:

This position will report to the Microfinance PM and work closely with the NGO counterpart(s) in coordination with the microfinance operations team and the product/business development, digital, social performance. The role will have a dotted line reporting to the Knowledge and Partnership Manager at the BIHBV team for guidance and mentorship.

Major Responsibilities:

Coordination with NGO

• This position will work closely with the Microfinance operations team and the product/business development, digital, social performance to support proper implementation of all projects that have an integrated component with other NGO activities.
• Organize and attend periodic coordination meetings with the NGO counterparts. Make sure the meetings are informative and action-oriented – set agendas, ensure participation, prepare with the required information, take notes and follow-up on action items.
• Train and guide field level staff on understanding the integrated nature of programme delivery and bring structure to coordination between different programmes at the branch level. Visit and monitor field activities and ensure structured coordination between staff and stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

• Work with the NGO counterpart to support field staff in resolving coordination issues as they arise.

Knowledge Management

• Work closely with Product, Social performance and Digital teams to generate and document insights and lessons from pilot implementations to help guide improvements to products/channels/processes.

• Make sure learnings from operational challenges and opportunities are shared with the management on a timely basis and that they are used effectively to help with change management.

• Work closely with the BIHBV team in the creation of quality knowledge products, such as case studies, papers, blogs and articles, and create reports on knowledge management for the engagement of internal and external stakeholders.

• Act as the first point of contact for knowledge management for the microfinance entity. Actively encourage knowledge-sharing and learning behaviors among staff, be a reference point to troubleshoot any issues with the knowledge hub and be able to direct staff to where resources are stored and how to access them. Continuously reference, promote, and encourage the use of the knowledge hub, whenever and wherever possible.

• Act as the primary content manager for the country-specific knowledge hubs by updating, maintaining, validating, and performing quality checks of hub content. Ensure that the relevant country experts are conducting timely reviews and quality checks of resources in the hub.

• Orient staff at the country head office and country regional office levels (i.e., regional managers, regional accountants, etc.) on how to effectively use (i.e., make the most out of) the knowledge hub. Conduct regular refresher orientations for those who have already been oriented, as well as for any new employee
• Conduct annual learning organisation surveys to track the entity’s progress towards becoming a learning organisation. Work with the Knowledge and Partnerships Manager, BRAC International Holdings B.V. to devise strategies for driving the culture shift around knowledge management among staff and for improving the knowledge hub based on challenges observed by the champions and challenges highlighted in the learning organisation surveys. Drive the implementation of these strategies at the country level.
• Attend bi-weekly check-in calls with the Knowledge and Partnership Manager, BRAC International Holdings B.V. and quarterly knowledge management peer group meetings with knowledge champions from other countries to share updates, challenges, key learnings, and suggestions for improvement of knowledge management strategies

Grant Management and Reporting

• Represent microfinance in periodic grant management meetings

• Coordinate with all relevant teams across NGO and Microfinance (Finance, operations, monitoring, IT/MIS etc.) to draft regular financial and narrative reports.

• Ensure grants reporting follows the set process in a timely manner

• Ensure timely submission of high-quality reports

Safeguarding

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment and exploitation to achieve the programme’s goals on safeguarding implementation. Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.

• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, encourage others to do so.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Know-how to validate, record and store knowledge in a useable, structured, digital format.
• Tech-savvy with a strong ability to learn and use new technologies. Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Excel, PowerPoint etc.) is required and proficiencies in knowledge management databases and/or professional services applications are preferred.
• Ability to interpret financial data and prepare budgets and financial grant reports
• Strong problem-solving skills, highly organized, strategic thinker with strong attention to detail.
• Strong sense of teamwork and collaboration and demonstrated ability to build relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Diplomatic and highly effective on an interpersonal level in addition to cross-cultural sensitivity
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to distil complex information into concise and pragmatic messages. Able to communicate effectively and tailor communication for a wide variety of audiences.
• Drive, flexibility, resilience, and the ability to work under pressure
• Proactive problem-solver with strong analytical skills
• Task-oriented and strives to continuously improve
• Fluency in English required (spoken, reading, and written)
• Familiarity and experience with microfinance preferred
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of BRAC.

Education:

Bachelor in business administration, Finance, Economics, or Development Studies.

Experience (required): 

At least 5 years experience in the development sector.

Strong understanding of and experience in the financial inclusion/microfinance sector required.

If you feel you are the right match for the above-mentioned position, please follow the application instructions accordingly:

Candidates need to email their CVs with a letter of interest mentioning educational grades and years of experience at [email protected] OR by hand to our Head Office at 2 Samuel Banister Drive, Wilberforce (towards Hill Cut Junction) Freetown.

PLEASE MENTION THE NAME OF THE POSITION IN THE SUBJECT LINE

Only complete applications will be accepted, and shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Application deadline: 2nd February 2023

BRAC Microfinance (SL) Limited is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and clients/beneficiaries to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation – regardless of age, race, religion, gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. Therefore, our recruitment process includes extensive reference and background checks, self-disclosure of prior issues regarding sexual or other misconduct and criminal records and our values are a part of our Performance Management System.

BRAC Microfinance (SL) Limited is an equal opportunities employer

Women are strongly encouraged to apply