First Consult is a leading economic development consulting firm implementing projects in Ethiopia. Founded in 2006, First Consult (FC) has grown to design and implement projects across the agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. Our multidisciplinary teams combine a capacity to execute with clarity of the local context. As a result, we have delivered at-scale real impact in terms of job creation, business formation, business growth, and investment attraction and mobilization.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

MESMER is a five-year program launched in October 2022 to support 72,200 MSMEs and 410,800 jobs by creating access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to realize their growth prospects and resilience. MESMER will also work to provide support to MSMEs through business development support, psychosocial services, and technical assistance to financial institutions. MESMER is a countrywide program implemented by First Consult in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation as part of the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy and will strive to create dignified and fulfilling work for the youth, the majority of them women.

MESMER is a national scale-up of the existing MSE Resilience Facility launched in 2020 to support enterprises affected by the COVID pandemic. The project will mainly be following a four-pronged approach to meet its objectives: a) Grants and soft loans to MSMEs through a risk-sharing liquidity fund arrangement, b) Technical assistance to financial institutions, c) Business development services and life skills, d) Psychosocial support.

The FDRE Ministry of Labour and Skills will be the main government counterpart for the program. Other partners include financial institutions (micro finance institutions, banks, and digital financial service providers), BDS, and psychosocial support providers. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Technical Assistance (TA) Manager - Innovative Finance will be responsible for scoping market context, conducting capacity building needs assessment of participating financial institutions (PFIs), and designing, developing, and delivering need-based and tailored TA to MESMER PFIs. The manager will also recruit and supervise  other TA providers for thematic topics that cannot be delivered in-house. The TA Manager will also represent the organization and the project in meetings with different stakeholders and will be responsible for maintaining a good working relationship. The TA Manager – Innovative Finance reports to the MESMER Team Lead.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

MANAGERIAL

• Understand the MESMER project in its entirety and drive the development of guidelines and standards to further develop the innovative finance practice.

• Ensure the provision of appropriate technical guidance for the implementation of the MESMER program and regularly update the design to capture new developments in the MSMEs and financial ecosystem as well as emerging project priorities.

• Coordinate and supervise the delivery of TA in alignment with program design and TA needs of PFIs.

• Monitor and report on wider national and regional trends in innovative finance policies and financial instruments relevant to the effective positioning and efficient implementation of the project.

• Ensure work plans and budgets conform with the project objectives.

• Ensure all agreements with financial institutions are in line with the donor and organization regulations.

• Manage relationships with senior managers/CEO of the respective participating financial institutions and other stakeholders.

• Oversee and manage other financial sector-related interventions as needed.

• Deliver and/or oversee the delivery of technical assistance (training, follow-up and mentorship, technical advice, policy/strategy formulation, etc) as per the agreed work plan.

TECHNICAL

• Design a capacity assessment framework or strategy that will be used to conduct the TA assessment and TA delivery.

• Conduct TA need assessment of PFIs and develop related TOR.

• Develop a plan for TA prioritization and delivery.

• Engage with PFIs in reaching agreements (MOUs) to ensure commitment and TA reception.

•  Design and develop manuals and training materials and deliver TA workshops and trainings to PFIs in line with thematic areas identified by the TA needs assessment.

• Identify learning methodologies and tools that most effectively build the capacity of PFIs.

• Maintain a pool of expert TA providers that are able to build the capacities of PFIs and coordinate TA delivery through these experts.

• Build and maintain good working relationships with the various PFIs and represent the project in various meetings.

• Develop TOR, source international and local consultants and manage TA deliveries that require specialized skill set and manage the recruitment process to hire and deploy short term consultants and ensure TA quality and achievement of milestones.

• Manage consultants, ensure timely delivery of outputs, ensure buy-in from the financial institutions and monitor implementation of recommendations.

• Provide TA as required and coach/mentor consultants, bank and MFI management and staff.

• Support the MESMER implementation team in the coordination of activities to ensure efficient utilization of resources and achievement of the overall targets.

• Ensure monitoring results are used as input to improve TA design and delivery.

• Provide support or deliver on various assignments as and when required by the project lead.

REPORTING

• Conduct and submit training evaluation reports at the end of each TA delivery.

• Provide regular progress updates/reports on activities performed and the overall performance of the participating financial institutions.

• Continuously keep abreast of developments in the financial sector, analyze

• the impact of any changes to MESMER financial sector interventions and communicate to the team.

• Work closely with monitoring and evaluation team to monitor the effectiveness, direct and indirect results of MESMER TA on changes of practice by PFIs.

• Work closely with monitoring and evaluation team to capture the overall impact of MESMER.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s (BA) degree in economics, accounting or finance, business, project management, or relevant social science studies from a recognized university/college. (MA degree preferred)

• Relevant experience of a minimum of ten years in the financial service sector, development work or doner-funded projects, in managing and delivering technical assistance to financial institutions,

• Good network in the banking and microfinance sectors,

• Strong command of English and Amharic,

• Proven skills in designing projects, program implementation, and report writing,

• Familiarity with major donor rules and regulations,

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills/capability to identify issues with contractual implications, ensure consistent donor reporting and support teams in providing appropriate analyses of activities.

• High adaptability – the ability to work with a large range of actors including institutional donors and partners and to develop an understanding of various contexts.

• High attention to detail in reviewing and inputting to reports, proposals and other documents.

• Advanced interpersonal skills to support staff in ensuring compliance with donor requirements

• Good proficiency in Microsoft Office – significant experience with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

How to Apply

Submit your cover letter and updated CV ONLY via email: jobs@firstconsultet.com

Note: Candidates MUST refer to the position title " TA Manager – Innovative Finance" in the subject line of their email and applications.