Introduction MFA-NSO/SCU unit:

The Lao Microfinance Association (LMFA) started its operations informally in 2007 with a group of microfinance practitioners and got its permanent license from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) by middle of August 2018. LMFA works under the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL), Financial Institutions Supervision Department (FISD). LMFA recently established a dedicated unit to technically support NSOs (Network Support Organisations), that is microfinance institutions (MFIs) working in rural areas of Lao PDR ensuring the access to finance for poor people through the development of village banks. The unit currently supports 7 NSOs located in 6 provinces which cover more than 800 villages and over 180.000 clients. Despite the wide outreach, the NSO unit aims at welcoming more NSOs operating in the country in the future.

The unit will consist of 3 to 4 permanent staff dedicated to support the NSOs: one unit manager and 2 to 3 technical staff dedicated to specific areas. One of these areas will be especially oriented toward the capacity development and financial literacy (FL) with the specific goal of improving trainings and FL activities both in the NSOs and VBs in order to enhance the quality of their services and increase financial inclusion.

Job purpose:

We are looking for a Capacity Development and Financial Literacy Specialist, under the direction of the Head of NSO-unit, provides a broad range of activities that support NSO’s capacity development and financial literacy attainment. Further he/she monitor and support the activities at NSO level. This position assists with outreach efforts on NSO-unit and NSO network areas to foster MFA-NSO Unit newsletter completion. He/she supports through workshops materials, presentations, reduction of villagers’ loan debt, financial planning, and personal budgets. The Financial Literacy Specialist participates in financial literacy programs while effectively communicating the information with NSO’s and their village banks. This position helps implement provide villagers awareness of compliance with village bank policy, NSO regulations, the responsible lending.

Responsibilities:

The applicant will work in the NSO unit focusing on capacity development and financial literacy. He/she will support the team in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating trainings and financial literacy activities. Besides the NSO unit, he/she might be requested to support other departments within LMFA for the same type of activities.

Tasks:

• Coordinate the activities in the field of Financial and Business Literacy;
• Monitor the FL/BL activities in the field and advise about improvements based on the feedback from FL trainers, field visits or data consolidation;
• Regularly collect and consolidate data on FL/BL to ensure that the annual targets are met (e.g. each VB receives at least one FL training and one business literacy training).
• Ensure that the FL trainers receive at least one refresher training per year where they can exchange experiences and improve their capacity;
• Regularly update the FL/BL materials and develop new ones according to NSOs’ needs;
• Prepare the annual training calendar for NSOs based on their needs assessment (e.g. risk management, internal control, fraud prevention and detection, law enforcement and transparency, business planning, leadership, good governance…);
• Organise, coordinate and facilitate all new trainings and refresher trainings designed for the NSOs (e.g. TOR, recruitment, logistics, materials, final reports, payments);
• Provide evaluation of all trainings and prepare short training reports for NSO unit manager;
• Regularly collect and consolidate data on VBC trainings to ensure that the annual targets are met (e.g. each VBC receives at least one training per year);
• Monitor and follow-up the standardisation of the capacity development plan in all NSOs;
• Ensure the capacity development of NSOs’ BODs by including them in the above-mentioned trainings and/or structure ad-hoc solutions;
• Support in the gender development activities (e.g. monitor female quotas in leadership position, female training participation, gender indicators of the NSO Sustainability Scorecard, trainings for female entrepreneurs, members of VBs)
• Organise and coordinate Manager Meetings (including e-meetings) including planning, facilitating, moderating, translating and preparing the minutes of meeting.
• Budget responsibility on meetings.
• Prepare, draft and revise the monthly LMFA NSO Unit newsletter
• Gather all information from different departments of MFA to prepare the monthly newsletter
• Support in administrative tasks if necessary.
• Support other departments of LMFA with the above-mentioned tasks in case it is required;
• Participate in trainings to develop own personal skills in relevant fields;
• Other tasks which are necessary for the implementation of the NSO unit and which have been delegated by the unit manager.

• Translate technical documents as required from English into Lao and vice versa

Requirements (education/qualification, professional experience):

• Bachelor’s degree /Master’s degree preferably in development, education, economics or related areas
• At least 2 years of working experience in trainings
• One year related experience to include Admissions or Financial Aid.
• Previous experience in the field of Financial Literacy
• Additional work experience in the financial sector and/ or with international organizations will be an advantage
• Good knowledge of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Understanding of basic principles of finance would be an advantage
• Be able to travel to the target provinces
• Well organized and independent work style
• Team player and excellent communication as well as respectful towards the rural population and ethnic minorities
• Willingness to perform well, and to show a high level of commitment
• Good communication and relationship building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Good negotiation skills
• Good written and oral communication skills in Lao and English
• High comfort and tolerance to manage stress and role demands
• Strong interpersonal skills and the proven ability to provide leadership to a team and to work in a international team environment
• Be able to communicate in other ethnic dialects will be an advantage
• Having dealt with educational activities in rural areas will be an advantage
• Good knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity (can work with local people)

Working place:

Vientiane with the possibility to travel to the provinces

Starting date:

As soon as possible

Application:

Application:

To apply send a cover letter, CV with 3 professional references, and salary history, in English to:

 Lao Microfinance Association (LMFA)

Unit 14, Amone Village, Saysettha District, P.O. Box: 4030, Vientiane Capital, Lao P D R

Email: mfa@laomfa.org , Web: www.laomfa.org   Office Tel: 020 99626456, 030 9481265, 021 226019

Only shortlisted will be notified.  Application closing date is 31.08.2021.