The EIB, the European Union's bank, is seeking to recruit for its Secretariat General (SG) - Advisory Services Department (AS) – Strategy & Coordination Division, at its headquarters in Luxembourg, a:
(Associate) Technical Assistance Expert, Microfinance, Economic Resilience Initiative
This is a full-time position at grade 4/5
The term of this contract will be 4 years
The EIB offers fixed-term contracts of up to a maximum of 6 years, according to business needs,
with a possibility to convert to a permanent contract, subject to organisational requirements
Panel interviews are anticipated for end of July
Purpose
Technical assistance and advisory services (TA&AS) form the third pillar of the Lending, Blending and Advising strategy of the EIB Group. TA&AS helps beneficiaries prepare structure and implement their project, and optimise the use of EIB financing. In the context of the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), the EIB intends to increase investment in the Southern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans (Algeria, Egypt, Gaza & West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia; Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, fYROM, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia), by up to EUR 15 billion by 2020, by expanding lending within existing frameworks, undertaking more complex public sector projects and developing private sector financing further. ERI will require significant TA&AS.
SG-AS intends to build a team to support EIB’s microfinance operations, primarily by providing credit lines to microfinance institutions and investing in microfinance funds by managing the development and delivery of TA to financial intermediaries and micro-enterprises with an aim to improve private sector development impact, and promote and improve the impact of financial inclusion.
The (Associate) Technical Assistance Expert, Microfinance will play an important role in the preparation and implementation of the TA&AS to microfinance lenders and funds; these TA&AS may be delivered by external consultants contracted by the EIB or by the fund manager.
Operating Network
As the (Associate) Technical Assistance Expert, you will work in a team and report to the Head of the Strategy and Coordination Division. You will collaborate closely with other SG-AS Divisions and all other Directorates involved in the implementation of the ERI, in particular the Operations Directorate (OPS).
You will also have extensive external contacts and work with beneficiaries and funders of EIB's TA&AS activities. Among these are local microfinance institutions and funds, other financial intermediaries in the ERI countries, NGOs and other entities that encourage microfinance as well as the European Commission and Member States.
Accountabilities
You will be responsible for:
- Conducting, together with other EIB services, capacity assessments of selected microfinance providers;
- Working with microfinance institutions to assess the need for EIB technical assistance in areas such as strategy, market segmentation, credit risk management, and product development to scale up their financing for microenterprises on a sustainable basis;
- Tailoring, together with other EIB services, individual TA&AS assignments including objectives and results, duration, budget, profiles of external consultants, reporting requirements according to the capacity assessment
- Preparing the related grant funding request for internal approval;
- Drafting, in consultation with Operations (OPS) and the Consultant Procurement and Contract Management Division (CPCM), the terms of reference to procure the appropriate microfinance consultants;
- Working closely with CPCM on the selection and management of consultants for individual TA&AS assignment;
- Managing and, in particular, monitoring the implementation of a portfolio of microfinance TA&AS assignments, as it relates to the EIB’s results measurement framework (ReM), completion of project milestones, budgeting, reporting and follow-up on any identified issues;
- In the case of a TA facility implemented directly by a microfinance institution: agreeing annual TA facility workplans, operating manuals and other documents with the intermediary; defining eligibility of costs to be reimbursed by the EIB; assessing and monitoring the facility’s individual TAs. If foreseen in the governance structure: (preparing for) participating in the TA facility’s steering/supervisory committee
- Communicating on the progress of the TA&AS assignments internally and externally.
The activities will focus primarily on the ERI countries; there is, however, a possibility to contribute to similar work in other non-EU countries.
Qualifications
- University degree in economics, finance, business administration or related field required;
- Minimum 3 years of experience in private sector development and/or microfinance institutions or in delivering consultancy services to financial intermediaries, ideally in one or more ERI countries;
- Good knowledge of the financial sector in the ERI regions, including microfinance;
- Understanding of international development principles and practices, especially in the areas of financial inclusion and the use of modern technology to achieve this;
- Previous experience with designing and managing TA&AS for financial intermediaries so as to help them develop the strategy, products, processes and tools to support micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs;
- Proven experience in managing project life cycles using, for example, a logical framework matrix or results-based management
- Proven experience in developing client and stakeholder relationships
- Experience in donor-funded technical assistance programmes preferred
- Knowledge and experience using standard IT tools
- Excellent knowledge of English and/or French and a good command of the other, the knowledge of other languages spoken in the regions will be an advantage
- Excellent writing and presentation skills
Competencies
- Achievement Drive: Continually keeps an eye on performance, focusing on improving it, showing drive and determination to meet short and long-term goals.
- Change Orientation: Adapts to differences and changes in the environment; takes a flexible approach to reach outcomes.
- Collaboration: Works cooperatively as part of a team; works collaboratively with peers across organisational boundaries based on a genuine interest in and an accurate understanding of others and their individual perspectives and concerns.
- Organisational Commitment: Is willing to commit to an organisation whose mission is to support Europe and is open to diversity, and to align her/his own behaviour with the organisation’s needs and intrinsic values, acting with integrity in ways that promote the organisation’s mission, policies and rules
(*) There may be certain flexibility on this requirement, but limited to particularly suitable candidates who may not yet be proficient in French. If selected, such candidates will be hired on the condition that they build up rapidly knowledge of French and accept that their future career in the EIB may be subject to the attainment of sufficient proficiency in both of the Bank's working languages
We are an equal opportunity employer, who believes that diversity is good for our people and our business. As such, we promote the inclusion of suitably qualified and experienced staff without regard to their gender, age, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation/identity, or disability (*).
(*). We particularly welcome applications from women and persons with disabilities.
Deadline for applications: 8th June 2018
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