Timor-Leste is an LDC with lower-middle income status that relies on its natural oil and gas revenue-based sovereign wealth Petroleum Fund for its annual state budget. Besides this fund, there are no other substantive sources of income. Economic diversification with a focus on job creation and poverty reduction is a great need. Timor-Leste already has 30% of the population living below the national poverty line and 46% are multidimensionally poor. 70% of Timor-Leste’s population live in rural areas, most of whom (64.2%) are dependent on subsistence agriculture. This young nation has 74% of its population under 35 (Census 2015), and according to the 2018 Labour Market Outlook, 20.3% of the youth population (aged 15-24) were not in employment, education or training (NEET). 78% of the people between the age of 15 to 64 were not employed, of which around 36% were youth aged 15 to 24 years.
There is more demand for labourers with vocational skills as well as ‘soft’ skills. Long-term investment in human capital is needed to produce skilled human resources to meet the labor market demand—something that requires increased investment in quality education. However, in the short- and medium-term, many initiatives can be taken to prepare youth with the required soft skills, have greater access to the right information, enhance their readiness for the work world through internships/mentorships and meet the labor market demand. At the same time, more efforts are needed to develop SMEs to increase employment and income opportunities, particularly for women, people with disability, unemployed youth, and poor and vulnerable communities.
Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Skills (YEES) Project aims to tackle two most pressing issues in Timor Leste’s youth employment: 1) limited opportunity of being employed and 2) limited opportunity of being entrepreneurs for youth and migrant workers. The project is mainly funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for six years starting in 2022. This project will focus on producing two medium-term sub-outcomes: 1) youth become employed and 2) youth become entrepreneurs, which will contribute to UNSDCF/CPD outcome 2: By 2025, institutions and people throughout Timor-Leste in all their diversity, especially women and youth, benefit from sustainable economic opportunities and decent work to reduce poverty, with three interrelated outputs:
- Output 1: Youth obtain skills, competencies and knowledge to be employed.
- Output 2: Service providers are available to deliver holistic support to enhance employability.
- Output 3: Youth, including migrants/returnees, obtain skills, knowledge and services to start or expand their business.
The Soft-Loan and Finance Analyst is expected to share national and international best practices and provide inputs to the measurement, underwriting, collection, and collateral resolution processes, including proposed financial terms, of the proposed Facility. The specialist will work closely with the MTCI team, BNCTL, and relevant stakeholders (government, Loan Guarantee Committee, MSMEs, etc.) and guide MTCI and BNCTL teams as well as loan applicants.
The scope of work for this assignment will be largely around the following key functions:
Task 1: Technical assistance to Loan Guarantee Committee and involved personnel of MTCI and BNCTL to manage Loan Guarantee Account
The specialist will be engaged together with the Social business coordinator of MTCI in developing, managing, and controlling the guarantee bank account created for the LGF as well as coordinate and conduct project Steering Committee meetings, to review the LGF activities and results, and take key decisions:
- Organize and coordinate a quarterly meeting with the Loan Guarantee Committee, to revise LGF operation and achievements and to approve key decisions (including reports on the guarantee account);
- Continue to guarantee an effective relation with BNCTL and the Social Business Coordinator of MTCI to manage the guaranteed account.
- Plan and report the guarantee account balance and transactions, specifying amount committed and loans payment schedules;
- Monitor, control, and report the LGF operation;
- Conciliate the bank account balance and report financial transactions and commitments from the account;
- Collaborate with the stakeholders, including IADE municipalities, loan applicants, and beneficiaries, on the process related to loan approval and payment.
Task 2: Support to MSMEs to ensure eligibility and preparedness for the soft loans from BNCTL
The specialist will work with the loan applicants/MSMEs to build their capacity to access the loans:
- Provide technical support and consultations to the MSMEs to enhance their readiness to recover their business and expand, to meet the eligibility criteria to access the loan from BNCTL;
- Assist in the development of viable business plans for recovery and scale-up, developing organizational aspects that are needed to meet the criteria for eligibility;
- Provide support in performing financial analysis on prospects/ loan applicants;
- Support applicants to put together their applications and help them through the credit underwriting and approval process.
- Perform an investigation to verify the identity of loan applicants before recommending for a soft loan;
- Work closely with the Institute to Assist Entrepreneurship Development (IADE) to coordinate training, counselling, and business support services for MSME.
- Identify and map out of prospects youth entrepreneurs and social businesses across the territory and encourage them to apply LGF.
- Propose the loan Guarantee Committee of other key productive sectors that are essential, sustainable, and thus prioritized to access Loan Guarantee Facility.
- Gather latest trends and updates of various types of loan products from BNCTL, including other commercial Banks existing in Timor-Leste, and conduct comparative analysis for Soft-Loan expansions.
- Conduct research of similar soft-loans in the least developed countries and/or SIDS countries to support MSMEs growth; Present and recommend the findings to the relevant stakeholders for further improvement of the Loan Guarantee Facility project.
Task 3: Refresher Training for MTCI and BNCTL Personnel:
Refresher training should be delivered to MTCI and BNCTL staffs who are engaged in the loan guarantee scheme. The consultant should provide refresher training that includes relevant case studies, the latest innovative trends, and practical examples in the materials which cover:
- Key functions/tasks of risk personnel
- Early warnings in the risks identification process
- Risk management framework for SME banking
- Risk response (transfer, mitigation, accept, evade)
- Enterprise risk management constituents of credits
- Considerations in scrutinizing and analysing credit proposals
- Credit risk analysis, credit reference, and approval techniques
- Understanding/ensuring compliance policies/guidelines
- Customer service and ethical conduct by credit staff (delinquency management)
- Operating within risk appetite
- (The credit risk expert is expected to use sample business plans, financial statements, financial projections, case studies to demonstrate)
- Loan structuring
- Loan appraisal process
- Elements of a good loan proposal from bank customers
- Financial statements and ratio analysis to uncover key credit issues
- Cashflow analysis
- The role of non-financial analysis in credit assessment
- Documentation and security analysis in lending
- Calculation of sustainable growth
- Preparation of financial projection based on borrower’s information
- Factors that may impact the ability to repay debt
- Grading loan after analysis
- Credit memorandum.
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination
Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies
Business Direction & Strategy
- Entrepreneurial Thinking: Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate.
Business Development
- Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need.
Business Management
- Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
- Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.
Audit & Investigation
- Financial and Managerial Accounting and Finance key concepts: Key concepts and principles of financial accounting, interpret financial analysis, managerial accounting, etc.
Finance
- Financial and process innovation: Financial and business process engineering expertise required to innovate, design, change and implement new financial business models, financial instruments, financing opportunities, business processes, policies and procedures, and technological solutions.
- Development finance expertise: Ability to develop and work with innovative financing mechanisms and instruments, e.g. social/development impact bonds, guarantees, climate finance, etc.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree business development, economics, accounting, finance, or other relevant social and business major
- At least 2 years experience (or 4 years for Bachelor’s degree) in banking, auditing, credit and risk management, SME support, and private sector policy.
- Experience with solid commercial or private lending credit knowledge in the context of Timor-Leste
- Strong consumer and small business credit knowledge and basic advisory credit knowledge;
- Strong knowledge of traditional bank products and services, including deposits, credit cards, mortgages, etc.
- Knowledge and experience in financial analysis on banks’ prospects/clients, credit underwriting, and approval process
- Experience in credit approval packages, reviewing client credit proposals, and coordination of document preparation and closings
- Experience in coordination of credit and loan portfolio through the monitoring of past dues, document exceptions, collateral value monitoring, and covenant compliance
- Experience in processing loan applications
- Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, including the ability to liaise effectively at project management levels.
- Ability to communicate and function effectively in an international, multicultural environment.
- Ability to work effectively in a team
Language requirement:
- Very good oral and written English, and Tetum. Knowledge of Portuguese is desirable.
Note: This position is open for Timor Leste nationals only