Sr. Financial Institutions Lead

Opportunity International is seeking a Senior Financial Institutions Lead for the anticipated USAID-funded Activity, FTF Inclusive Access to Finance Activity in Bangladesh. The purpose of the Activity is to incentivize bank and non-bank financial institutions and non-traditional lenders to provide loans to agricultural MSMEs using blended finance. This Activity will target a range of priority populations and sectors, including women-owned agribusinesses, first-time borrowers, borrowers without immovable property or collateral, youth, ethnic minorities and indigenous populations, and climate-smart agriculture. USAID is also interested in potentially piloting rural finance initiatives to strengthen farmer resilience (e.g. crop insurance).

The Senior Financial Institutions Lead will be responsible for designing and implementing innovative interventions to promote and enhance the supply of inclusive financial services. The Senior Financial Institutions Lead will form and oversee strategic partnerships with a range of microfinance institutions, banks, and other non-traditional lenders over the course of the Activity, with the goal of facilitating investments into smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and other identified groups in Bangladesh.

This position is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh and is contingent upon award funding and USAID approval of the candidate.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Network and recruit new financial institutions (FI) partners, presenting to Executives or Boards to get buy-in on the product launch and/or growth
• Facilitate partnerships to support the value chain development for targeted crops between FIs, extension service providers, offtakers, producers, and smallholders
• Develop and deliver technical assistance plans for partner financial institutions, including staff capacity building; assistance with acquisition or utilization of loan guarantees, capital facilities, or insurance products; financial modeling; financial product design.
• Manage relationships with stakeholders in order to maximize loan portfolios’ performance
• Validate data reported and conduct periodic monitoring of loans and core bank reporting
• Develop an understanding of the agriculture clients and translate the stakeholder needs into appropriate financial products
• Develop and track loan portfolio targets with each FI

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Banking, Business Administration, Agriculture, International Development, or related field
• Minimum of 8 years relevant experience in banking or microfinance, and/or working with smallholder farmer groups and agribusinesses in Bangladesh
• Strong technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of successful approaches for blended finance, banking, or microfinance for agribusiness or with underserved populations
• Experience coordinating and managing technical assistance engagement in the private sector
• Experience presenting to financial institution executives and ability to contribute to the strategy of growing financial institutions
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office apps, specifically Excel, Android Apps and Power BI
• Written and oral fluency in English and Bengali
• Previous experience working on USAID projects a plus
• An understanding of and a commitment to advancing the mission, vision, and values of Opportunity International

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL

Opportunity International is a global non-profit that has been empowering people to work their way out of poverty for over 50 years. Last year, Opportunity provided 18.7 million families with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. Opportunity and its partners released $2 billion in capital across 30 countries and helped fund 8,400 schools that reached 2 million children.

Learn more about our company by visiting our website: https://opportunity.org/