Financial Specialist Job Vacancy at PlaNet Finance in South Africa

JOB TITLE: FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION SPECIALIST

Closing date: 31 May 2012

PlaNet Finance

PlaNet Finance's mission is to help poor people develop income generating activities, in order to sustainably improve their living conditions. PlaNet Finance has a worldwide Network of 122 experts and is active in about 50 countries. It offers advisory services and technical assistance to microfinance actors so as to improve their financial and social performance as well as supporting microentrepreneurs in their endeavours. PlaNet Finance also contributes to the improvement of knowledge and spreading of good practices in microfinance. PlaNet Finance is member of the PlaNet Finance Group. www.planetfinance.org www.planetfinancegroup.org

Reporting: The Financial Education and Consumer Protection Specialist will be under the direct supervision of the PlaNet Finance Southern Africa Executive Director and will report to her on a weekly basis.

PURPOSE

To drive the implementation of PlaNet Finance Southern Africa’s (PFSA) Financial Education and Consumer Protection programme(s)
To develop and manage relationships with project funders
To lead the design and implementation of a fundraising strategy for PFSA’s Financial Education and Consumer Protection programmes
To build knowledge through research both internally and externally with clients, beneficiaries and other important stakeholders, to build organisational capacity

ASSIGNMENTS

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION Implement PFSA’s financial education and consumer protection initiatives in South Africa (with the support of the Project Manager and Business Line Manager)  Drive the implementation of PFSA’s Financial Education and Consumer Protection initiatives as per the project action plan  Mentor and support partner financial institutions to develop embedded financial education concepts and action plans  Develop new or adapt existing Financial Education/Consumer Protection materials content and layout, in collaboration with project partner(s) (eg: training manuals, training of trainers curriculum, educational cartoons/booklets, etc)  Ensure alignment of grant agreement to programme implementation  Manage project budget monitoring tool and expenses  Supervise human resources recruited for the project (if any)  Manage the relationship with PFSA’s main current Financial Education programme funder, Citi Foundation

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Securing financing for PFSA’s Financial Education and Consumer Protection programmes (under the supervision of PFSA’s Executive Director)  Design and implement a fundraising strategy for Financial Education and Consumer Protection programmes  Research market and engage new donors/grant opportunities, local stakeholders and technical partners – develop a funder map for financial education and consumer protection in the region  Lead or collaborate on proposals for public and/or private funders  Draft communication materials to support fundraising  Fundraising activities, including attending events and organizing fundraising road shows  Perform intelligence/monitoring for new funding opportunities  Liaise with the PlaNet Finance network to share opportunities, lessons, ideas  Update a contact database of relevant stakeholders, associate consultants and potential partners  Assist other members of the PFSA team in the development of project proposals that include a Financial Education or Consumer Protection component  Provide regular updates and contributions in the PFSA monitoring tool on opportunities and proposals that are under development

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Building PFSA’s expertise on Financial Education and Consumer Protection

 Conduct secondary research to stay abreast of trends, best practice and important events in financial education and consumer protection  Exchange ideas with experts both within and outside of the PlaNet Finance network  Contribute to relevant documents in the PFSA library  Share local knowledge and expertise with the PF network  Develop and enhance PFSA’s methodological guide on financial education and consumer protection based on experiences in projct implementation and lessons learnt

KEY REQUIREMENTS

 At least 2 years of professional experience, preferably more  Previous experience in proposal writing / business development / fundraising is preferred  Previous experience project implementation / coordination experience  Previous experience in financial education or in product development.  Computer literacy in Microsoft Office  Rigorous, self-driven, innovative and cost sensitive  Attention to detail  Organised, ability to prioritise and manage time effectively  Written and spoken command of English  Written and spoken knowledge of French is preferable, but not essential

CONDITIONS

Status : VSI (Volunteer of International Solidarity) or Local South Africa contract Duration : 12 month Indemnity : based on PF scale  For VSI, expenses and insurance related to travelling from country of residence are covered  Localisation : Johannesburg Documents to be sent : CV + Motivation letter Deadline for application: May 2012

How to apply:

Contact : Aurore Kasprzak: recrut@planetfinance.org