Housing Microfinance Specialist for Europe & Central Asia
As the Housing Microfinance Specialist for the Housing Finance & Market Development Team with Habitat for Humanity International's Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regional office, you will serve as a subject matter expert for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) with a focus on the Habitat for Humanity national organizations and branches throughout the ECA region. You will have the exciting opportunity to utilize your strong knowledge of microfinance to partner with financial service organizations or similar networks to promote and further advance the Housing Finance & Market Development program to help address shelter needs of low-income people in Europe and Central Asia.
You are someone who enjoys research and who has at least 3 years of experience with microfinance product development, project evaluations, project management and related research or studies. You enjoy working in a multi-cultural environment and enjoy travel, because you may travel up to 30% throughout the region.
KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:
*Undertake institutional technical assistance assessments and housing microfinance readiness assessments of potential partner financial service providers, microcredit organizations, institutions or other local market actors; assess, monitor and mitigate financial, organizational, reputational, and country specific risks.
*Develop terms of reference for various studies and technical assistance and/or financing proposals for partner institutions and arrange technical assistance agreements relevant to housing microfinance models for low-income people.
*Arrange, coordinate and/or provide training, orientation, reference materials and tools on housing microfinance matters to partner institutions and other stakeholders.
*Participate in, coordinate and/or lead housing microfinance market research, product development and validation processes for partner institutions.
*Leads the analysis, monitoring and evaluation of the performance of housing microfinance partnership programs implemented by EMEA’s Area Office, Habitat’s national organizations, financial service providers and/or other partners.
*Coordinate and prepare quarterly, bi-annual and annual reports and portfolio performance quality reports.
*Support the production of learning outputs such as toolkits, training materials, case studies, articles and research, best practices around market research, development of housing microfinance products, institutional technical assistance to partner FSPs, linking construction technical assistance and other non-financial services to housing microfinance services, linkages with government subsidy programs, among HFHI HQ, EMEA’s area office departments, Habitat’s national organizations, partner financial service providers and relevant network organizations.
*Develop terms of reference for various studies and technical assistance and/or financing proposals for partner institutions and arrange technical assistance agreements relevant to housing microfinance models for low-income people.
*Arrange, coordinate and/or provide training, orientation, reference materials and tools on housing microfinance matters to partner institutions and other stakeholders.
*Participate in, coordinate and/or lead housing microfinance market research, product development and validation processes for partner institutions.
*Leads the analysis, monitoring and evaluation of the performance of housing microfinance partnership programs implemented by EMEA’s Area Office, Habitat’s national organizations, financial service providers and/or other partners.
*Coordinate and prepare quarterly, bi-annual and annual reports and portfolio performance quality reports.
*Support the production of learning outputs such as toolkits, training materials, case studies, articles and research, best practices around market research, development of housing microfinance products, institutional technical assistance to partner FSPs, linking construction technical assistance and other non-financial services to housing microfinance services, linkages with government subsidy programs, among HFHI HQ, EMEA’s area office departments, Habitat’s national organizations, partner financial service providers and relevant network organizations.
ADDITIONAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:
*Assist in developing, piloting and implementing technical support strategies, policies and scalable housing microfinance models for low-income people and contribute to national and area strategy development.
*Collaborate with program operations teams to support and steward the strategic integration of housing microfinance models and partnerships with Habitat’s work.
*Network with organizations and associations working in the housing microfinance sector, to access latest knowledge, industry trends, news, publications and developments, and to promote Habitat’s housing microfinance programs.
*In general, support the program team, area office, and headquarters in various initiatives related to housing microfinance matters.
*Identify potential housing finance market development donors, investors, partner financial service providers, and other partnering market actors.
*Collaborate interdepartmentally in the development of competitive proposals for consultancy services contracts with regard to market development, housing microfinance and expanding access to client-responsive services, products, and financing in the market that address shelter needs of low-income people.
*Collaborate with program operations teams to support and steward the strategic integration of housing microfinance models and partnerships with Habitat’s work.
*Network with organizations and associations working in the housing microfinance sector, to access latest knowledge, industry trends, news, publications and developments, and to promote Habitat’s housing microfinance programs.
*In general, support the program team, area office, and headquarters in various initiatives related to housing microfinance matters.
*Identify potential housing finance market development donors, investors, partner financial service providers, and other partnering market actors.
*Collaborate interdepartmentally in the development of competitive proposals for consultancy services contracts with regard to market development, housing microfinance and expanding access to client-responsive services, products, and financing in the market that address shelter needs of low-income people.
REQUIREMENTS:
*Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Microfinance, Commerce, Business Administration, or similar field.
*3+ years of relevant work experience in finance or microfinance product development, project evaluations, project management and related research or studies.
*Conversant with the microfinance industry in the Europe and Central Asia region.
*Experience designing and implementing loan or financial products in the field.
*Working knowledge of English.
*Business management and negotiation skills; experience with consulting and/or advising.
*Excellent report writing skills.
*Strong computer skills – MS Office.
*Process facilitation, training and organizational development skills.
*Excellent interpersonal, cross-cultural, oral and written communication skills coupled with a high level of customer service.
*Ability to work independently; and interdependently within a team and with other Habitat for Humanity entities and partners.
*Willing and able to travel up to 30% of the time to Habitat for Humanity country offices and other implementing partners within the Europe & Central Asia region.
*3+ years of relevant work experience in finance or microfinance product development, project evaluations, project management and related research or studies.
*Conversant with the microfinance industry in the Europe and Central Asia region.
*Experience designing and implementing loan or financial products in the field.
*Working knowledge of English.
*Business management and negotiation skills; experience with consulting and/or advising.
*Excellent report writing skills.
*Strong computer skills – MS Office.
*Process facilitation, training and organizational development skills.
*Excellent interpersonal, cross-cultural, oral and written communication skills coupled with a high level of customer service.
*Ability to work independently; and interdependently within a team and with other Habitat for Humanity entities and partners.
*Willing and able to travel up to 30% of the time to Habitat for Humanity country offices and other implementing partners within the Europe & Central Asia region.
PREFERRED:
*Master’s degree in related field.
*Experience in conducting or supervising market research studies and involvement in product development processes.
*Experience working in a multi-national, multi-cultural context within the Europe and Central Asia region.
*Professional training in relevant areas of microfinance and housing finance.
*Experience supervising research teams and consultants.
*Experience developing training materials using adult training techniques.
*Monitoring and evaluation skills, especially with financing and microfinance programs.
*Russian language skills.
*Experience in conducting or supervising market research studies and involvement in product development processes.
*Experience working in a multi-national, multi-cultural context within the Europe and Central Asia region.
*Professional training in relevant areas of microfinance and housing finance.
*Experience supervising research teams and consultants.
*Experience developing training materials using adult training techniques.
*Monitoring and evaluation skills, especially with financing and microfinance programs.
*Russian language skills.
ABOUT BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA:
The position is based in Bratislava which is a small, beautiful city. The cost of living is low and there are some wonderful places to visit close by such as Vienna (1 hour), Budapest (1 and a half hours), Prague (2 and a half hours), the Tatra Mountains (2 and a half hours), the Alps (2 hours) as well as numerous other attractions. The city itself is very easy to get around, has all the facilities you need and a lot of green open areas to relax in in the summer. The summers are Mediterranean temperatures with a lot of lakes to swim in and the beach of Croatia only 4 hours away by car. The winters are snowy with skiing and ice-skating readily available.
How to apply:
Submit your cover letter and CV for this vacancy online via our career site at:http://www.habitat.org/job/housing-microfinance-specialist-0
ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY:
Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that safe and affordable housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat has helped more than 3 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976. Habitat also advocates for fair and just housing policies and provides training and access to resources to help more families improve their shelter conditions. As a non-profit Christian ministry, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To find out more about Habitat for Humanity, visithttp://www.habitat.org/
HFHI is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to employ and assign the best qualified personnel for all our positions in a manner that does not unlawfully discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, gender, marital status, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, veteran/reserve national guard status, or any other status or characteristic protected by law.
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