Housing Microfinance Project Manager

Habitat for Humanity International is a global non-profit with the purpose and goal to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races, and religions to build houses in partnership with families in need.

About the Job: 
Habitat for Humanity International is seeking a Housing Microfinance Project Manager. S/he will report to the associate director, housing finance and market development. The organization's centre for innovation in shelter and finance is implementing a program to facilitate financial services providers in Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana to develop, validate, and pilot scalable housing microfinance products with housing support services. The program is being implemented in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana. S/he will lead the overall implementation of the project '€building the shelter assets of the poor'€ in the region, which would include overseeing all in-country project staff, and act as the primary headquarters point of contact for all in-country project initiatives. The position is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Tasks and Responsibilities: 

• Provide technical assistance to finance service providers:
  • Participate in formulating and implementing the partner selection process;
  • Carry out due diligence of potential and existing housing microfinance partners when required;
  • Lead the planning, and oversee the implementation of market research studies, and product development processes for partner institutions;
  • Participate in the design, development, promotion, and refinement of housing microfinance products for partners;
  • Design, develop, promote, define, and refine housing microfinance partnerships with financial institutions.
• Technical leadership:
  • Development of terms of references for various consulting assignments, and identification/selection of consultants;
  • Develop reporting standards (financial and narrative), and maintain consolidated project wide report;
  • Participate in the design, planning, monitoring and evaluation of the programme activities;
  • Oversee and, in some cases, directly manage external consultants engaged to carry out different activities throughout the program implementation (i.e. trainings, various studies, and assessments);
  • Collect and collate monitoring reports from the project countries on monthly basis and provide support to country based managers to address issues identified.
• Training:
  • Train the country based project staff, and consultants, when required, to increase their capacity to deliver with excellence the outputs included within the program implementation;
  • Design and development of housing microfinance trainings, based on housing microfinance best practice delivery and management processes;
  • Offer actual on or off site training and consultations to MFI partners and other stakeholders;
  • Utilize centre for innovation in shelter and finance toolkits focused on market research, and product development, and lead or coordinate trainings or capacity building opportunities for MFIs and other stakeholders;
  • Bring results from program implementation (lessons learned, successes, failures) to partner forums and the global centre for innovation in shelter and finance.
• Research and knowledge management:
  • Support in the design of monitoring systems for the program implementation;
  • Manage and, when required, participate of housing microfinance impact assessments, evaluations, supply and demand studies, and other studies as may be required;
  • Oversee the implementation of market research for housing microfinance (demand and supply analysis);
  • Coordinate the documentation of case studies highlighting emerging lessons;
  • Where necessary review, redesign or design new housing finance products.
• Peer learning:
  • Increase visibility of housing microfinance and organization’s work by sharing the emerging best practices based on project results;
  • Facilitate the advancement of knowledge and learning amongst peers in the sector within the region;
  • Support the establishment of robust communities of practice, as well as integration with external communities of practice, such as SEEP, CGAP, and AFMIN.

Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree in Economics, Finance, Social Sciences or development-related field or a university degree in a related field, and equivalent field experience;
• At least 10 years of experience in the field of microfinance/development finance, including experience in housing microfinance, housing finance, and community development work;
• At least 6 years of experience working in Africa preferred;
• Experience in market research;
• Experience conducting or supervising research and product development process;
• Experience delivering trainings;
• Project management experience, including the ability to manage multiple and simultaneous tasks at varying levels of complexity and detail;
• Good people skills with the ability to communicate cross-culturally and work both independently and in teams;
• Fluency in English (written and spoken);
• Knowledge of any local language spoken in Kenya, Uganda and/or Ghana preferred;
• Knowledge and understanding of communities of practice, such as SEEP, CGAP, and AFMIN preferred.

Closing Date: 15 May 2014

How to Apply:
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