Innovative Finance Expert - Nigeria/Feed the Future at Palladium Group

Project Overview and Role

• Palladium brings more than 50 years of experience applying rigorous, evidence-led methodologies to international development.
• Our work covers Health, Education, Economic Growth, Governance, Environmental issues, Informatics, Workforce Development, and Monitoring and Evaluation, offering innovative approaches that support the design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of development programs.
• Our presence extends across more than 90 countries, creating positive impact over 100 projects through the dedication of 2,000+ project and home office staff.
• Palladium seeks an Innovative Finance Expert for two anticipated USAID-funded Nigeria opportunities in Agriculture Competitiveness and Agribusiness Investment.
• The goal of these projects are to create a catalytic investment mechanism which links smallholders to the private sector, while creating business enabling environments for a thriving agribusiness economy.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance on access to finance related issues and work closely with stakeholders to identify gaps and devise solutions for value chain finance options that are accessible, appropriate and affordable
• Ensure that financial services meet the needs of women entrepreneurs and producer groups to maintain and expand value-added activities
• Establish strong relationships and work closely with informal and formal banking institutions to develop financial products and services appropriate to target groups and VCs
• Provide training and mentoring to banks and other financial institutions on lending to the agricultural sector and risk managements of agricultural portfolios;
• Leverages and develops private and public sector relationships to overcome value chain constraints
• Provides technical and management support to the implementation of the market access and value chain development components of the program.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in Economics, Business, Finance, International Development, or other relevant field required
• Prior experience with USAID or other donor-funded access to finance projects strongly preferred
• Knowledge of and experience with institutions supported by USAID Development Credit Guarantees (and similar mechanisms) strongly preferred
• Minimum 7 years of experience in Banking or Financial services
• Experience in Agricultural Value Chain Finance is preferred
• Professional proficiency in English required
• Nigerian Nationals Strongly Encouraged to Apply