About the Job
\nPosition: Access to Finance Lead<\/p>\n
DESCRIPTION:<\/p>\n
Heifer International is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of disability.<\/p>\n
THE ORGANIZATION:<\/p>\n
Since 1944, Heifer International has empowered over 46 million smallholder farmer families globally to overcome hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. Our new goal is to close the Sustainable Living Income gap for 10 million more households by 2030.<\/p>\n
Heifer Ethiopia\u2019s contribution to the Global 10 million households target is to help 1 million of Heifer Africa\u2019s 6.745 million households achieve sustainable living income by 2030 through effective implementation its signature program (RESTORE+ 2021-2030). Heifer Ethiopia\u2019s signature program focuses on dairy, poultry, small ruminants, horticulture, and Apiculture (honey and beekeeping) as priority value chains.<\/p>\n
FUNCTION:<\/p>\n
The Access to Finance Lead reports to the\u00a0Signature Program Technical Lead of Heifer Ethiopia\u00a0and serves as the technical lead for all access to finance and financial inclusion interventions under the\u00a0USDA Ethiopia Partnership for Productivity (P4P) Project. The position holder will work closely with the\u00a0Deputy Chief of Party of the project under Global Communities.<\/p>\n
Access to finance lead is responsible for providing overall leadership, direction, technical oversight, and coordination of the project\u2019s financial inclusion agenda to ensure sustainable economic empowerment and market participation of target smallholder farmers, producer organizations, cooperatives, youth, and women. The position holder plays a critical leadership role in strengthening the technical, organizational, and managerial capacity of livestock producers, producer groups, traders and cooperatives to improve access to finance to sustainably adopt improved livestock practices, access services, and participate in markets.<\/p>\n
He\/she is also responsible to ensure the project\u2019s market-based approach includes the establishment of a flexible Catalytic Fund to incentivize market actors to make investments towards project activities.<\/p>\n
The role requires high-level engagement and collaboration with financial institutions (commercial banks and microfinances), producer groups and\/or cooperatives, insurance providers, public and private sector actors, and development partners to strengthen sustainable financial service delivery mechanisms and unlock financing opportunities for project participants. The Lead also ensures integration of financial literacy, business development, producer groups and\/or cooperatives strengthening, savings mobilization, enterprise financing, and risk mitigation approaches across project implementation.<\/p>\n
The position holder provides technical guidance and supervision to project staff working on financial inclusion interventions and ensures quality implementation, effective monitoring, knowledge management, learning, and reporting of all access to finance activities in compliance with donor and Heifer International standards.<\/p>\n
RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES:<\/p>\n
Access to Finance and Financial Inclusion Management (40%)<\/p>\n
Provide overall leadership, technical direction, and oversight of access to finance interventions to ensure achievement of project objectives, outputs, and outcomes, including but not limited to:<\/p>\n
Coordinate and ensure the development, implementation, and continuous refinement of the project\u2019s access to finance and financial inclusion strategy.
\nProvide technical leadership in designing innovative financing mechanisms and inclusive financial models tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers, producer organizations, cooperatives, youth, and women.
\nCoordinate and ensure comprehensive financial ecosystem assessments, market analyses, and identification of financing gaps, opportunities, and barriers affecting project participants.
\nCoordinate and ensure in consultations with interested commercial banks to design risk sharing structures that consider banks\u2019 risk exposure and enable lower interest rates
\nFacilitate development and rollout of tailored financial products and services, including credit facilities, savings products, insurance schemes, and other market-responsive financing solutions.
\nCoordinate and lead initiatives aimed at improving financial literacy, business management capacity, savings culture, financial planning, and responsible borrowing practices among project participants.
\nProvide technical support and advisory services to producer groups\/organizations, and project participants on financial management, enterprise growth, investment readiness, and business sustainability.
\nStrengthen governance, operational sustainability, and financial management systems of producer organizations and cooperatives.
\nPromote innovative and scalable financial inclusion approaches that contribute to sustainable livelihoods, resilience building, market participation, and enterprise development.
\nEnsure integration of Heifer\u2019s Value Based Holistic Community Development (VBHCD) Approach and relevant cooperative development principles into all financial inclusion interventions.
\nLead and supervise Access to Finance Analysts and other relevant project staff to ensure quality implementation and achievement of results.
\nProject Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting (30%)<\/p>\n
Lead preparation of annual, quarterly, and monthly access to finance work plans, budgets, implementation schedules, and operational strategies aligned with overall project objectives.
\nOversee implementation and performance of all financial inclusion interventions and ensure timely achievement of project deliverables and targets.
\nAnalyze financial inclusion performance indicators, project data, and market trends to assess effectiveness, impact, challenges, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
\nEnsure high-quality documentation of lessons learned, success stories, innovations, best practices, and case studies related to access to finance interventions.
\nProvide technical input to donor reports, project reports, presentations, briefs, and organizational learning products in line with donor and Heifer International requirements.
\nSupport and collaborate with the MEAL team to strengthen monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems related to financial inclusion and economic empowerment interventions.
\nStakeholder Engagement and Partnership Management (25%)<\/p>\n
Serve as the primary focal point and technical representative for all access to finance and financial inclusion matters under the project.
\nBuild and maintain strong working relationships with government institutions, financial institutions, insurance providers, cooperatives, NGOs, development partners, and other stakeholders.
\nLead coordination and engagement platforms, technical working groups, stakeholder forums, and partnership meetings related to rural finance and financial inclusion.
\nRepresent the project and Heifer International in meetings, forums, and sector platforms related to financial inclusion, agricultural finance, enterprise development, and rural economic growth.
\nLead consultations with Commercial Banks, MFIs, SACCOs, DFI and other financial actors to structure financing and risk sharing arrangements aligned with livestock value chain financing needs.
\nIdentify opportunities for blended finance, guarantee facilities, concessional capital and co-investment models that support sustainable livestock sector development.
\nFacilitate collaboration and alignment among stakeholders to strengthen sustainability, scale, and institutionalization of project interventions.
\nAny Other Assigned Functions (5%)<\/p>\n
Perform any other job-related tasks assigned by the Project Team Leader that are consistent with the objectives and scope of the project.
\nAbout You
\nMinimum Requirements:<\/p>\n
Master\u2019s degree in Agricultural Economics, Finance, Development Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Rural Development, or other related disciplines.
\nMinimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in agricultural finance, rural finance, financial inclusion, enterprise development, or access to finance programming.
\nDemonstrated experience in managing donor-funded projects and coordinating multi-stakeholder financial inclusion initiatives.
\nProven experience in building partnerships with financial institutions, cooperatives, and development actors.
\nMost Critical Proficiencies:<\/p>\n
Strong understanding of rural finance systems, agricultural financing mechanisms, value chain financing models and inclusive financial market development.
\nFamiliarity with livestock insurance, index-based insurance, climate risk financing, or agricultural risk management tools
\nDemonstrated leadership and team management capabilities.
\nStrong partnership development, negotiation, stakeholder engagement, and coordination skills.
\nExcellent analytical, planning, facilitation, coaching, documentation, and reporting skills.
\nAbility to design and lead innovative, scalable, and market-driven financial inclusion interventions.
\nStrong communication and influencing skills in English and relevant local languages.
\nEssential Job Functions and Physical Demands:<\/p>\n
Ability to lead stakeholder engagements, training, workshops, and coordination platforms in rural and semi-urban settings.
\nAbility to manage multiple priorities, teams, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
\nStrong interpersonal and leadership skills with the ability to work effectively across diverse stakeholders and multicultural teams.
\nAbility to handle sensitive financial and organizational information with confidentiality and professionalism.
\nTravel Requirements:<\/p>\n
The position holder should allocate up to 50% of his\/her time to travel to project regions to support regional, district, and community-level activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","job_listing_type":[17],"job_listing_category":[188],"job_listing_location":[4],"job_listing_tag":[],"class_list":["post-39268","job_listing","type-job_listing","status-publish","hentry","job_listing_type-full-time","job_listing_category-accounting-and-finance","job_listing_location-addis-ababa"],"metas":{"_job_logo":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-content\/uploads\/wp-job-board-pro-uploads\/_job_logo\/2026\/07\/ACE-Investment-Impact-Advisor-PLC.webp","custom-text-26140818":"Heifer International Ethiopia","_job_featured":"","_job_tag":[],"_job_filled":"","_job_urgent":"","_job_type":{"17":"Full Time"},"custom-select-24762152":"Onsite","_job_category":{"188":"Accounting And Finance"},"_job_expiry_date":"","_job_gender":"Both","_job_salary_type":"monthly","custom-number-21785310":"","_job_experience":"Senior","custom-select-25910079":"5 \u2013 10 Years","_job_qualification":"Bachelor Degree","_job_application_deadline_date":"2026-08-06","_job_location":{"4":"Addis Ababa"},"_job_apply_type":"external","_job_apply_url":"https:\/\/jobs.jobvite.com\/heifer\/job\/oTXrAfwB","_job_apply_email":"","_job_phone":"","_job_employer_name":"Beleqet Jobs","_job_employer_url":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/employer\/meseret\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing\/39268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/job_listing"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"job_listing_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_type?post=39268"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_category?post=39268"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_location?post=39268"},{"taxonomy":"job_listing_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beleqet.com\/vacancy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/job_listing_tag?post=39268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}