Financial Facilitation Officer

Project Overview and Role:

Palladium seeks a Financial Facilitation Officer to join the financial facilitation team for the USAID/Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD) Activity, a 5-year, $12m buy-in program under USAID’s global CATALYZE Blended Finance Mechanism. PSD is designed to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in high growth potential sectors, as well as bolster women’s labor force participation in Sri Lanka. To do this, PSD will support SMEs to access technical assistance (TA) and financing needed to increase SME revenues, generate productive employment opportunities (including and especially for women), and ultimately contribute to economic diversification.

The Financial Facilitation Officer will be responsible for working closely with financial institutions (FIs) to initiate and sustain the business development functions while driving the tools required to achieve PSD goals. He/she will be responsible for finding innovative approaches and developing technical documents to sustainably achieve program objectives as per USAID regulation while being an integrated member of the PSD team, supporting interventions across components.

The position is based in Palladium’s Colombo, Sri Lanka office. This is a one-year fixed term contract, with the possibility of an extension.

The Financial Facilitation Officer will report to the Director of Financial Facilitation and work closely with the entire field office team.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Negotiate with FIs to engage with PSD to enter into dynamic partnerships adhering to USAID standards while meeting expectations.
Draft and validate technical documents including developing in-depth proposals, scopes of work, concept notes etc. as needed for FIs + PSD relationships to ensure expectations are clear and agreed-upon.
Design and develop products and services to be introduced at FIs in line with project objectives.
Translate financial and sector specific data into commercial insights that assist in program development
Design and initiate capacity building programs for the FI’s staff, in line with project objectives
Conduct co-creation discussions with FIs and other program partners to effectively upgrade SME capacity, expand financing and pilot innovative new private sector models.
Facilitate consultation sessions to develop financial facilitation strategies for private sector partners.
Provide expertise on equity financing from private and preferably public sector.
Liaise with relevant stakeholders to manage activities connected with increasing access to finance for MSMEs, including private and public equity.
Design strategies to engage with other types of equity investors and blended finance activities based on international best practices, as decided by PSD.
Develop roadmaps to boost innovative types of equity investments for SMEs in Sri Lankan with the assistance of local and/or foreign consultants.
Provide financial insight to partners to assist in their business development decisions.
Create models for scenarios and sensitivity analyses on potential projects and present validated information to supervisor for decision making.
Assist FIs to devise mechanisms to set effective targets and monitor the implementation of said mechanisms.
Review/follow up the progress of all activities regularly through an accepted reporting system, meetings and suggest corrective action where necessary
Build robust relationships with stakeholders in both government and private sector to implement the programs approved by PSD and conduct interventions at different stages to review the progress and provide feedback for corrective action as required.
Maintain an efficient MIS system as required by the project.
Ensure proper documentation and full compliance to the rules and regulations of USAID and Palladium.

Required Qualifications:

8+ years’ experience and knowledge in the economics, finance, banking, financial product and service development, equity financing etc. sectors.
Bachelor’s Degree, master’s degree or equivalent qualification in finance, statistics, international affairs, public policy, economics, or a relevant field
Experience in the MSMEs sphere in different sectors such as, tourism, apparel, commercial care, IT or food processing is preferred
Experience working with women-led SMEs is an added advantage
Excellent computer skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (e.g. PowerPoint, Word, Excel, MS Team, SharePoint etc.) is a must.
Experience writing and editing scopes of work, concept notes, reports and other technical documents
Willingness to travel for assigned projects when necessary

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

Experience working with donor organization is an added advantage
Exceptional interpersonal skills and experience building relationships internally and externally
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with co-workers professionally both remotely and in-person.
Excellent communication (written and oral), presentation, management, and interpersonal skills, as well as private-sector experience and contacts in local, regional, or international markets
Fluent in written and spoken English and other local languages preferable.
Strong attention to detail and accuracy, as well as excellent organizational skills.
Effectively collaborate across multifunction teams with a problem-solving attitude.

Company Overview:

About Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives.