Project Coordinator for AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants in Kyrgyzstan

Agriculture & Finance Consultants GmbH (AFC) is a private German consulting firm focusing on agriculture/agribusiness and financial sector development projects in developing and transition countries (https://www.afci.de/).

We employ about 60 permanent staff members at our headquarters in Bonn/Germany and engage more than 850 professionals in 87 AFC offices abroad for the implementation of projects for various donor agencies (e.g. AfDB, AFD, EBRD, EIB, EU, GIZ, KfW, World Bank). AFC is a member of the GOPA Consulting Group, Germany's largest group of development cooperation consulting firms in development cooperation.

For a running project in the field of agricultural finance, we are looking for a full-time Project Coordinator, to be based in Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek).

The project focuses on capacity building for agricultural MSMEs to improve access to finance paired with support on food safety and implementation of international food safety standards.

The project will effectively run until May 2027. For the purpose of supporting the project implementation on-site we are looking for a

Full-time Project Coordinator (location: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) for the duration of 1 year (option to extend based on performance)  - envisioned start date in May 2023 (flexible)

The Project Coordinator’s main responsibilities lie in:

• Project coordination between Team Leader, AFC Project Manager, local stakeholders, expert and donors
• Support of training and capacity building activities:
  • Liaise with partner banks, agri-MSMEs and key-experts in Bishkek, Osh and other project areas
  • Support in-coming short-term experts, prepare work plans
  • Support the training preparation and post-monitoring
  • Liaise with local permanent staff on travel itineraries
• Project monitoring: supporting the post-training monitoring of financial institutions and agricultural MSMEs
  • Data collection of project indicators and analysis
  • support in creating marketing material and designing of reports and lessons learnt
• Project administration:
  • support the budget control of the project cash box and project finances on site
  • meeting facilitation with experts, donors, Ministries and partners
  • be the main contact person for local staff members and their task distribution
• Support in preparation of quarterly and biannual reporting requirements to the donor
• Be the focal point for Project Manager during absence of Team Leader
• Supporting in acquisition activities in CIS countries, including fact finding missions and feasibility studies

• University Degree (Master) in a relevant area (economics, agricultural finance, business administration, international management, development studies, economic sociology, or related fields)
• Experience in the context of development cooperation, with first experience in agricultural finance, technical assistance projects for banks/farmers and value chain development (e.g. through internships with donor organizations)
• Work experience with German or EU donor organizations, ideally KfW or EIB
• Strong interest in monitoring and evaluation and ideally first working experience with indicator monitoring (e.g. through internships or university jobs)
• Working experience in transition countries, ideally in CIS countries
• Full proficiency in written and spoken English and German, Russian would be an asset
• Strong writing and communications skills, ability to act pragmatically and proactively
• Independent and organized working manner

Duration: 1 year, beginning in May 2023