Financing Officer

Background

Since 1964, UNDP has been active in Malawi, aiding the Government in its development agenda by supporting policies, establishing partnerships, and enhancing institutional capacities to achieve national development goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP Malawi’s Country Programme Document (CPD) for 2024-2028 aligns with the Malawi Vision 2063 and its first 10-Year Implementation Plan, aiming to support Malawi in meeting the SDGs by 2030. This comprehensive programme addresses the interconnected challenges of poverty, inequality, and vulnerability to shocks, organized within two principal portfolios:

1. Governance: This portfolio focuses on strengthening effective, accountable, and inclusive governance. It promotes civic engagement, human rights, the rule of law, peace, and democracy, alongside improving data generation and analysis.
2. Resilience and Sustainable Growth (RSG): This portfolio focuses on economic innovation, inclusive business, job creation, and renewable energy access. It also aims to help Malawi adapt to climate change and build resilience to disasters.

Resilience and Sustainable Growth (RSG) Portfolio

The RSG Portfolio adopts a multifaceted approach combining inclusive growth, sustainability, climate adaptation, resilience to shocks, and agricultural development. It integrates natural resource management, poverty-environment linkages, disaster risk management, and agricultural value chain commercialization. The portfolio engages a broad range of stakeholders, including government entities, development partners, and multilateral agencies. UNDP's resilience programming within the RSG Portfolio specifically targets the mitigation of threats, risks, and impacts of climate change and related economic and social shocks. The RSG Portfolio also includes a dynamic private sector development programme that employs various de-risking financial instruments to support private sector investments in the country. This programme is designed to assist entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey, from business incubation to acceleration and growth across different economic sectors.

The resilience programming takes a holistic approach, addressing interconnected issues such as governance, public services, inclusive economic opportunities, natural resource management, and agricultural development. The primary outcomes target enhancing socio-economic resilience, equitable access to economic opportunities, sustainable natural resource management, and increased agricultural productivity and income for smallholder farmers. This is achieved through collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including government, UN partners, civil society, the private sector, and academia.

Agriculture and Commercialization

Agriculture is the backbone of Malawi's economy, employing over 70% of the population and significantly contributing to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 24.7%. While subsistence farming has predominated, there is a growing emphasis on commercialization to unlock the sector's full potential. This transition from traditional, subsistence-oriented farming to market-oriented, profit-driven activities aligns with the Government’s Agriculture, Tourism, and Mining (ATM) growth strategy. This shift is crucial for enhancing food security, increasing farmers' incomes, promoting rural development, and achieving broader economic growth objectives. Achieving meaningful commercialization requires targeted interventions, supportive policies, and a solid anchorage for the private sector. Since 2014, UNDP has actively supported the private sector in advancing sustainable development through diverse initiatives and partnerships in agriculture, collaborating closely with mainstream Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Through collaboration with private sector entities and leveraging relevant past experiences, the UCHI Strengthening Agricultural Commercialization Project will provide the technical expertise, resources, and networks necessary to tackle challenges related to agricultural commercialization and generate market and financial opportunities for smallholder farmers (SHFs). The project advocates market-oriented business practices and stimulates market and financial opportunities within priority value chains.

One of the UCHI Project Outputs is “Improved Financial Access for FOs and Women-Led Agricultural MSMEs”. This output aims to improve financial access for FOs and SMEs, with a particular focus on empowering women-led agribusinesses such that FOs and SMEs can obtain the funding necessary to enter the commercial market. The programme will provide financial management training, facilitate access to loans, and establish a matching grant facility to support productive investments. FOs and SMEs will be equipped to improve their financial literacy, record-keeping, and investment planning, allowing them to secure funding for commercialization and value addition. The matching grant mechanism will be used to support the targeted FOs and SMEs as a bridge to commercial credit and/or investment, fostering financially sustainable business models by prioritizing productivity enhancement, resilience, and commercialization efforts, with a focus on women-owned enterprises to promote inclusive growth. 

It is on this note that UNDP is seeking to acquire the services of a Financing Officer to support the Financing Specialist in the management and administration of grants within the UCHI Commercialization Matching Grant Facility.

Position Purpose

The Financing Officer, working under the direct supervision of the Financing Specialist – UCHI Agriculture Commercialization, will play a pivotal role in ensuring the effective implementation, monitoring, and reporting of grants in alignment with the UCHI requirements and contractual agreements with Farmer Organizations (FOs) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Scope of Work

Fiduciary Management

• Support the due diligence process on shortlisted FOs and SMEs, focusing primarily on financial management; 
• Support in managing a portfolio of FOs/SMEs with matching grant agreements;
• Ensure that payments to FOs/SMEs (grantees) are linked to progress milestones as per the milestone sheet, that are contractually binding, ensuring that each grantee’s supported initiative is on track to deliver its planned and contractual objectives; 
• Monitor the disbursement of funds to grantees and maintain detailed financial records, supported by documentary evidence of how funds are allocated and utilized based on contract terms;
• Prepare milestone verification reports containing verified expenditure for each milestone and facilitate disbursement requests to UNDP;
• Ensure adequate cash flow management for grant-making activities, including timely and accurate reconciliations.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Support the development and implementation of a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system to track grant expenditure progress, measuring results and impacts relative to the project’s objectives, ensuring that grants data is fully integrated into the UCHI – Agriculture Commercialization project’s overall performance tracking system;
• Monitor grantee progress against implementation agreements, identifying any risks or delays and in consultation with the Financing Specialist, ensure that corrective actions are taken to stay on track with project goals; 
• Closely monitor the portfolio, highlight interventions at risk and timely escalate issues to the Financing Specialist for onward escalation to UNDP where necessary; 
• Support in the preparation of quarterly and annual progress reports on the performance of funded projects, detailing achievements, challenges, and lessons learned;
• Ensure that grantee performance is continuously monitored and alert the Financing Specialist at the earliest possible opportunity, of any existing or possible unsatisfactory grantee performance;
• Support the preparation and rollout of relevant studies including the baseline, mid-term review and end-line surveys, by contributing relevant background and information related to FO/SME grant acquisition and management;
• Support and work with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for baseline reports and end-line impact surveys.

Knowledge Building and Advocacy

• With guidance from the Financing Specialist and in coordination with other actors, especially financial institutions, support the design and organization of capacity-building workshops and training sessions for grantees to enhance their financial literacy, entrepreneurial, financial and grants management skills;
• Support the Financing Specialist in facilitating engagement of Financial Services Providers (FSPs), both Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and commercial banks for the provision of financial services and technical assistance to the FOs and the SMEs/Agri-pruners, to complement the UCHI Commercialization Matching Grant Facility; 
• Support grant recipients in strengthening their financial management and record-keeping systems.

Institutional Arrangement

The Financing Officer will be based at the UNDP Malawi’s UCHI – Agriculture Commercialization Project Office in Lilongwe, with frequent in-country travel to support grantees in various districts. The Financing Officer will report to the UCHI Financing Specialist, and work in close collaboration with the UCHI Project Specialist and other relevant Project staff. The role will also require regular interaction with external stakeholders, including grantees, financial institutions, other UCHI implementing partners and the donor.

Competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline;

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination  

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Business Management

• Communication
  • Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication.
• Results-based Management
  • Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results.
• Partnership Management
  • Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts, and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
• Risk Management
  • Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks.
• Portfolio Management
  • Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.

Partnership Management

• Relationship Management
  • Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Education Requirement:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Economics, Development Studies, Accounting or relevant related field is required, or;
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in a relevant field in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant work experience

• Minimum 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible relevant experience in providing fiduciary management services or a relevant related field is required.

Required Skills

• Experience with enterprise and/or Innovation Challenge Fund management services for private entities, international organizations and/or development partners;
• Experience in management of grant portfolios, matching grant schemes, impact investing, blended finance mechanisms and/or venture capital vehicles.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the competencies section

• At least two years proven experience of grant management would be a clear advantage;
• Proven experience working on financing for private sector-driven agriculture value chain development or commercialization is an added advantage;
• Sector knowledge in agriculture and financial innovation, including an up to date understanding of market access frontiers for FOs/SMEs and how they may be shifted through small scale agricultural commercialization;
• Strong ability to assess business models, financial sustainability, and risk mitigation strategies;
• Experience in Programme/Project management and good communication skills;
• Experience in working with a UN Organization would be an advantage;
• Proven proficiency in grant monitoring frameworks;
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Required Languages

• Fluency in English with proficiency in effective written and oral communications, and fluency in Chichewa is required.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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