USAID Kosovo Compete Activity

JOB DESCRIPTION AND STATEMENT OF WORK

USAID Compete Activity is a five year, $16.4M project which aims to facilitate the private sector’s improved competitiveness in local, regional and global markets. USAID Compete Activity works to empower firms, organizations and institutions to improve market systems in key focus. USAID Compete Activity focuses in three key export-oriented sectors of wood processing, food processing and Information and Communications Technology, to sustainable increase their competitiveness. By working to address constraints across the market system of its focus sectors, USAID Compete seeks to enable scalable and systemic change to occur, stimulating job creation and growth and private sector increased ability to engage in local, regional and international markets. The expected results of USAID Compete Activity across all its three sectors are: 1) Market systems are strengthened to increase sector competitiveness; and 2) market actors within those market systems are more productive and competitive.

The Activity is recruiting for the following position on the Project:

Name of Position:  Diversified Finance Expert

General Responsibilities: 

The position is responsible for overseeing all Diversified Finance engagements in the activity. The Diversified Finance expert is responsible for ensuring that all export related current and new access to finance issues affecting businesses in Kosovo are identified. The Diversified Finance expert works in close collaboration with sector leads to identify sector-specific access to finance issues and develops interventions to address these issues from a Market Systems perspective. The position is also responsible for continuously maintaining contact with stakeholders (businesses, government actors, associations, NGOs, IFIs, etc) regarding access to finance issues.

Specific Tasks and Responsibilities:

General Responsibilities:

• Supports Sector Leads in including Diversified Finance actions and interventions into their work-plans and activities;
• Provide technical and logistical support and input for program design, training, workshops, meetings, and other public facing activities of the project.
• Supports Sector Leads in communication and outreach activities with market players including professional associations, private businesses, area-specific NGOs, government entities and all other stakeholders;
• Oversees, guides and supports short term technical assistants;
• Develops, updates and maintains a current list of barriers to access to finance and entry of new financial products in Kosovo and potential market system interventions to ease access to finance barriers;
• Promotes Collaborating Learning and Adapting (CLA) / Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MLA) practices;
• Prepares regular and on the spot reporting for the client as well as to the home office as requested, including maintaining databases of achievements.
• Other tasks in the diversified finance area as required.

Specific Tasks and Deliverables

• Oversee, guide and support the team of consultants engaged for the establishment of risk sharing facility for factoring;
• Continue engagement with registered financial institutions to promote and develop factoring;
• Manage, oversee, and support the team of consultants engaged for the investment readiness;
• Collaborate with Kosovo Credit Guarantee Fund in promoting its Export Window with the registered financial institutions;
• Work with the selected company to finalize and develop the regional platform for used equipment;
• Work with registered institutions to promote leasing as a financial product and/or develop new leasing products. 
• Work on delivery for the programme annual work plan and its objectives

Minimum Education Requirement: A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, accounting or business administration

Minimum Professional Experience/Capabilities

• Experience developing new mechanisms for sustained access to capital and experience in banking with particular focus on product development and credit risk preferred;
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in analysing, designing, pursuing or developing access to capital mechanisms for the private sector in Kosovo;
• Clear understanding of the financial market and key access to finance barriers; 
• Understanding of factoring, leasing, and other non-traditional financial products in the context of Kosovo financial market;
• Experience designing activities in the access of finance to facilitate exports;
• Extensive experience of work with financial services (banking, insurance, NBFIs) and the private sector in Kosovo;
• Ability to effectively engage private sector partners in Kosovo and abroad;
• Proven ability to work effectively with government, USAID, other donors, private sector representative, Kosovo Government institutions and business associations;
• Fluency in Albanian and English required; fluency in Serbian preferred

Period of Performance:  August 2024 – July 2025

Level of Effort:                 50%, part-time (130 days per year)

Supervisor:                       Deputy Chief of Party

Supervisory role:             None

Application: 

To apply please submit your CV and a one-page cover letter in English.

Please send the requested documents electronically to the following email: [email protected]

All submissions must be received on or before Wednesday, July 15, 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be interviewed.