Impact and Partnership Officer

With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 31,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Key Responsibilities:

Job Purpose:

The role of the Impact Officer is to support the MFI Senior Management team to understand and, in line with Our Livelihoods Promise strategy; Leveraging The Strategic Partnerships to Broaden and Deepen our Impact. The office-holder shall implement, manage, evaluate and report social impact projects, programs and strategies with the standards promoted by VisionFund International to ensure the fulfillment of the mission and social objectives of the MFI. VFI highly encourages all MFIs to dedicate at least one full-time staff for this role.

Main Responsibilities

Role Description

Strategy and Planning

• Identifying, Onboarding and Managing Strategic Partners for Impacts; both local and international
• Contribute to the SMT development of the impact strategy for the MFI
• Contribute to the SMT development of annual business plans
• Create detailed operating plans for the MFI to achieve its impact goals
• Assist SMT to develop incentive programme for impact targets
• Assist SMT to create impact targets to be included in the Performance Agreements for all staff, and at a minimum in the performance agreements of all MFI senior managers

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Oversee the implementation of the Client Impact Survey two times per year.
• Analyze the results of the Client Impact Survey to identify client needs.
• Engage with SMT to provide evidence of client needs and make recommendations for suitable operational changes.
• For MFIs that use PPI to measure change to poverty levels over time (very few MFIs): Oversee the implementation and management of PPI to assist the MFI to track the progress of clients on the poverty ladder over time.
• In co-ordination with IT team, ensure the storage of all impact data enables analysis by client id, gender, sector, geographic location, etc.
• Monitor the quality of the outreach data collected and stored in the core banking system (# children, women, rural, agriculture, jobs impacted)
• Produce impact & social performance reports at least two times per year suitable for lenders, donors, and VFI
• Produce impact performance reports for every MFI Board meeting.
• Maintain detailed and thorough understanding of impact indicators – identify trends and recommend corrective actions
• Liaise with VF GC Impact team regularly and with Impact Officers in other MFIs in the region
• Participate in the VF network Impact Community of Practice.
• Maintain good understanding of the principles of impact management by reading and investigating industry websites and publications, and where possible by interacting with third parties in the field of social performance
• Oversee the implementation of other qualitative surveys, focus group discussions, etc., by MFI staff
• Co-ordinate any external impact evaluations
• Co-ordinate social performance audits (Social Rating, SPI, Client Protection Certification)
• Contribute narrative material and data to grant applications when needed
• Conduct sampling and spot-check exercises of all impact data collected about clients

Training and Coaching

• Provide orientation training to all new staff and managers in the MFI
• Regularly review impact performance with all staff (SMT and field staff) to ensure full understanding and so that data is used for better decision-making
• Advise Operations managers, branch managers and loan officers in their development of activity plans that will improve impact and achieve impact goals
• Provide technical advice to the MFI (and potentially VF GC) to design products and services that have specific social impact
• Take lead role in maintaining a culture in the MFI of high-quality client service, and a focus on child well-being
• Spend time with loan officers during client visits to observe data collection and provide support to all field staff on activities and behaviors related to data collection, client protection principles, and client service

Client Focus

• Provide technical advice to P&C and Operations regarding Client Protection training for new employees and the regular conduct of refresher trainings
• With Operations, conduct discussions with client focus groups and community leaders (as appropriate to context) to gain insights into client needs and feedback about products and services
• Spend sufficient time interacting with loan officers and clients to understand their needs and their challenges, as well as the aspirations they have for their children
• Create client-focus stories that illustrate MFI’s social impact
• Coordinate with WV counterparts such as ADP Managers, Livelihood Specialists, and Monitoring and Evaluation specialists to plan joint activities and projects

Qualifications

General Criteria:

• Bachelor's degree in International Relations, Communication, Marketing, Public Relations or similar.
• Intermediate Excel (formulas, pivot tables)
• Advanced English Level
• With experience on implementing the Universal Standards for Social and Environmental Performance management (USSEPM) 
• Minimum 5 years in NGOs or institutions with social programs with the following activities (or similar): fundraising, social responsibility, preparation of results, reports and communication campaigns.

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only