Financial Facilitation Manager, CATALYZE PSD

Financial Facilitation Manager, CATALYZE PSD

Project Overview and Role:

Palladium seeks a Financial Facilitation Manager to join the Finance team for the USAID/Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD) Activity, a 5-year, $12 million 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.

Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka Duration: Through September 2024 (opportunity for 12 month extension, pending project funding)

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

The Financial Facilitation Manager 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 to sustainably achieve program objectives as per USAID regulation while being an integrated member of the PSD team, supporting interventions across components.

Specific responsibilities are, but not limited to:

• Observe and design the best tools to be introduced to the FIs (Financial Institutions) and Investment Advisory Services Providers (IASP), to meet the objectives of the project.
• Effectively negotiate and manage FIs and IASP to engage in the project while adhering to USAID standards and expectation through strong communication skills.
• Support co-creation processes with Fis, IASP and other program partners to effectively upgrade SME capacity, expand financing, and pilot innovative new private sector models
• Understand the SME eco-system in Sri Lanka and closely work with SMEs in the country to maximize their impact
• Prepare and validate documents including developing scopes of work as needed for FIs, IASP and PSD relationships.
• Develop necessary scopes of work for the team to make sure expectations are clear and agreed-upon,
• Engage and implement consultancy programs as fit
• Model up scenario and sensitivity analyses on potential projects
• Devise mechanisms to set effective targets to the FIs, IASP and Partners and drive them to achieve it in a timely manner
• Review/follow up the progress of all activities regularly through an accepted reporting system, meetings and suggest corrective action where necessary
• Maintain a MIS system as required by the project
• Engage in continuously maintain a strong relationship with FIs, IASPs, SMEs and other stakeholders to obtain optimal results for the project
• Overall responsibility of executing the program approved by the PSD with interventions at different levels to review the progress, take corrective action as required, with a close rapport with all the stakeholders, both governmental and private sector, until the success required by PSDeKDhWda R6xE8
• Design strategy to engage with any other type of equity investors and blended finance activity based on a successful model anywhere in the world, as decided by the PSD, with the help of Local or foreign consultants to develop a roadmap for boosting innovative types of equity investments to Sri Lankan SMES
• Ensure proper documentation and full compliance to the rules and regulations of the clients/project.
• Take in charge/manage of any other activity connected with facilitating more and more access to finance for MSMES, including private and public equity.
• Perform other relevant tasks as required by the Director of Financial facilitation and PSD Team Lead

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years' experience in the consultancy, finance and banking sector, preferably in the MSMEs sphere
• Bachelor's Degree/postgraduate or equivalent qualification in relevant field will be an added advantage
• Sound computer literacy is a must including the use of MS Office package
• Ability and track record in maintaining documents and records in a systemic manner
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills, and an effective collaborator across multifunction teams
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and local languages
• Excellent organizational, and time management skills.
• Problem-solving attitude with an ability to multi-task
• Willingness to travel for assigned projects when necessary
• Sri Lankan professionals encouraged to apply
• Experience with supply chain financing desired
• Previous experience in agriculture, food and beverage or ICT sectors desired

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.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.