National Expert on inclusive rural and agricultural finance

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Reporting Lines

Working under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator and the FAO Lead Technical Unit, and in close collaboration with relevant FAO technical and support staff, government and other implementing partners.

Technical Focus

The Inclusive Rural and Agricultural Finance Consultant will assess the demand for financial products and services among the target beneficiary farmers as well as the offer currently available through the various providers along with their interest and capacities for developing tailored products that are aligned to the needs and characteristics of project beneficiaries. The consultant will examine the relevant challenges and opportunities embedded at the micro, medium and macro level in the country in order to identify response options and recommend appropriate inclusive finance interventions for project beneficiaries.

Tasks and responsibilities

Specifically, the incumbent will:

• Carry out demand side analysis:

- Identify and characterise the project target group;

- Review literature/ reports and analyse key informant evidence on access to finance for farmers in Albania, with a focus on the project area, and the impact of the recent earthquake on their livelihoods and enterprises;

- Identify the most critical issues and major challenges faced by project beneficiaries following the recent earthquake (e.g., problem tree) and their emerging financial needs (e.g., loans (short term, inputs, long-term, …), insurance, savings products, leasing, payment services and money transfers, grants, guarantees, value-chain finance arrangements, etc.);

- Develop risk and creditworthiness profiles for key categorise of project beneficiaries (ncl. technical, economic and financial capacities);

- Analyse beneficiaries’ end-market linkages, participation in commercially viable value-chains and related arrangements, participation in collective action such as farmer associations, etc.

• Carry out supply side analysis:

- Carry out a mapping of the key actors including banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), community-based financial organisations, suppliers of digital finance, and other relevant service providers such as providers of guarantee products, grants, any dedicated lending schemes for earthquake affected farmers, emergency support programmes, etc.;

- Understand the context at the medium level, including stakeholder capacities, financial infrastructure, availability of complementary non-financial services, apex institutions, institutions with capacities and motivation to provide capacity building and technical support to the target group, etc.;

- Map any support initiatives and strategies, or lack of, incentives and rural finance instruments put in place to support earthquake-affected farmers (e.g., legislation, guarantee funds, subsidies, matching grant schemes, donor supported technical assistance programmes, etc.);

- Develop a description of key financial service provider (FSP) and their offer of financial products for farmers, including information on the business models, current performance on lending portfolio to agriculture (e.g. number of clients, share of agricultural borrowers, PAR, credit methodology, geographical outreach), terms/ conditions, structuring and delivery mechanisms of financial products targeting farmers and rural residents (e.g., interest rates, loan tenure, repayment schedule, administrative fees, etc.);

• Review and analyse key parameters of the existing regulatory and policy frameworks that govern the banking and the microfinance industry in Albania;

• Identify gaps in the provision of services, capacities on the demand and supply sides of the financial market and at the meso level;

• Delineate response options that provide adequate financial solutions for beneficiary farmers in the immediate future, i.e., post-earthquake situation, as well as improving their bankability and linkages with the financial sector going forward;

• Prioritise and recommend the most appropriate mix of rural finance interventions to be put in place, including implementation arrangements, that are likely to produce the highest results and can be feasibly implemented within the timeframe of the project;

• Identify potential financial institutions and other partners, national and international, with sound capacities that can support the promotion of access to finance, including concessional, for the project beneficiaries;

• Provide technical advice to the project team, implementing and strategic partners, as required;

• Perform other related duties, including the direct implementation of some technical activities, as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in banking and finance, economics, agricultural economics, or related fields
• 10 years of professional experience in the field of inclusive rural and agricultural finance, including technical assistance to banking and micro-finance institutions
• Excellent written and oral working knowledge in English
• National of Albania or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Selection Criteria

Candidates will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Relevance, length and scope of experience in rural and agricultural finance, especially in financial market assessments and development of financial support interventions and collaborative agreements with the financial sector;
• Previous experience collaborating with relevant stakeholders and agriculture development projects in Albania would be a plus;
• Initiative, judgment, organisational ability, excellent communication skills and ability to write concise technical reports.