Position Overview:

The Lead Research Specialist is responsible for managing a portfolio of applied research activities within the CFI and ensuring that these activities lead to impact in the financial inclusion industry. The portfolio includes a growing set of research and initiatives related to (but not limited to) financial health and financial capability.

In this position you will design, manage, communicate, and report on various research and stakeholder engagement projects relevant to financial health and financial inclusion for CFI.  As a member of the CFI staff, you will also contribute to CFI’s work as a whole, including Financial Inclusion Week, the CFI Fellows Program, and other initiatives.

Project Management

• Maintain primary responsibility and/or work with a team on a set of initiatives and activities related to financial health, financial capability, customer outcomes of using digital finance, and other topics.
• Develop concepts for projects, manage content development, and conduct stakeholder engagement.
• Partner with a team to execute key stakeholder engagement efforts, including roundtables, webinars, industry conferences, and workshops, as well as work to move insights gained through this process into action, identifying critical moments along the way that present opportunities for influence.
• Immediate project needs include:
• Primary responsibility for a project to develop a digital tool to help consumers to measure, track and improve their financial health.
• Primary responsibility for convening a community of people focused on financial health from across the financial inclusion space and beyond.
• Serve as a member of a team conducting interview research on how mainstream financial institutions manage agent networks and undertake remote account opening.

Teamwork

• Provide support to other members of CFI who conduct and manage research, and at times join other research efforts and team building as capacity needs across CFI necessitate. This may include co-authoring briefs, blog posts, and reports focused on financial health and other topics (for example, one current activity we have is deep-dives on how mainstream finance is pursuing financial inclusion).
• Represent other projects and initiatives externally.

CFI General

• Provide input into cross-cutting initiatives.
• Serve on working groups with colleagues.
• Co-create and execute communications strategies.
• Represent CFI externally at meetings and conferences.

• Master’s degree in relevant field (e.g. economics, business, public policy)
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in financial inclusion research and/or financial services, with at least some experience working in developing countries
• Demonstrated research competency, including in research design, data collection, data analysis, data visualization and/or other relevant skills
• Direct experience working with or in financial institutions that have a focus on the base of the pyramid
• Subject-matter expertise in financial health, financial capability, behavioral economics, or related area strongly preferred
• Successful demonstration of project management skills
• A track record demonstrating ability to initiate and execute projects
• Excellent writing skills (from blog posts to concept notes) with a track-record of producing quality content for a variety of contexts
• Demonstrated competence in public speaking
• Experience interfacing with donors, executives, and external audiences
• Fluency in English required, Spanish, French, Portuguese or other language fluency strongly preferred
• Willingness to embody our values of excellence, respect and passion for social change.

• Excellence: Accion staff should always put forth their best effort in all activities, strive for high quality of collective and individual performance; and demonstrate honesty and integrity at all times while in the workplace and while working on behalf of the organization.
• Respect: Accion staff should value one another’s roles and responsibilities as much as their own, be encouraging, and value the diverse and unique perspectives of colleagues. They should honor obligations and commitments to each other and to external partners.
• Passion for Social Change: Accion staff should be committed to making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate, value the greater good of the organization over personal gain, and promote a productive workplace by acknowledging the accomplishments of others. 

About Accion

Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of – or poorly served by –  the financial sector. For more than 50 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through its work with more than 90 partners in 40 countries. More at http://www.accion.org. 

About The Center for Financial Inclusion

The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) at Accion is an action-oriented think tank that engages and challenges the financial inclusion industry to better serve, protect and empower clients. We develop insights, advocate on behalf of clients and collaborate with stakeholders to achieve a comprehensive vision for financial inclusion. We are dedicated to enabling 3 billion people underserved by the current financial sector to improve their lives.