About Accion

Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a trailblazing legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the 1.8 billion people who are left out of, or poorly served by, the financial sector. For more than 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 200 partners in 63 countries. More at http://www.accion.org. 

About Global Advisory Solutions

We are a diverse and close-knit global team with one common social purpose: building a financially inclusive world for small businesses and low-income households.  We are passionate about what we do – working with a wide range of financial service providers and other partners across the world to create to build sustainable businesses to achieve financial inclusion.  We enjoy solving problems, being exposed to new ideas, sharing information, and asking, “what if?” In this position, you will be in the center of it all. Working closely with the MD and our regional managers, you will be a key supportive team member for the GLAS leadership and collaborate with co-workers who are industry experts with diverse backgrounds, being part of a team that is shaping and challenging the industry. You will work to support our global program management efforts; lead our internal communications initiatives and collaborate with other teams to support external communications; oversee board and management reporting; contribute to industry engagements and GLAS thought-leadership efforts.  

Position Summary 

This position reports to the Managing Director Accion's Global Advisory Solutions (GLAS) team. Accion currently provides advisory support in South and Southeast Asia to partners in India, Indonesia, and Myanmar.  In this position you will have oversight for GLAS’ current portfolio of advisory projects and serve as a senior GLAS resource for digital financial services in the region.  This will include bringing new and appropriate technologies and channels to our partners, as well as identifying new business opportunities for GLAS’ expertise, including the expansion of Accion’s footprint in select priority countries (such as Bangladesh, Philippines and Vietnam).   

Position Responsibilities 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

As part of the Accion Asia leadership, you will be leading the Global Advisory Solutions team’s Asia regional strategy focusing on identifying and supporting demonstration models that decrease cost and improve quality of financial services for the underbanked at scale.  This will entail developing and maintaining partnerships with relevant organizations in the financial inclusion landscape such as financial institutions, fintech companies, Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) focused digital service providers, technology providers, government organizations, and others that can leverage Accion’s advisory services to deliver on our strategy. The focus of the Advisory team’s business development includes commercial financial sector players interested in developing and/or expanding digital financial products and services to better serve the underbanked.  Your responsibilities will include the following:

• Achieve revenue targets for region based on broader GLAS strategy goals.
• Propose new, creative and impactful ideas to implement Accion’s strategy in the region.
• Identify and pursue opportunities with current and new partners for deploying Accion’s advisory support in core product areas, with particular focus on those with potential to be demonstration models for serving the underbanked. These may include opportunities around launching digital lending models, building a platform for supply chain finance, developing digitally enabled customer engagement tools and platforms, or leveraging data in different ways.
• Build deep relationships with regional vendors, including fintech companies, which may serve as implementation partners for our FSP clients.
• Grow Accion’s regional network in order to attract a wide array of human and financial resources.
• Oversee the development and presentation of project proposals to clients and/or donors, including support to overall scope development, pricing and negotiation.
• In coordination with our Resource Development team, identify and pursue new funding relationships in the region.
• Advise and support our investment officers during due diligences in the region when required, and provide them with a technical point of view on potential deals.
• Actively participate in conferences, discussion forums, and other knowledge sharing and networking spaces to promote Accion and be a thought leader for the Asia region.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY SERVICES

As the Program Manager in the Asia region, you will be responsible for developing and executing Accion’s advisory work in South and Southeast Asia, working closely and in partnership with the Advisory team’s Practice Area leads (subject matter experts across core technical areas).  This will include overseeing a portfolio of current advisory assignments with leading financial service partners in the region.  Responsibilities include:

• Act as the senior strategic advisor to the Global Advisory Solutions teams’ clients and provide advice in the delivery of digitally based, data driven, client centered financial products and services, with the goal of improving efficiency, reducing cost and increasing scale for Accion’s partners.
• Serve as senior technical resource for “digital transformation” initiatives with focus on accelerating Financial Service Provider’s and MSE focused digital service provider’s growth strategies in reaching micro and small businesses with digitally enabled products and services.
• Provide advice in the design, modeling, and evaluation of the different initiatives proposed by technical teams, articulating potential partnerships with other organizations or providers, and facilitating strategic decision-making and high impact deliverables.
• Working closely with project managers, ensure projects are staffed, funded, monitored and controlled to ensure successful deliverable completion.
• Ensure project outputs and learnings are shared across the department throughout and at the close of each project.

LEADERSHIP AND TEAM MANAGEMENT

As a senior member of the team, you will contribute to the overall strategy and operation of Global Advisory Solutions and will ensure it is implemented in the region in the most impactful and scalable way.

• Provide coaching and management of the Advisory project teams that operate in the Asia region.
• Set objectives for the region and the regional team in line with overall Global Advisory Solutions team objectives.
• Monitor performance and provide feedback on progress against objectives.
• Identify development needs of the Asia team and develop the team’s capacity where needed, particularly around the deployment of new technologies and channels.
• Identify skill gaps within the region and work with the Managing Director GLAS to develop a strategy to fill the gaps, including recruitment of new team members as well as building a deep roster of regional consultants to complement Accion’s advisory services.
• Actively support career path development for team members.

Position Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant experience in financial services gained through working with and/or advising financial services providers, and 10 years of experience in digital technology for financial services. Previous work experience with platform providers is a plus.
• Proven expertise in leading change management initiatives for financial service providers.
• Solid understanding of the Supply Chain and Agriculture Value Chain Finance.
• Solutions mindset and experience in building / forging ecosystem partnerships.
• Master’s degree in relevant area, MBA preferred.
• Deep understanding of financial technologies with a technology background and the capacity to provide strategic advice to FSPs on digital and technology related decisions.
• Solid network in the financial services field with deep understanding of the Asia market particularly in India. Experience in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Philippines and Vietnam is a plus.
• Proven ability to visualize, articulate, and solve problems quantitatively and/or qualitatively and make and be able to influence sound decisions based on available information.
• Extensive project management skills and a proven ability to manage and coach teams.
• Proven client business development/sales and proven negotiating experience.
• Ability to speak and write fluent English is required.

Travel Requirements

• Ability to travel at least 30% regionally and internationally.