Description

Heifer Project Nepal is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability. 

FUNCTION 

The Project Officer–Digital will lead the PROSPER project’s digital initiatives and strengthen the digital capacity of Bank Saathi, cooperatives, partner staff, and SMEs.

The Officer will support PROSPER other themes in the assigned location by strengthening cooperatives, partner staff, and SMEs in financial literacy, market linkage, enterprise development, and investment readiness, including through FEBL Lite, while coordinating with stakeholders and reporting key outcomes.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES: (INCLUDING APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE EFFORT) 

Digitization of Financial Services (40%)

• Serve as the project focal person for digital initiatives, leading digitization of the FEBL Lite curriculum, digital finance, and electronic transactions.

• Promote and support the adoption of technology-enabled solutions for financial inclusion, market access, and enterprise development.
• Coordinate with financial institutions, fintech and agritech companies, cooperatives, and other partners to pilot and scale appropriate digital services.
• Build the digital capacity of project staff, partners, cooperatives, and SMEs through training, coaching, and technical support.
• Develop and maintain a digital inventory of buyers, MSMEs, service providers, and business opportunities with limited access to finance and markets.
• Monitor digital adoption, financial-service use, transactions, market outcomes, and partnership performance, and prepare timely reports and recommendations.

Financial Inclusion and Technical Assistance (30%) 

• Identify agricultural cooperatives and farmer clusters for project implementation. 
• Coordinate efforts to strengthen the knowledge and decision-making capacity of rural agricultural actors to access and use financial services by redesigning the FEBL (Financial Education and Business Literacy) Lite model/tools and delivering financial literacy training sessions. 
• Provide intensive agri-business support to selected youth and returnee migrants to help them establish or expand agri-businesses and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to increase SHFs’ interest in financial services and products. Facilitate peer learning and support meetings where SHF borrowers can share experiences and strengthen loan accountability. 
• Strengthen cooperatives’ business hub functions by supporting upgrades to digital infrastructure, improving governance and financial management systems, and building staff capacity to design, market, and broker financial and non-financial products for SHFs and returnee migrants. 
• Map and maintain an inventory of buyers, MSMEs, and business opportunities with limited access to finance and markets for the training and capacity building. 
• Facilitate market linkages between cooperatives, farmers, SMEs, and reliable buyers, including B2B meetings, fair contract negotiation, and product aggregation. 
• Support farmers, youth, cooperatives, and agribusinesses to develop or expand farm-based MSMEs through enterprise planning, financial literacy, digital skills, risk management, and access to BFIs (banks and financial institutions). 
• Strengthen the capacity of cooperatives and borrowers in loan documentation, understanding loan terms, repayment planning, and the effective use of financial products and services. 

Collaboration, Partnership and Resource Leveraging (15%) 

• Coordinate with local governments, Heifer teams, BFIs, MFIs, insurance companies, agri-tech/fintech firms, private sector actors, buyers, investors, and value chain stakeholders. 
• Develop inclusive partnership models such as cooperative-bank partnerships, contract farming, out-grower schemes, joint ventures, buyback guarantees, MoUs, and risk-sharing arrangements. 
• Facilitate exposure visits, networking events, trade fairs, and co-design meetings to promote learning, investment, and inclusive business development. 
• Advocate for farmer-friendly financial systems, simplified documentation, improved trust between farmers and BFIs, and reduced transaction costs. 
• Leverage public, private, and philanthropic resources to support enterprise growth, dairy sector development, and market system strengthening. 

Monitoring, Review, Documentation and Reporting (10%) 

• Conduct regular field visits to monitor project progress, financial tool adoption, loan disbursement, utilization, repayment, business growth, and partnership performance. 
• Track income improvement, employment generation, borrower feedback, market deals, bankable business plans, and success stories. 
• Maintain updated records on producers, production, yield, marketable quantities, buyers, cooperatives, financial institution linkages, and training participation. 
• Prepare field visit notes, event reports, monthly progress reports, repayment trend analysis, and recommendations for improvement. 
• Ensure reports include disaggregated participant data, key outcomes, challenges, lessons learned, and follow-up actions for the regional and LAGANI Signature Program through Project Manager. 

May perform other job-related duties as assigned (5%) 

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Bachelor's degree from a recognized university in Economics, Agriculture, Management, Agribusiness, or a related field with Three (3) years of relevant work experience. Or a master’s degree in the above subjects, plus at least two (2) years of relevant experience.

• Experience in supporting and monitoring field-based programs. 

• Proven experience in financial inclusion, access to finance, engagement with private sector stakeholders and financial institutions. 

• Technical experience in value chain competitiveness, investment promotion, or agriculture/livestock development.  

• Track record of building agriculture market linkage, strong client and stakeholder relationships. 

• Understanding financial procedures and expertise in facilitating loans and investment effectively. 

• Strong interpersonal/people management skills and excellent oral and written communication skills with proficiency in English and other local languages are a must 

• Proficient in Microsoft Office tools, especially Excel and PowerPoint for data analysis, documentation, and presentation. 

• Strong marketing, financial analysis, and management skills. 
• Ability to create innovative and unique solutions as per requirement. 

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES AND TRAITS: 

• Ability to prepare accurate, well-structured, and professional reports, documents, and presentations with close attention to detail.
• Work effectively across cross-functional teams and with diverse stakeholders, including implementing partners and field staff, while contributing to a networked way of working.
• Handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion and in accordance with organizational policies.
• Manage multiple priorities, work independently, and deliver quality results with minimal supervision.
• Respond to effectively changing priorities and operational needs in a dynamic work environment.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively to rural and remote project locations
• Demonstrating behaviors that promote collaboration, accountability, and sustainable development.
• Demonstrated respect for diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender equality
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and digital collaboration tools.
• Commitment to continuous learning and knowledge sharing.