MicroLoan Foundation
Volunteer - Zambia
Job Specification – June 2013
Job Specification
Volunteer
Hours: 40 hour week, with the occasional need to work overtime
Location: Based in MicroCredit FoundationZambiain Chipatabut travelling to other Zambian branches across the Eastern Province.
Reporting to: Sara Bowcutt, Head of Fundraising, and working closely with Zambia CEO Kenson Chiphaka and other local staff.
The Charity:
MicroLoan exists to reduce poverty and inequality in Africa. The organisation provides specialised microfinance services and training programmes to poor women in Malawi and Zambia and has ambitious plans to increase its outreach further across the continent. MicroLoan has pioneered an innovative and sustainable microfinance model suited to remote rural areas and for people most in need in the community.
The organisation enables women to work their way out of poverty by providing opportunities to develop lifelong skills, access vital financial services and establish sustainable small businesses. This integrated approach has the capability to improve the quality of life for women and their families. Crucially, MicroLoan works at the grassroots, with people who are usually ignored by other organisations in this sector because of their needs or location.
The charity employs around 180 staff, with eight based in London HQ.
Role
Reporting to the Head of Fundraising (who is based in London) the role will support the charity’s new partnership with Lendwithcare.org and obtain powerful case studies and images to use on the platform.
Lendwithcare.org is an initiative from CARE International which allows people to lend a small amount of money to people in developing countries who want to work their way out of poverty with a small loan. Through lendwithcare.org you can choose which entrepreneur you wish to support and your money is repaid, you can then decide whether to reinvest in another entrepreneur or even withdraw your repaid loan.
MicroLoan is a new Lendwithcare.org partner and as such is required to collect, edit and upload case studiesabout our clients to the Lendwithcare.org website for visitors to the site tolend money to. These loans are then passed directly to the individual client who, over an agreed schedule, pays back the loan.
The role will require the candidate to spend up to 6 months living and working in Zambia, travelling to branches and into our areas of operations in order to meet with clients and collect these case studies and images.
The role will also create and then provide training on case study creation for the Lendwithcare.org partnership to our local staff.
Key Responsibilities include:
Case Studies:
You will visit MicroLoan braches and client groups across Zambia to obtain a large number of relevant stories of individual women that can be used to give details of the impact of our work to prospective Lendwithcare.org lenders.
The information gathered must then be compiled into short but engaging case studies which are then uploaded to the Lendwithcare.org website. As a minimum this information will cover; loan amount, loan term, their name, their business plans, how their business will improve their lives, their loan amount in USD.
Working with MicroLoan Loan Officers (LO’s) appropriate clients for inclusion will be selected.LO’s will also support you in including total loan amount and anticipated schedule of repayments to the website.
Updates on these case studies will also be collated in time and uploaded to the Lendwithcare.org website meaning you will continue to interact with the MicroLoan clients you meet.
Photography
Photographs must accompany each case study and follow MicroLoan brand guidelines. A camera will be provided.
Training for LO’s
Once a 6 month trial period for our relationship with Lendwithcare.org is completed, we aim to hand over responsibility for case studies, image collection and upload to Microloan LO’s across Zambia.
Part of this role will be to develop and provide training on this process to LO’s in order to maintain quality levels after the handover.
This may entail further travel in Zambia and will be supported by the Head of Fundraising and Lendwithcare.org if appropriate.
Reviewing of progress / progress reports
You may also be required to provide information and reports on the progress and impact of the Lendwithcare.org initiative.
Transport:
MicroLoan has its own transport, but given the demands on resources, it is likely that travel to branches would be undertaken on local transport and from the branches on motorcycles into the rural areas. A safety helmet will be provided and appropriate insurance is in place.
Skills Required
Essential
-Excellent written skills
-Photography skills
-Excellent IT skills
-Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with a wide range of individuals including MicroLoan clients and staff.
-Ability to adapt to changing environments and willingness to spend up to 6 months in Zambia.
-Resourceful with ability to work on an individual basis & take ownership of his/her respective area
Desirable
-Knowledge of online databases and/or content management systems would be a plus
-An understanding of microfinance, poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and/or the international development sector, and desire to learn more.
Terms
This is a voluntary, unpaid position, however travel and living costs as well as subsistence allowance will be covered by MicroLoan.
We will need this role to be filled by asap and are looking to interview shortlisted candidates week beginning 1st July.
To apply
Please send your CV and a covering letter explaining your suitability to the role and the soonest date you could travel to Zambia to by 28th June 2013.