Background / General description:
The mission of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC has launched the Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa
(PEP Africa), a new approach to technical assistance in Africa. In January 2008 IFC formally launched the Africa Leasing Facility to introduce and promote the role of leasing as an innovative and alternative financial mechanism for businesses in West and Central Africa, facilitating access to finance for SMEs. The Facility offers a combination of AS and IFC financing tools to the banks and leasing companies. The main goal of the Facility is to increase the volume of lease transactions carried out in the region. The Facility is designed around three core products that are provided individually or as part of a package depending on country needs: 1)    Entry level advisory services addressing legislative and regulatory constraints for leasing at the regional level, and tax issues at country level, in combination with a broad public education campaign. The Facility also promotes building or strengthening of local leasing associations as key drivers of a sustainable leasing industry in Africa. 2)    Value added advisory services broadening the range of services to match the needs of the market and build capacity of lessors. The Facility is partnering with a selected number of experienced leasing technical partners to provide know how transfer, capacity building and financing. 3)    Mobilization of Investment capital addressing the availability of medium to long term capital to fund leasing operations in the region. The program facilitates partnerships between technical partners and prospective local and international investors interested in entering the leasing market in target countries. The program targets multi stakeholders, financial institutions, business associations, equipment suppliers, tax authorities, regulators, the judiciary, local business development providers, educational institutions, local media and others. The ALF hub is based in Dakar to ease regional outreach, covering a set of countries such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. The Africa Leasing Facility is looking for a dynamic, outgoing and organized Operations Officer who would contribute to the roll out of the Africa Leasing Facility across target countries. The selected candidate will (i) Act as liaison for ALF with Afro-Lease (Africa Leasing Association); (ii) Oversee ALF’s follow-up activities in Tanzania and Rwanda (iii) Act as team leader for the ALF programs in Sierra Leone and Liberia; (iv) Act as the legal resource on the ALF team, analyzing commercial laws and policies, drafting Leasing Laws and regulations and help develop the investment pipeline in countries where ALF is playing an active role.
Duties and Accountabilities:
Providing policy advice to the local authorities on leasing legislation, regulation and enforcement (through seminars and individual consultations); Developing publications and training materials on leasing for local lessors, lessees and banks; Establishing the content, timing, and target audiences for training sessions and responsibility for their delivery; Lead the implementation/follow on efforts of the ALF program in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Tanzania and other Anglophone countries; Provide legal advisory expertise to the ALF program as well as our clients in the improvement of the regulatory framework; Actively build up the investment pipeline in leasing companies throughout the target countries; Assist the program management in any other duties that may be required.
Selection Criteria:
Master s or equivalent professional degree in a related field such as business management, finance, law or accounting; At least five years or relevant experience especially leasing business experience contributing to knowledge of leasing and financial management; Financial leasing experience in Sub-Saharan Africa; Experience in developing and managing technical assistance, advisory services, or consultancy programs in the area of leasing, preferably in Sub-Saharan African countries; Excellent written, oral and communication skills; Strong analytical, presentation and drafting skills; Excellent organizational and administrative skills; Fluency in English; Strong interpersonal skills, excellent team player with ability to interact tactfully and effectively with clients and staff in a multi-cultural environment; Desire to actively contribute to the program s objectives; Ability to function independently under time pressure and prioritize workload in a fast-paced environment of changing priorities; Good knowledge of IFC/World Bank group policies and procedures (knowledge of IFC project and portfolio processing is a plus).

      Job #:    101405
Title:    Operations Officer-Africa Leasing Facility, Kenya
Job Stream:    Technical Assistance & Advisory Services
Location:    Nairobi, Kenya
Close Date:    25-Jul-2010
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