Job Summary: Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative in Uganda and the direct supervision of the Team Leader- Forestry at FAO Uganda, and that of technical advisor on forest finance and investment, and the technical backstopping of the regional Lead Technical Officer, the programme specialist on SME finance and business development services will work with other programme specialists, and analysts in the implementation of the project.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will support the Technical Advisor on activities related to (i) investment readiness programme (ii) unlocking access to finance for wood-based SMEs at national and sub-national levels.

Tasks and responsibilities:

•    Develop eligibility criteria for selection of SMEs for the investment readiness programme
•    In collaboration with programme analysts, support mobilization, selection, and onboarding of SMEs onto the investment readiness programme.
•    With technical guidance from the Finance and Investment Advisor, develop terms of reference and ensure selection and onboarding of eligible Business Development Support (BDS) service providers to support SME investment readiness program.
•    Review and approve work plans and progress reports by the BDS provider(s).
•    Undertake quality assurance monitoring visits to the SMEs receiving BDS to ensure service delivery as well as provision of necessary technical advice.
•    Collect relevant information and data on business development best practices and lessons learned from the BDS programme and disseminate as part of the knowledge sharing and capacity development efforts.
•    Conduct an in-depth review of specific financial products offered by local financial service providers to identify which products are appropriate for which wood base SMEs (Primary and secondary wood processing SMEs).
•    Assess financial service providers gaps to unlock opportunities for credit sourcing for wood-based SMEs.
•    Support capacity development of partner financial institutions through specific tailored training programs, informed by the training needs assessment.
•    Train and build capacity of banking and non-bank finance professionals on Sustainable financing
•    Through training workshops and seminars, train wood value chain SMEs in business and financial management.
•    Contribute to development of monitoring and evaluation tools to assess project progress in terms of delivering on the goal of enhancing SME access to finance.

Qualifications:

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements:

•    An advanced university degree or equivalent in finance, business administration, economics, or any related field
•    Five years of experience in   providing business advisory support to SMEs and in the field of banking, investment management or SME lending
•    Working knowledge of English (level C)
•    Ugandan National

FAO Core Competencies:

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills:

•    Knowledge and understanding of the financing tools/instruments in support to SMEs investment
•    Experience in addressing challenges to unlock access to finance by SMEs
•    Experience in training banking and non-banking finance professionals and SMEs in business and financial management
•    Knowledge and interest in natural resource/ forestry /wood sector is a plus.
•    Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills
•    Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
•    Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
•    Good level of proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Selection Criteria:

•    Relevant industry certifications in finance are an added advantage.
•    An understanding of the forestry landscape in general.