East Africa Sustainable Finance Consultant
The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Headquartered in New York City, with offices throughout the United States and worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers.
Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Finance Initiative aims to
- Increase access to finance for SMEs in the agriculture, forestry, tourism and climate sectors; and
- Engage the financial community in understanding and valuing the risk-mitigation benefits of sustainability and certification.
Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) is seeking a consultant to analyze the Rainforest Alliance agricultural producers in East Africa and support linking them with financial institutions and technical assistance development opportunities. The goal is to enable smallholders to access finance for short-term capital and long-term sustainability investments, thereby enabling them to enhance biodiversity and improve their livelihoods.
This consultant will be responsible for the evaluation of the smallholder value chains, development of a financial model reflecting smallholder economics, the identification and linking of producer groups (cooperatives) with financial parties and overall strategy development for East Africa producer credit acquisition.
- Develop smallholder client credit profiles and credit financial models;
- Analyze group organizational strength, financial condition, available access to finance, sustainability improvements costs and loan repayment ability;
- Link Rainforest Alliance smallholder producers to potential financial parties and value chain financial sources;
- Support producer groups in credit application and acquisition;
- Develop long-term loan structure for sustainability improvements;
- Support financial model capacity training for RA staff and partners in cocoa sector;
- Develop and support financial institution outreach events in East Africa; and
- Design strategy for smallholder financing based on learning from pilot.
We are seeking a talented MBA student who is passionate about Rainforest Alliance’s mission of preserving biodiversity and enhancing livelihoods in developing countries through increasing access to small-medium enterprise (SME) finance. You should be committed full-time to your responsibilities during the program term, and be willing and able to travel to the field location.
The ideal candidate will also be a self-starter and problem solver, be able to work independently, have experience working in a multicultural team and/or in a developing country environment; and enjoy new cultures and environments.
Required:
- Proven track record in project implementation, strategic planning, business modeling, and partnership development;
- Advanced ability in Excel financial modeling and template development;
- Excellent presentation skills and written communication skills;
- Experience in developing countries;
- Able to multitask and work with a variety of stakeholders;
- Energetic, flexible, and able to work in an international start-up team across 3 continents; and
- Experience with economic development projects and agricultural value chains a plus.
Business Travel Needs: Kenya (Nairobi and rural areas) and possibly other East African countries, July 2013
Compensation and support for travel will be negotiated with the person based on what type of support they could attain from their academic institution or other grant sources.
Please submit cover letter and resume to mbuckles@ra.org with 'East Africa MBA Consultant' in the subject line.
In your email please indicate your interest in the consultancy and your resources for supporting this type of internship made available through your academic institution.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and will end when a suitable candidate is selected.
Ideally the consultant will start in late May or early June 2013. Travel to East Africa July 2013
The Rainforest Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.