Overview
Consultant role to deliver the Plan phase of a project component in Sierra Leone, focusing on strengthening the evidence base and co-designing an intervention framework to promote gender-responsive finance for rural women.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop the diagnostic study, methodology and instruments.
- Conduct desk review, policy mapping and stakeholder mapping.
- Lead field data collection through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and surveys.
- Develop the VSLA maturity and autonomy assessment tool.
- Analyse data and produce the draft diagnostic report.
- Organise the validation workshop and finalise the diagnostic report.
- Develop the value chain and geography selection criteria.
- Conduct rapid screening and propose the value chain and pilot district.
- Facilitate Government and FAO sign-off on the value chain, area and target group.
- Develop the target group and beneficiary selection protocol.
- Convene consultations with women, financial institutions and government.
- Develop exploratory pathways to link women to financial institutions.
- Produce the co-designed pilot package, rollout plan and lean MEL plan.
- Support the Service Provider during inception and early implementation of Component 2 to ensure full handover of deliverables.
Required Experience
- At least five (5) years of relevant professional experience in rural finance with additional expertise in financial inclusion, gender-responsive programming and/or applied research on rural development.
- Demonstrated experience in carrying out assessments of needs and markets for rural finance products and services with focus on rural women's financial inclusion using qualitative (KII, FGD) and (where possible) quantitative (mini-survey) methods, with sex- and age-disaggregated analysis.
- Demonstrated experience working with VSLAs, cooperatives or community-based financial institutions in Sierra Leone or the West Africa region.
- Sound knowledge of Sierra Leone’s financial sector landscape, including the NSFI 2022–2026, the GEWE Act 2022 with 2024 Regulations and the Feed Salone Programme.
Qualifications
Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Finance, Development Studies, Gender and Development, Social Sciences or a related field.
