Programme Officer – Financial Inclusion

Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries

Founded in 1968, Concern Worldwide works in 25 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean with its headquarters in Ireland. Active in Malawi since 2002, Concern’s vision, our mission and our work are all defined by one goal – ending extreme poverty, whatever it takes. Concern strives for a world free from poverty, fear and oppression. Our culture is values driven and we believe that our people are central to all that we do and are key to delivering on our goal of Reaching the Furthest Behind First. We are committed to ensuring a workplace where everybody feels valued and are enabled to succeed in their work and contribute to delivering on our mission.

Concern invites applications from interested candidates qualified for the following full-time position:

Programme Officer – Financial Inclusion (1 Vacancy)

Contract Duration: Fixed Term One (1) Year Contract

Duty Station: Kasiya, Lilongwe Rural

Job Summary

The Programme Officer – Financial Inclusion’s role is to coordinate, implement, and facilitate Concern Worldwide’s village savings and loan (VS&L) activities within the Food Systems for Food Security (FS4FS) project at the household, community, and district levels. The Programme Officer will directly support the implementation and work with Concern Malawi local partners and project beneficiaries to ensure VS&L groups are established, trained, mentored, and successfully linked to formal financial systems. The Programme Officer will also plan and implement training activities at the community level and to monitor project progress and overall household welfare.

Responsibilities and Tasks

Project Implementation and Community Facilitation

• In collaboration with the Concern Worldwide District team, identify and facilitate the formation of VS&L groups, ensuring the most vulnerable are targeted.
• Contribute to the development of locally appropriate training curricula and visual IEC materials for VS&L groups, with a focus on financial literacy and business development.
• Integrate subjects of gender equality, social inclusion, nutrition and HIV & AIDS into the VS&L training curriculum and daily activities.
• Assist VS&L groups with organizational planning and individual beneficiaries with business development plans.
• Facilitate experience-sharing meetings between groups and clusters across communities and districts.

 Financial Services and Linkages

• Build and maintain relationships with Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) and other financial service providers.
• Identify potential financial services and products (e.g., insurance, digital platforms, loans) suitable for smallholder farmers and farmer associations.
• Facilitate linkages between MFIs and smallholder farmers and support the maturing of VS&L groups to aid their transition into formal financial institutions.
• Explore other financial inclusion actors, challenges, and opportunities to improve access to finance for project beneficiaries.

Training and Capacity Building

• Facilitate the election of Village Agents/Community-Based Trainers (CBTs) from VS&L group memberships to support clusters of groups.
• Conduct comprehensive training for all new CBTs to ensure they fully understand the VS&L methodology.
• Hold regular meetings with CBTs to ensure a harmonized and high-quality implementation of the programme.
• Support the development of necessary steps for VS&L members to access formal institutions, such as creating business plans and promoting regular savings.

Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation

• Monitor project progress towards achieving financial inclusion goals and provide regular reports to project teams and management on achievements and challenges.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of tools and methods for measuring the impact of financial inclusion interventions.
• Ensure all project documentation and reporting includes financial systems development considerations and that financial inclusion-related data is collected and analysed.
• Prepare and present regular training and progress reports
• Facilitate an annual member survey using digital data gathering (DDG) devices.
• Develop a checklist for regular Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and produce case studies on the impact of VS&L at the household level.
• Promote Concern Worldwide’s Feedback Complaints Response Mechanism (FCRM) widely within the targeted communities, in collaboration with the Local area committee, MEAL team and Programme Manager
• Document and disseminate lessons learned with partners and within Concern Worldwide Malawi.

Coordination

• Coordinate the planning and implementation of all activities in assigned TAs
• Ensure targets are met and lessons learned are documented and shared.
• Facilitate the formation of VS&L clusters and participate in regular meetings of these clusters.
• Facilitate and participate in cross-learning visits with other organizations implementing VS&L

Crosscutting Roles

• Actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle
• Participate and contribute towards Concern’s Emergency response and Comply with Concern’s health, safety and security guidelines during emergencies
• Adhere to, support and promote the standards of conduct outlined in the Concern Code of Conduct & its Associated Policies
• Uphold and promote Concern’s values, including our workplace equality, diversity and inclusion values

Qualifications

• A Degree in the field of Community Development, Microfinance, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, Sociology or relevant field
• At least three years of experience in a similar role working on VS&Ls and financial inclusion within communities with proven experience in adult learning; coaching, mentoring and social work; capacity-building for CBOs and other local partners and practical use of participatory approaches
• Good understanding of community-based approaches
• Demonstrate cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Strong interpersonal, communication and report writing skills
• Good written and spoken English and Chichewa
• Able and willing to ride a motorcycle

How To Apply

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, should send their CV (Maximum 3 pages and including three professional referees) and Cover Letter to malawi.hr@concern.net with the subject of the email as “Programme Officer – Financial Inclusion’’. The deadline for applications is Thursday, 4^th September 2025. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview.

Concern is an equal opportunities employer. Qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.