Aceli Africa
agriculture
Manager,LenderCapacityBuilding
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“Manager, Lender Capacity Building at Aceli Africa. Skills: Lender Capacity Building, Program Management, Stakeholder Management. Lead lender capacity building program strategy.. Translate strategic priorities into actionable workplans.”
Industry & Context.
Analytical rigor: Comfortable with financial data, portfolio diagnostics, and evidence-based program translates complex information into clear recommendations.
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Agricultural Economics, Development Studies, or a related field., A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience, of which at least 4 years must include either advisory experience, or experience working in/ with financial institutions., Demonstrated understanding of agricultural lending practices in sub-Saharan Africa, including agri-SME credit appraisal, loan structuring, and portfolio risk management., Proven project management skills: experience managing multiple simultaneous assignments, external service providers, and client relationships to time and budget., analytical capabilities with the ability to conduct and/or review financial institution diagnostics, interpret portfolio data, and translate findings into actionable recommendations., Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of high-quality reports, engagement briefs, presentations, and terms of reference., Experience managing or contributing to MEL frameworks in advisory or program contexts., Demonstrated ability to engage credibly with senior leadership of financial institutions, including C-suite-level stakeholders.
Nice to Have
Experience at a management consulting firm, specialist advisory firm, or development finance institution with a financial sector advisory mandate., Familiarity with the agri-finance ecosystem in East Africa, including knowledge of key lender segments, regulatory environments, and value chain financing models., Exposure to climate finance, gender-lens lending, or ESG integration in financial institutions., Experience procuring and managing external consultants or technical service providers., Proficiency in data tools such as Excel (advanced), Power BI, or Salesforce for program reporting.
What You'll Do.
Lead lender capacity building program strategy.
Translate strategic priorities into actionable workplans.
Identify and qualify capacity building candidates.
Facilitate development of lender capacity building plans.
Oversee active capacity building engagements.
Coordinate thematic capacity building engagements.
Reshape capacity building strategy periodically.
Issue task order solicitations to providers.
Evaluate proposals against stated criteria.
Oversee task order award processes.
Monitor validity of Master Services Agreements.
Oversee extensions/ modifications to MSAs.
Actively manage provider performance.
Monitor output quality.
Conduct quarterly provider scoring.
Backstop providers where needed.
Own the capacity building MEL framework.
Update and maintain standard templates.
Ensure new engagements deploy standardized MEL tools.
Compile and analyze program-level data.
Manage the capacity building program budget.
Track Aceli contributions and lender co-investments.
Review and approve activity-based budgets.
Provide periodic budget updates and forecasts.
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Collaborates closely with Country Teams, Impact & Learning, Product, Finance and Procurement.; Works effectively across diverse internal teams and navigates organizational complexity with maturity and diplomacy.
Communication Scope
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of high-quality reports, engagement briefs, presentations, and terms of reference.
Process & Methodology
Proven project management skills: experience managing multiple simultaneous assignments, external service providers, and client relationships to time and budget., Disciplined project manager capable of coordinating a diverse range of stakeholders., Coordinate project management meetings (steering committee meetings, etc).
Full Job Description
Aceli Africa is a market catalyst mobilising over $2 billion in private-sector lending for agricultural SMEs and improving livelihoods for 5 million farmers and workers by 2030. Aceli provides financial incentives to increase the risk appetite of 55+ financial institutions (both global and local) to make loans of USD $10K–$1.5M to high-impact agricultural SMEs, complemented by technical assistance to build lender and SME capacity and by data and learning to strengthen the policy and regulatory environment. Since launching in September 2020, Aceli has mobilised $460M in lending to SMEs, providing market access for 2.3M smallholder farmers across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Aceli Africa has developed partnerships with leading bilateral and philanthropic donors, including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gates Foundation, Global Affairs Canada, IKEA Foundation, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Manager, Lender Capacity Building will lead the strategy, and continuous improvement of Aceli's lender capacity building program, which supports Aceli’s lending partners to grow and deepen their agricultural SME lending portfolios. The program operates through a pre-qualified panel of specialist advisory firms delivering bespoke and cohort-based technical engagements to commercial banks, Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs), and SACCOs. The Manager will oversee the full Capacity Building program cycle: from lender pipeline development and engagement design, to delivery oversight, monitoring and evaluation, and program-level learning. The role necessitates extensive external collaboration and requires a disciplined project manager capable of coordinating a diverse range of stakeholders. The Manager is expected to exercise sound professional judgment in program design, execution, and continuous quality assurance. The role reports to the Assoc
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