Investment Analyst- Agriculture job at Soluti Finance East Africa Limited

JOB DETAILS:
Soluti Finance East Africa Limited “SOLUTI” is a regional social impact investment company that provides sustainable, market responsive financial solutions and technical assistance to organizations in the Eastern Africa region for over 29 years. We are an affiliate of Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et I’Investissement (SIDI) based in the East African région.

SOLUTI offers a complete range of services adapted to the needs of its partners. To do this, we rely on a committed team based in Kampala. Soluti is committed to causing positive change in the vulnerable populations through providing credit facilities and capacity building/Technical Assistance to Microfinance institutions, (MFIs), Savings and credit co-operatives (SACCOs), Small and Medium Enterprises (in Agriculture).Overall, Soluti aims for a strong additionality and positive social and environmental impacts, in return for an expected level of risk and financial return in the medium to long term.

SOLUTI seeks to recruit an Investment Analyst-Agriculture who will be responsible for the performance of the Institutional Agriculture loan portfolio and assisting in the management and provision of technical advice and capacity building to SMEs, micro finance and non-microfinance partners in the areas where SOLUTI operates.
The Investment Analyst-Agriculture reports to the Operations Manager but works closely with other SOLUTI staff.

Key responsibilities for the job:
• Market and promote agricultural related activities of SOLUTI in the region.
• Identification and appraisal of potential Agriculture SMEs, Producer Organizations and Co-operatives for financing as per SOLUTI’s eligibility criteria.
• Identification and appraisal of potential and existing Microfinance Institutions involved in agribusiness value chain financing as per SOLUTI’s eligibility criteria.
• To grow the agriculture value chain portfolio as per set targets and conduct comprehensive reviews for its growth in the region.
• Undertake periodic review of the Company’s Agricultural lending portfolio to ensure its continued relevance to smallholder farmers, prepare recommendations and action plan.
• Identify and recommend other technical service providers along the value chains for Strategic partnerships.
• Identify capacity building needs and recommend possible assistance for partners within the available resources.
• Monitoring onsite and offsite the performance of the Microfinance partners involved in Agricultural value chain lending to ensure that they operate according to microfinance sound practices.
• Provide technical reports on the performance of the partners Appraised/monitored to guide management decision making.
• Contribute to ensuring that SOLUTI has a high portfolio quality at all times.
• Assist in providing technical support to partners in areas where they performance gaps have been identified.
• Prepare agriculture related reports as per different stakeholder requests and agreements.
• Assist in the implementation and revision of SOLUTI’s policies and procedures together with tools to appraise and monitor the performance and impact of the partners.
• Contribute to the Promotion of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) amongst all partners in the region.
• Any other business that may be assigned to him from time to time.

Minimum Requirements
The Investment Analyst must possess the following:
• A good University degree in Agribusiness Management/ BSc. Agriculture from a recognized University.
• A postgraduate qualification in business / finance fields is an added advantage.
• Must demonstrate knowledge, skills and experience in managing Agriculture lending operations and capacity building programmes at a senior level in a credible financial institution.
• He/She is expected to be a proactive team player and strong strategic thinker with a minimum of 7 years’ experience in operations management function (specifically in Agriculture related) in a financial institution.
• Training of trainers’ skills, consultancy skills, strong and high-level technical skills in operations management supported by excellent understanding of Agriculture lending best practices at both the local and international level is added advantage.
• The Investment Officer- Agriculture should be conversant and ready to use various analytical tools to measure, evaluate and interpret institutional performance at all levels.

Other skills:
The Investment Analyst-agriculture should have capacity to work independently in developing and implementing action plans guided by the company’s key Strategic objectives with minimal supervision. He/She must be available and willing to travel extensively within the region, with excellent communication, writing and interpersonal skills.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 84

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree