International Labour Organization Social Finance Programme 2021 for Young Professionals from Africa & Asia

Applications are invited for the International Labour Organization (ILO) Social Finance Program 2021. The ILO’s Social Finance Program invites applications from qualified professional with expertise in insurance, microfinance and development for inclusion in its Fellowship Program roster for Africa and Asia. The projects are expected to start at the end of 2021, although are contingent on the Covid -19 situation and may be delayed.

The objective of the program is to match qualified professionals with organizations working on the frontiers of impact insurance and financial inclusion, bridge skill gaps and create a new generation of professionals with experience serving low-income populations.
Each Fellow will be placed with a host organization for at least a year to support an innovation project. The project could range from the implementation of a risk management product, public-private partnership, digital solution, or distribution partnership.

Thematic Areas

The project will focus on the following themes:

● Designing integrated risk-management solutions for small enterprises and/or low-income households that bundle insurance with other financial and non-financial services to improve consumers’ ability to manage risk and increase their productivity capabilities.
● Enhancing public-private partnerships that help achieve public policy objectives aligned to the UN’s SDGs, especially those related to decent work, food security, climate change and universal health coverage

Eligibility

The ideal candidates for the fellowship should:

• Have relevant expertise to contribute to insurance and/or microfinance activities;
• Be interested in working in developing countries and in development issues;
• Have serious commitment to providing microinsurance and/or microfinance consulting services or practising as a microinsurance/microfinance professional on an ongoing basis after the assignment;
• Have project management skills;
• Be resourceful and capable of arranging practical necessities related to travel, life and work in a new environment
• Be ready to work in a developing country for the duration of the fellowship

Successful candidates would also have:

• Considerable self-initiative to be a proactive learner and to drive agreed upon activities forward
• The ability to achieve objectives and solve problems independently
• A willingness to challenge existing methods and explore a fresh approach to issues
• Strong social skills and collaborative spirit
• The ability to work effectively and efficiently with staff at all levels of the relevant organization(s)
• A willingness to learn from all of those in the host environment
• A nurturing attitude that enables the fellow to pass on his/her technical expertise to the staff of the host organization.

Eligible Countries: Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia

How to Apply

To apply, complete the application form. Then email the completed application form along with a curriculum vitae and a cover letter to socialfinance@ilo.org by July 25, 2021 23:59 CEST. Please include “Fellowship application” as the subject line of the email. Only submissions that include all three documents will be considered as complete.