New Job Opening at Kiva: Regional Director

February 21, 2011 1 Comment

Position: Regional Director, Africa and the Middle East

Report to: Vice President of Microfinance

Location: San Francisco, CA – Downtown/Mission District

Job Type: Full time with salary plus benefits

About the Organization:

Called the “hottest non-profit on the planet” by FORTUNE magazine and a Top 50 Website by TIME, Kiva (www.kiva.org) is the world’s first person-to-person lending marketplace for the poor. In just 4 years, Kiva has raised $100+ million for 300,000+ entrepreneurs in 50+ countries. Kiva combines the culture and approach of an internet start-up with an intense focus on alleviating global poverty. Kiva is poised to take its initial success to a whole new level – targeting $1 billion in loans by 2015 and expansion into new areas (e.g. student loans, climate change, etc). Headquartered in San Francisco, Kiva’s team has 50+ employees and 500+ volunteers.

Job Description

Kiva is looking for a Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East who will be responsible for ensuring healthy, impactful growth of Kiva’s portfolio in Africa and the Middle East. The Regional Director will set strategy, manage ongoing development of a partner pipeline, conduct and oversee due diligence and monitoring, and collaborate with key microfinance and social enterprise industry players in Africa and the Middle East.

The ideal candidate will be excited to take on ownership of one of Kiva’s most unique regions with all of its attendant potential and challenges. They will be driven to pursue deep social impact through financing of microfinance institutions across the region while bringing a hard headed, nuanced risk management approach. This job will require someone who is willing to dive into the details while also being able to set high-level strategy and effectively manage a growing field team based in Nairobi, Beirut and Dakar.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Manage Regional Team

Kiva has four portfolio staff members based in Africa and the Middle East responsible for sourcing leads, conducting due diligence, monitoring, and relationship management. The Regional Director will be responsible for managing these staff members, and will be in charge of setting individual and team goals, providing support, serving as a bridge between Kiva HQ and the field, and identifying opportunities for career development and growth for all field team members.

Conduct and Oversee Due Diligence

Review due diligence and monitoring reports submitted by field staff members, and provide feedback to regional staff

Conduct on-sight due diligence, as needed

Set Regional Strategy

Collaborate with regional staff to propose and set Kiva’s expansion strategy for Africa and the Middle East on an annual basis.

Work with other Kiva departments to explain regional strategy and provide information for fundraising, public relations, customer service, etc.

Assist with the setup of regional offices in Nairobi and potentially other locations

Oversee Relationship Management

Ensure that knowledge on Africa and Middle East partners is well documented

Be able to serve as a secondary knowledge source to Kiva’s regional staff team on partners

Collaborate with Industry Players by managing relationships with internationally-based microfinance and social enterprise entities working in Africa and Middle East

Manage Risk

Manage watch list of problem partners and ensure adequate monitoring of emerging situations

Liase with Risk Manager, Legal team, and the Vice President of Microfinance on workout credit situations

Mandatory Skills / Qualifications / Experience

5 years or more of professional experience in microfinance, banking, or a management consulting firm

BS/BA degree in business, finance, or economics, MS/MBA is desirable

Knowledge of international microfinance best practices and familiarity with microfinance methodologies in Africa and/or Middle East

Work or volunteer experience in Africa and/or Middle East, especially microfinance or other social enterprise, is highly desirable

Experience in reading and analyzing financial statements

Experience with due diligence and portfolio management analytical tools and methodologies

Strong management skills and ability to deliver results on multiple priorities simultaneously

Strong leadership skills, ability to work collaboratively and present to large groups publicly

Strong interpersonal and speaking skills; disciplined, detail oriented, and accountable

Ability to travel to Africa and the Middle East up to 30% of your time in areas that are safe to visit

Strong understanding of internet based services and Microsoft Office (e.g. Excel and PowerPoint)

Work authorization for the United States of America is required

Comfort interacting in and reading business French is required. Arabic and Swahili are desirable.

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive salary, with growth potential based on performance

Full benefits (e.g. health insurance, 401K match) & fun perks (e.g., friends loving what you do, etc).

Interested? Email cover letter and resume / CV to  investments-RD@kiva.org. Include in the subject line “Regional Director, Africa and the Middle East”

Please do not contact the office directly with any questions or follow-up inquiries.

Due to the number of applicants for this position, we regret that we can only respond to candidates that we would like to interview.

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