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Introduction

Karandaaz Pakistan (“Company”), is a not for profit company set up by UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for the implementation of the Enterprise and Asset Growth (EaGR) Program. The company was incorporated in August 2014 and promotes access to finance for small businesses through a commercially directed investment platform, and financial inclusion for individuals by employing technology enabled digital solutions. The company has financial and institutional support from leading international development finance institutions; principally the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a member of the World Bank Group also provides technical support to Karandaaz Pakistan. 

Position Summary

The Policy Lead will be engaged in policy discussions with market actors, Government ministries and relevant departments to contribute to the development of proposals for enhancements in policies to enable the expansion and growth of Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Pakistan. The Policy lead will also work closely with regulators to ensure that their needs are met in respect of developing their skills, knowledge and competencies as regulators.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The Policy Lead will work with other teams in engaging in issue based non-partisan research and advocacy to inform deliberations around the regulatory and policy barriers, provide technical advice or assistance in response to written invitation/request committee from a relevant government agency and focus on facilitating policy development through public-private dialogue and consensus building. Specifically the Policy Lead will:

  • Conduct regulatory and policy analysis to inform deliberations around the remaining policy and regulatory barriers to digital financial inclusion;
  • Identify challenges specific to women gaining access to financial services at the household, retail, and broad market levels;
  • Support market actors and other relevant organisations to identify market constraints that are connected to, or affected by policy and regulation;
  • Work with other teams to design and conduct research into the policy and regulatory barriers to financial inclusion, and a critical review of successful policy and regulatory interventions in other regions that can be replicated or adopted in Pakistan;
  • Develop an advocacy strategy to persuade key stakeholders (government departments, regulators and others) to undertake necessary policy change;
  • Support regulators through the localisation of global learning outputs produced by AFI, CGAP, MicroSave, MMU, and other global learning partners;
  • Support the development of regulatory decision making tools such as geo-spatial tracking systems;
  • Align the agenda of policy and regulatory support work stream with the priorities of the Government;
  • Organize meetings, discussions, presentations, and workshops to inform policy and regulatory deliberations;
  • Contribute to the development of policy briefs and blog posts on policy and regulatory interventions that lead to uptake and usage of digital financial services (especially amongst poor customers), policy and regulatory barriers to digital financial inclusion, and/or relevant developments from other countries;
  • Leverage the Innovation & Incubation work stream to pilot proposed policy changes; and
  • Support stakeholder associations, and participate in the development of key policies in partnership with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

 

Candidate Profile

The qualified candidate should have the following skills and experience:

  • At least 8 years’ experience in a public policy role either by working in a government or regulatory role, or a public policy role in another professional body or in the private sector.
  • Master’s degree in policy, technology, business or related field from a renowned and accredited institute locally or internationally;
  • Senior leadership and project management experience in implementing policy related interventions;
  • Expertise in financial services policy, regulation and supervision, with a strong engagement at country level;
  • Ability to establish priorities and manage a complex workload in order to meet tight deadlines;
  • Ability to build relationships with staff, government officers and key external influencers;
  • Ability to communicate large and complex ideas and recommendations to a diverse set of stakeholders including highly technical and non-technical;
  • Ability to work independently and with considerable discretion but to seek advice as required
  • Excellent national and international networking skills;
  • Excellent writing and presentation skills; and
  • Strong command of oral and written English, and strong working knowledge of Urdu.
Note: Karandaaz is an equal opportunity employer. Only shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview.