Director, Digital Financial Services

Background:

Karandaaz Pakistan (“Company”) is a not-for-profit company, set up by UK’s Department for International Development (“DFID”).  Incorporated in 2014, Company promotes access to finance for small businesses through a commercially directed investment platform, and financial inclusion for individuals by employing technology enabled digital solutions.   Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (“BMGF”) has set up a Digital Financial Services Unit within Company for increasing the reach of financial services through the use of innovative digital technologies.  The objectives of DFS unit, all of which are aimed at poor, rural, or otherwise excluded population segments are to: 1) Drive government payments onto digital platforms and develop new digital payment use cases for the public sector; 2) Work with commercial providers to test new digital payment innovations; 3) Conduct regulatory and policy analysis and advocacy to address the remaining policy barriers to digital financial inclusion; and 4) Create public goods to accelerate diffusion of best practices.

Position Summary:

Director will lead the business of digital financial services unit of Company for meeting the unit’s objectives.  S/he will lead the work with partners for conceiving and implementing projects for digitization of a core set of G2P and P2G payment streams with accompanying payment system changes in a country.  The Director will supervise piloting of new innovations and experiments with partners which can help in increasing the reach of digital financial services and, policy & regulatory work for providing insights to market and regulators.  The position will require management of multiple stakeholders including senior government officials, business executive and sponsors.  The Director is expected to align organizational and strategic decisions, at the senior management level, within partner entities to achieve DFS objectives.  This position will manage resources, budget and key relationships with partners for success.

Job Description

• Work with senior executives in the telecom, government and regulatory organizations within the country to create an implementation roadmap to strengthen existing DFS platform or deploy a newly designed platform or components that enable digital financial services that work for poor people and are secure, robust and effective.
• Design new initiatives and projects which are aligned with the objectives of the DFS unit
• Manage and implement DFS work plan in line with BMGF guidelines, Karandaaz Board approvals, keeping in view project budget and available resources
• Identify and mobilize national stakeholders who may be of strategic or tactical importance to the success of the initiative. 
• Create and leverage strong relationships and networks both in-country and regionally.  Manage country efforts with cultural acuity.
• Help the Execution of multiple projects with the implementation teams in different partner entities. 
• Responsible for team management; identifying and onboarding staff, assessing staff capacity and capability needed to support strategic priorities, monitor staff deployment and workload across the team.
• Serve as thought partner to country and global sponsors of the DFS initiative.  Stay abreast of and share developments in country that may impact initiative activities or outcomes.   

Candidate Profile

• Master’s Degree in Engineering, Business Administration or equivalent
• 10-15 years of relevant experience in the digital financial sector/ Telecom Sector or equivalent with a strong understanding of digital financial services especially in developing countries
• Senior leadership and project management experience in implementing digital financial sector projects in multiple geographies
• An expert in digital financial services policy, regulation and supervision, with a strong engagement at country level combined with global expertise and influence
• International experience of working in DFS space would be an added advantage
• In keeping with the nature of the company we are looking for people who are entrepreneurial, energetic, creative, big picture strategic thinkers, and able to get things done.
• Ability to influence and inspire other senior managers in the company
• Demonstrated record of success in managing team with diverse skills on highly complex and risky, business critical problems in developing economies.
• Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills
• Should be proficient in understanding stakeholder needs and expectations, analyzing the impact of the projects, gaining and maintaining stakeholder support, managing stakeholder communications, and mitigating / channeling stakeholder resistance.  

Note: Karandaaz is a equal opportunity employer. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview. Candidates for this position will be shortlisted and interviewed on a rolling basis.