General

Description of assignment title: Access to Finance Expert

Assignment country: Rwanda

Duty stations: Kigali

Work location: UN Premises

Expected start date: 04/30/2026

Duration: 12 months(with possibility of extension)

Sustainable Development Goal: 2. Zero hunger

Host entity: IFAD Rwanda

Modality: Onsite

Type: International

Volunteer category: Expert (2025)

Work arrangement: Full-time

Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives:

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an International Financial Institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation. The East and Southern Africa Division (ESA) covers 22 countries. The drive towards aid effectiveness and harmonization and support that is given to Joint Assistance Strategies, and the One UN initiative is an important focus of the Division's work. IFAD's goal in the regions is to enable rural poor people to gain the skills, knowledge, organization and build assets that they need to take full advantage of markets and economic opportunities, engage with service providers, and participate in local development processes. Focus is increasingly being put on catalysing private investment, creating employment opportunities for rural youth and adapting to climate change. The IFAD Country Office (ICO) in Rwanda is instrumental to achieving IFAD's Mission to "be an effective and recognized partner for rural poverty al-levitation" in line with its Vision "to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger" in Rwanda.

Context:

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)'s Rwanda portfolio comprises four sovereign projects and four non-sovereign operations (NSOs) in the pipeline, aimed at enhancing productivity, climate resilience, market access, and inclusive financing. The Kayonza Irrigation and Integrated Watershed Management Project Phase 2 (KIIWP2) expands irrigation, watershed management, and farm business development in drought-prone Kayonza. The Project for Resilient and Inclusive Small Livestock Markets (PRISM) strengthens climate-smart small livestock systems in 15 districts. The Rwanda Dairy Development Project Phase 2 (RDDP2) transforms the dairy sector through productivity, value-chain efficiency, and climate mitigation. The Programme to Support Agricultural Commercialisation (PSAC) supports climate-resilient, export-driven value chains through improved production, infrastructure, and market linkages. The non-sovereign operations (NSOs) will complement these efforts: the Africa Rural Climate-Adaptation Finance Mechanism (ARCAFIM) scales climate-adaptation finance; the Dairy Interventions for Mitigation and Adaptation (DaIMA) promotes low-emission dairy systems; Agricultural Development Company (AgDevCo) provides long-term capital to agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises; and the Farmers' Organization Financing Program - Rwanda (FOFP-R) expands blended finance for farmer organisations. Together, they leverage private capital, strengthen cooperatives, and reinforce sovereign project outcomes.

Task description:

• Under the direct supervision of the Country Director, the UN Volunteer will provide technical assistance, advisory services, and mentoring to strengthen financial inclusion and rural finance systems across SPIU-managed projects. Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following:
• Support project implementation and supervision, through the preparation of, participation in and reporting on IFAD-led implementation support and supervision missions of active projects. This entails contributions to the development of mission terms of references (ToRs), co-leading assessment of selected project components, drafting of report sec-tions, and discussing mission reports with IFAD internal reviewers.
• Act as a focal point for Access to Finance and Private Sector engagement by reviewing and strengthen project financial inclusion strategies, ensuring alignment with IFAD and government fiduciary requirements.
• Review country programmes Annual Work Plan and Budget and Procurement Plans
• Monitor execution of Country Programme implementation and compliance to key per-formance indicators/parameters
• Support compliance of projects and country programmes with IFAD corporate level poli-cies, such as the Operational Results Management System (ORMS), Annual reviews, Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) Review, Mid-Term Reviews (MTRs), etc.
• Give tailored implementation support to projects between mission, and follow up on agreed actions from supervision missions and discuss with the project management teams how to address issues and shortcomings in a timely manner.
• Work closely with the CD on country strategic aspects, such as reporting towards the IFAD contributions to the national UN framework and its objectives, engagement in do-nor /sector working groups (especially in line with your specialisation), support portfolio level reflection in line with the valid IFAD country strategies.
• In line with your skill set and the portfolio needs strengthen thematic partnerships with relevant donor agencies, private sector and academia, to introduce required skills/knowledge/assistance and co-investment into the portfolio.
• Support the daily operational work of project management, by reviewing project requests as appropriate and in line with your background and experience.
• Support the knowledge agenda by generating technical inputs (papers/posters/blog posts) to showcase lessons from the portfolio.
• Support cross-country learning within the region, through technical presentations and ap-propriate communication of findings from missions / project analysis.
• Support project design, as required and appropriate: this entails the contribution to the process of project design documentation, participation in design missions and follow-up with government and other stakeholders on relevant communications/documentation.
• Support and co-lead project completion and ensure appropriate reporting on project's achievements toward set development objectives in line with IFAD and government re-quirements.
• Support preparation of senior management visits to the country and potential participate.
• Support thematic events and workshops and participate and potentially co-lead sessions.
• Support the reporting on events in appropriate channels within IFAD.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80

Required experience: 7 years

Donor priorities:

• .

Nationality: Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.

Additional eligibility criteria:

• This assignment is funded by the Government of Luxembourg, and therefore specific criteria apply:
• Applicants must be Luxembourg nationals or have been resident in Luxembourg for a minimum of five years. A copy of the passport must be uploaded in the passport section. Non‑Luxembourg nationals must also upload a residence certificate as proof of five years of residency.
• AGE AND EXPERIENCE
• Category: UN Youth Volunteer / UN Volunteer Associate
• Applicants must not exceed 30 years of age at the time of application.
• Note: As of 1 April 2026, the assignment category name will change from UN Youth Volunteer to UN Volunteer Associate.
• Category: UN Volunteer Specialist
• Applicants must not exceed 35 years of age at the time of application.
• Applicants must possess either a master's degree with at least three years of relevant experience or a bachelor's degree with at least five years of relevant experience.
• Category: UN Volunteer Expert
• Applicants must possess either a master's degree with at least seven years of relevant experience or a bachelor's degree with at least ten years of relevant experience.
• -Candidates may apply to a maximum of three assignments per advertisement. Please indicate the order of preference in the 'Additional remarks' section, including country and title of assignment.
• - Application deadline: 15 February 2026
• SELECTION
• - Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. The selection will be done by the UN Host Entity at the level of the country of assignment. Interviews will be conducted by UN Host Entities in March 2026.
• +++ UN Volunteer entitlement calculator: https://app.unv.org/calculator +++

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience:

• 7 years

Languages:

• English, Level: Fluent, Required
• French, Level: Fluent, Desirable

Required education level:

• Master's degree in Development Studies, Agricultural Economics, Business Administration and Management, Climate Finance, Banking, development studies, or other relevant discipline related to agricultural development and rural finance with a focus or demonstrated interest in Access to Finance.
• Note: A bachelor's degree + 10 years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of master's degree.

Competencies and values:

• ☒ Accountability
• ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility
• ☒ Commitment and Motivation
• ☒ Communication
• ☒ Empowering Others
• ☒ Integrity
• ☒ Judgement and Decision-making
• ☒ Leadership
• ☒ Planning and Organizing
• ☒ Professionalism
• ☒ Self-Management
• ☒ Working in Teams

Skills and experience:

• Deep knowledge of financial products for rural development, including lines of cred-it, guarantee schemes, matching grant facilities, blended finance mechanisms, and fee for service models.
• Experience designing and operationalizing innovative financing instruments that ex-pand access to credit for smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and SMEs.
• Experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation, with emphasis on fi-nancial inclusion and market adoption indicators.
• Skilled in developing KPIs and log frames that track loans disbursed, repayment rates, contracts signed, and revenues generated.
• Proven capacity to produce high‑quality written outputs, including analytical papers, reports, financial models, and market studies.
• Strong skills in drafting, editing, and presenting technical and policy documents for diverse stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring and coaching staff, farmer organizations, and SMEs on finan-cial literacy, contract negotiation, and market engagement.
• Ability to develop manuals, and training materials to institutionalize good practices in finance and marketing.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks for finance, trade, and digital platforms, and ability to advise on reforms that reduce barriers for private sector actors.
• Experience coordinating with government, donors, and private sector stakeholders to foster enabling environments for sustainable finance and market systems

Area(s) of expertise:

• Agriculture, Economics and finance, Development programmes

Driving license:

• -

Other information