Associate Director Digital Transformations

About Us

Karandaaz (KRN) believes that every Pakistani deserves to be Financially Included and Economically Empowered. Our mission at Karandaaz is to foster economic growth and create jobs through the financial inclusion of unbanked individuals and unserved enterprises.

Karandaaz Pakistan is a not-for-profit organization, based out of Islamabad, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan under Section 42 of the Companies Act 2017. We are supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Karandaaz is governed by an eminent board that set the strategy of the organization and steers it toward the achievement of its objectives.

Karandaaz Digital

Karandaaz Digital aims to catalyze the financial services industry towards greater financial inclusion by employing cutting-edge innovations and digital solutions for social impact. Karandaaz collaborates across the financial services ecosystem to maximize impact through improved access to digital finance for low-income, rural, and otherwise excluded population segments, especially women. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Karandaaz Digital aims to work with all stakeholders to facilitate the digitalization of government and other payment streams and provide support to innovative digital financial service startups.

Position Summary

The Associate Director Digital Transformations will have the key responsibility of managing the ongoing digital transformation program for the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). In addition to that, the Associate Director will be expected to manage other digital transformation initiatives undertaken by Karandaaz for improving the efficiency of public sector entities.  From a strategic perspective, the aspirant will be expected to identify new opportunities, engage with the relevant stakeholders, and design new project/s and/or programs that can have a large impact in terms of financial inclusion and/or ease of doing business. Passion for women’s financial inclusion and access to financial services for the poor and vulnerable segments of Pakistan, will be the driving force for her/him. The Associate Director will be expected to have strong people management and leadership qualities.

Job Description

• To lead engagement and relationship with SECP on behalf of Karandaaz for digital transformation
• To lead and steer consultants for planning, designing, and delivering technical assistance to SECP.
• Identify opportunities, engage and design interventions that result in digitalization of other public sector entities.
• Develop funding proposals and present them for approval from different stakeholders including internal DFS Projects Forum, DFS Advisory Committee and Donors.
• Work very closely with the Group Head – DFS Projects and other peers in order to create synergies between projects.
• Manage project budgets, reporting, and related documentation including updates to key stakeholders including senior management at partner entity, Karandaaz, and donors.
• Lead and manage development of RFPs for relevant procurement in collaboration with the Karandaaz Procurement team and control the procurement cycle.
• Manage execution and/or implementations directly or through a consulting firm for delivering the desired outcomes and impact.
• Proactively identify risks and mitigate issues head-on
• Develop close relationships with key stakeholders and partners to ensure the pace of execution and eventual transfer of ownership.
• Demonstrate passion for Karandaaz’s mission and alignment with core values.
• Take up any other task necessary to ensure the optimum performance of the Karandaaz Digital Financial Services

Eligibility

A preferred candidate will need to have:

Education & Experience

• A senior executive with a minimum 10 years of work experience in a relevant field with at least 4 years of experience in managing large-scale IT and/or digital transformation
• Minimum Bachelor’s degree from a reputable local or international Institution in a relevant discipline such as but not limited to Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering. Master’s qualification in a relevant discipline will be a plus.
• Experience of directly working in a Technology Consulting firm or within the Technology department/vertical of large-scale organization(s), including preferably regulators or authorities, for developing and managing mission-critical systems.
• Experience of hiring and managing top tier consulting and/or IT solutions companies for delivering transformational projects
• Experience of designing new interventions and creating high quality supporting documentation such as concept paper, business model, funding narrative etc.
• Expert at budget planning, monitoring, controlling and reporting.
• Experience of delivering IT transformational projects for the public sector entities is highly desirable

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Understanding of a not-for-profit organization
• Understanding of the digital financial services ecosystem and an appetite to learn more
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Must be self-driven, highly organized, and able to work and deliver in a diverse team and start-up environment.
• Should have an innovative and solution-oriented approach for effective and quick execution of the projects they are working on.
• Strong stakeholder, project, and vendor management skills.
• Excellent leadership skills to an extent that they should be able to develop a resource in their reporting
• Ability to advise on choosing technology architectures and manage technology vendors

Culture and Values at Karandaaz

Karandaaz Culture is guided by our values of Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, and Equity (ICARE). These values shape our choices on what we do and how we do it, both with colleagues internally and partners externally. We also believe that we are all responsible for creating a great place to work and are constantly looking to hire individuals who bring the same level of passion and commitment to the purpose of the organization.

If you believe in the Karandaaz vision and values and feel excited about the work we are offering, please send us your application for this position at careers@karandaaz.com.pk clearly mentioning the position title in the subject line.

Karandaaz is an equal–opportunity employer and encourages applications by all population groups