Innovation Lead

Position Summary:

Karandaaz Pakistan is seeking an Innovation Lead with a strong background in digital financial services sector. The individual selected would interface with stakeholders and partners to build a relationship for successful design, development and deployment of innovative digital financial projects serving excluded populations. The incumbent will assist the Director DFS (Digital Financial Services) and be responsible for managing project teams to execute innovative DFS projects. Furthermore, the individual will support the senior management in identifying innovative opportunities for partnerships that will be critical in shaping the Digital Financial Services landscape of Pakistan.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work with digital financial service providers & stakeholders across the industry to identify strategic opportunities and develop innovative initiatives aligned with the DFS programme’s core objectives
• Support digital financial service providers to develop commercially viable business models for digital financial services that will create a positive social impact
• Lead projects and run workshops which provide hands-on support to the industry, in order to foster practitioners and thought leaders in the areas of commercially sustainable and socially impactful digital financial services
• Build providers capacity to promote the sustainable development of the industry with a focus on commercially viable and scalable digital financial services that have the potential to reach underserved & excluded populations
• Identify and support digital financial innovations that augment the delivery of health, agriculture, and sanitation services to low income households
• Identify opportunities to improve government subsidy programs using digital payment technologies
• Support in the development of TORs and SOWs, in line with Karandaaz procurement policies, to engage subject specialists as per the requirement of different projects
• Effective project management and timely collaboration between vendors and various internal stakeholders
• Any other task as assigned by the line manager

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education and Experience

• Master’s Degree in Business or related fields required from a renowned national or international university.
• Minimum 10 years of professional experience required with at least 8 years of relevant experience in the financial services sector.
• Experience in leading and working with a range of clients, colleagues, consultants, and other partners with a broad exposure to private and public stakeholders
• Deep understanding of the digital financial services industry (mobile money, branchless banking, payment services etc)
• Past experience in the design and execution of innovative projects relevant to financial services sector
• Experience managing complex projects and teams for high quality on-time and on-budget delivery.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to communicate large and complex ideas and recommendations to a diverse set of stakeholders.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Ability to think out of the box and solve critical project management issues and communicate recommendations to a disparate group of stakeholders.
• Must be self-driven, highly organized and able to work and deliver in a diverse team and start-up environment

DEADLINE:

Note: Interested individuals, with a deep understanding of the digital financial services industry (mobile money, branchless banking, payment services etc), can send their resumes to hr@karandaaz.com.pk mentioning the position title in the subject line.