VisonFund International (VFI) is seeking a Regional Head for Asia (RH) to lead and manage the execution of VisionFund’s strategy in the region. This includes management of the regional team including Regional Operations Directors, Regional Finance Director, P&C (HR) Business Partner and Regional IT Manager.
The RH must be strong in their Christian faith and be capable of leading a team spiritually, including taking devotions, prayers etc.
The RH is responsible for ensuring the delivery of the ‘double bottom line’ of financial and social performance in the region. The role also involves managing any regional staff who support the RH in capacity-building and oversight of the Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), ensuring proper governance, controls, policies, procedures, and performance targets are achieved.
The position ensures that regional direction and country level strategies and budgets are aligned to the global VFI strategy and tied into the regional and country level WV strategies. He/she will ensure that all growth initiatives are well-managed both at the local and regional levels, and that the foundations for such growth are in place. Therefore capacity-building of staff and ensuring effective controls and processes are in place is a key aspect of the role.
Measures and targets will be established and agreed for each MFI and quarterly reviews held to establish progress and decide upon adjustments and redirection of resources, particularly funding, in consultation with the regional team.
As part of the role, the RH will be the primary point of contact with WV at a senior level. This includes taking part in WV senior leadership meetings for the region.
Be responsible for the performance of the region (Inc. impact, operational, financial, people, response to/clearance of audit findings etc).:
- Supervise MFI CEOs and manage performance expectations in support to local MFI and global VFI priorities, ensuring balanced achievement of MFI double bottomlines of social and financial performance.
- Responsible for ensuring all MFI’s have well-operating boards and are in compliance with local laws, regulatory requirements and WV/VFI policies, procedures and directives.
- Responsible for ensuring clearance of audit findings is driven down to MFI level.
- Ensure that any global priorities for human resources, finance and support services are agreed at the start of each financial year (including timeframes).
- Be responsible for ensuring that regional and global targets are met. The Regional Head will be given the autonomy to decide on allocation of resources as required in the region and particularly when there are emergencies within some countries. Of course, normal monthly reports would need to be provided (as currently) irrespective of emergencies or not.
- Sit on and attend board meetings to represent WV/VFI’s ownership position (strategic boards only).
Manage the Regional team (Regional Finance Director, Regional Operations Directors, Regional P&C, Regional IT) to ensure that MFIs have strong financial and operational management:
- Direct and allocate resources for the region.
- Lead and coordinate the development of long range plan and annual budget for each of the MFI’s in coordination with the VFI Regional Finance Director.
- Review and refine MFI annual plans.
- Oversee and at times challenge the strategic direction of MFIs and with formal periodic reviews.
- Recommend regional targets and programs to meet local WV and VFI goals.
- Ensure that plan/budget variances are well understood by the MFI’s and VFI management and any corrective actions are planned and undertaken.
- Establish “work out” plans when targets are not achieved including analysis of staff capabilities and support institutional building measures to keep the MFI performance back on track.
Regulation and Transformation:
- Where sensible or necessary, support MFIs in developing business cases and seeking approval for transformation of MFI’s into regulated deposit-taking institutions.
- Support MFI CEOs in developing solid relationships with all central banks or other regulators ensuring that VFI can contribute to proposed regulation changes and laws when appropriate.
- Ensure that all MFI’s are compliant with the regulators’ requirements.
WV Coordination and Integration:
- Be the strategic lead and contact for World Vision in the region and drive closer partnership where appropriate.
- Ensure that MFIs are working closely with their WV NOs at all levels, and that VFI guidelines for integration are being put into practice.
- Attend WV senior regional leadership team meetings as needed, ensuring VisionFund strategy and intent in respect of livelihood development are well understood, and WV strategy and tactics are clear and are relayed to all MFI staff and
- boards.
Personal and Staff Development:
- As a Christian VisionFund leader, facilitate development of MFI CEOs and direct reports spiritually and professionally,
- Be the spiritual leader for the region.
- Develop clear individual staff goals with manageable and measurable targets and ongoing feedback and support to achieve them.
- Provide ongoing feedback and coaching to direct reports and ongoing staff performance conversations as well as an annual review of performance and career development.
- Ensure staff and self-training programs are in place and implemented, making use of existing resources such as VFI GC staff and capabilities of the more advanced MFIs in the region.
- Regular participation in chapel and devotions and leadership to others in the region for their personal and professional development and spiritual nurture.
- Will carry out additional responsibilities and projects as assigned, including administrative and planning functions both within and outside the region.
Talent Management and Leadership Development:
- Responsible for talent identification of:
- successors for key roles in the region
- diverse leadership (females and underrepresented groups)
- high potentials at Grades 15/16
- Conduct talent calibration sessions for the regio.n
- Build a Regional Talent Plan.
- Progress career and development plans for identified and calibrated talent.
- Implement plans regionally and contribute globally to talent management.
- The key ability VisionFund is seeking is leadership – both professional and spiritual. In addition to experience with microfinance and banking operations (lending, deposit-taking), the successful candidate will have experience developing and nurturing a talented team, and spotting improvement opportunities and making those happen in a complex and dynamic environment.
- Given the need to control financial risk within the MFI’s, it is imperative that this individual will have good financial analysis, risk management and accounting skills.
- Thorough knowledge and extensive experience in financial services, preferably with microfinance experience.
- Experience of managing people.
- Leadership experience largely in a banking, finance or microfinance environment.
- An understanding of balance sheet risk management including interest rate risk, liquidity risk and foreign exchange risk.
- Solid understanding of financial reporting and performance measurements and planning/forecasting.
- Able to balance Christian values with sound commercial practices.
- Good project management and organizational skills.
- Ability to analyze, recommend solutions, mentor and direct people.
- Balanced and respectful approach to groups’ differing responsibilities. Sensitive to complexity of WV direction, MFI board independence and shareholder requirements.
- Good communication and influence skills in both oral and written forms.
- Strong staff leader desirous of developing and encouraging staff.
- Effective coach and able to train people in VisionFund policies and procedures.
- Must be able to simultaneously manage multiple priorities and projects.
- Must be cross culturally sensitive as will work with associates from different cultural contexts and time zones.
- Flexibility on hours to contact people within wide time zone differences is required.
- Ability and willingness to travel extensively.
- Board experience having been a Board member of several Boards (in either an Executive or Non-Executive capacity).
- Ability to openly speak about their faith and lead devotions.
Work Environment/Travel:
- The position requires ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 50% of the time.