Technical Specialist (Financial Inclusion and Access to Finance)

The Technical Specialist (Financial Inclusion and Access to Finance) will serve as a practitioner-level bridge between the FARM mechanism and Cambodia’s rural financial sector, focusing on agricultural credit product development, loan-readiness of farmer organizations, lender engagement, and building bankable business packages. The role supports the PEARL project to enhance climate-resilient agricultural finance and facilitate access to finance for farmer organizations in Cambodia.

Responsibilities

• Support the international advisor in conducting analysis of agricultural finance across priority value chains including data collection, stakeholder consultations, and validation of findings.
• Contribute to mapping financial institutions and their products, terms, requirements, and coverage.
• Support identification of key barriers, risks, and enabling factors affecting access to agricultural finance.
• Assist in assessing existing financial products and identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain and update a financial product catalogue quarterly to support project implementation.
• Support and facilitate financial service providers in the design or adaptation of agricultural financial products ensuring alignment with value chain needs and climate considerations.
• Provide technical inputs and coordinate discussions on indicative product features without assuming a direct lending or underwriting role.
• Identify and document existing value chain finance models and support stakeholders in exploring opportunities for scaling or replication.
• Facilitate engagement between financial institutions and project stakeholders to improve accessibility of financial products for farmer organizations.
• Support integration of risk mitigation mechanisms including agro-insurance and credit guarantee schemes into financing solutions promoted under the project.
• Review business plans from 124 farmer organizations submitted under the FARM mechanism from a lender’s perspective, assessing financial feasibility, investment logic, co-financing structure, and cost-efficiency.
• Support assessment of financial needs of farmer organizations and value chain actors to inform financing facilitation and business plan development.
• Convert farmer organization business plans into bankable investment packages including preparation or quality assurance of financial statements, cash-flow projections, break-even analysis, sensitivity analysis, and repayment schedules aligned with agricultural cycles.
• Define minimum documentation requirements for each financing type and develop standardized checklists aligned with requirements of Agricultural and Rural Development Bank and other financial institutions.
• Collaborate with service providers and provincial teams to strengthen financial documentation across supported farmer organizations.
• Provide technical inputs to FARM financial procedures including eligibility criteria, disbursement governance, and co-financing contribution models.
• Facilitate linkages between farmer organizations and financial institutions for co-financing and investment.
• Support farmer organizations in preparing loan applications and meeting financial institution requirements.
• Maintain and track a financing pipeline including applications submitted, under review, approved, and disbursed.
• Facilitate dialogue between farmer organizations and financial institutions to address bottlenecks in financing processes.
• Design and deliver training to farmer organizations on financial literacy and loan readiness tailored to their needs.
• Develop training materials aligned with financial institution requirements.
• Provide coaching and advisory support to farmer organizations on financial management and credit readiness.
• Train project staff and service providers on financial documentation and pipeline tracking.
• Monitor improvements in financial capacity of farmer organizations.
• Organize stakeholder consultations, lender roundtables, and matchmaking events.
• Facilitate coordination between farmer organizations, financial institutions, government agencies, and project partners.
• Provide technical inputs on agricultural finance, financial inclusion, and climate finance.
• Document lessons learned and contribute to knowledge products and case studies.
• Perform any other relevant tasks as assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements

• University degree in agricultural economics, rural finance, microfinance, development economics, or a related field. A degree in banking or economics combined with at least 5 years of demonstrated agricultural lending experience is also acceptable.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in agricultural credit, rural lending, or value chain finance, including direct work within or alongside a bank, MFI, development finance institution, or rural credit programme in roles involving loan assessment, credit product development, or agricultural portfolio management.
• Working knowledge of English and fluency in Khmer.
• National of Cambodia.
• Knowledge of ARDB and MFI lending criteria, KYC requirements, APR/EIR pricing structures, collateral substitutes, and loan approval processes in Cambodia.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare or quality-check agricultural credit files including cash-flow projections, break-even analysis, sensitivity to yield/price/climate shock, and repayment calendars aligned to harvest calendars.
• Experience working with agricultural cooperatives, farmer organizations, or smallholder producer groups on credit readiness or enterprise development.
• Knowledge of cashew, mango, rice, or vegetable value chains in Cambodia, including input cost structures, harvest cycles, and market risk.
• Strong coordination and communication skills; demonstrated ability to facilitate dialogue between lenders, government agencies, and rural stakeholders.
• Experience in gender-responsive financial product design is an advantage.
• Prior experience in GCF, IFAD, or similar climate/agriculture programme environments is an advantage.
• Willingness to travel frequently to project sites in Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, and Preah Vihear provinces.

Skills

• Agricultural Lending
• Rural Finance
• Microfinance Lending
• Development Economics
• Loan Assessment
• Credit Product Development
• Agricultural Portfolio Management
• ARDB Lending Criteria
• MFI Lending Criteria
• KYC Processes
• APR Pricing Structures
• EIR Pricing Structures
• Collateral Substitutes
• Loan Approval Processes
• Agricultural Credit File Preparation
• Cash-flow Projections
• Break-even Analysis
• Sensitivity Analysis
• Repayment Calendar Development
• Agricultural Cooperative Engagement
• Farmer Organization Support
• Smallholder Producer Group Support
• Value Chain Finance
• Cashew Value Chain Knowledge
• Mango Value Chain Knowledge
• Rice Value Chain Knowledge
• Vegetable Value Chain Knowledge
• Market Risk Analysis
• Gender-responsive Financial Product Design
• Climate-Resilient Agricultural Finance
• Lender Engagement
• Bankable Business Package Development

Languages

English, Khmer