Team Leader-Grand Management Expert / Grant Advisor USF Financing-Linked MSME Grants

The ongoing war in Ukraine has severely impacted MSMEs, with many forced to close or scale back operations due to damaged infrastructure, disrupted value chains and security risks. Reduced bankability has further limited their access to loans and financial support, shrinking their prospects for recovery and reconstruction. To address some of these challenges, to increase MSME bankability and de-risk their financial projects, enhancing their resilience and access to finance, the EFSE Development Facility (EFSE DF) has initiated the EFSE Ukraine Sub-fund (USF) Financing-Linked MSME Grant Program (Grant Program), as a complementary support to EFSE USF credit facilities. The grant funding under the Program will be provided together with a loan investment and channelled through Partner Lending Institutions (PLIs) to EFSE’s end-borrowers.

The grant program covers three groups:

·         Farms and MSMEs engaged in primary agriculture and/or with up to 2,000 livestock units

·         Businesses heavily affected by the war

·         MSMEs investing in essential reconstruction

Objectives

Engage a Grand Advisor to:

·         Help the 7-8 PLIs set up internal standard operating procedures and documentation and train the relevant PLIs’ staff in grant management processes – preparing the PLI for grant program implementation.

·         Create a help desk service on demand, throughout the entire process, with the Grant Advisor providing expertise related to the analysis of farms and more complex cases, assisting the PLIs in preparing or obtaining documentation and verification that may be challenging for their clients to acquire by the PLIs’ clients.

Tasks of the expert

·         Manage and supervise project team

·         Lead engagements with PLIs and project donor

·         Design and implement internal standard operating procedures (SoPs) and documentation for grants

·         Design capacity building programs and supervise trainings to PLIs