Website TEF Consult
TEF Consult
About the Role
The Agri-Finance Specialist will play a critical role in the design, launch, and management of group-based digital lending solutions targeting farmers. The role focuses on ensuring successful pilot implementation, portfolio health, product scalability, and strong stakeholder engagement across agricultural value chains.
The successful candidate will bring strong expertise in agricultural finance, rural lending models, digital financial services, and farmer group dynamics, with a solid understanding of risk mitigation and portfolio performance management.
Key Responsibilities
1. Product Design & Development
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Design and structure group-based agricultural lending models tailored to specific value chains.
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Develop inclusive and scalable financial products aligned with seasonal agricultural cash flows.
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Design agri-finance solutions such as input financing, supply chain financing, output financing, and embedded financing.
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Collaborate with product, technology, and commercial teams to ensure financial viability and customer-centric design.
2. Product Rollout & Go-To-Market (GTM) Execution
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Lead end-to-end go-to-market strategy for pilots and commercial scale-up.
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Develop rollout plans and mobilize field staff and agents.
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Design performance incentives for agents and field teams.
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Track implementation milestones and resolve operational challenges.
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Support onboarding of farmer groups and cooperatives.
3. Portfolio & Repayment Ownership
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Take full ownership of loan portfolio performance including Non-Performing Loans (NPL) and Portfolio at Risk (PAR).
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Define collection processes and early-warning triggers.
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Develop restructuring rules where necessary.
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Lead field recovery initiatives and ensure portfolio quality targets are achieved.
4. Field Operations & Farmer Onboarding
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Manage onboarding of farmer groups including KYC/KYB compliance processes.
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Coordinate agent enablement and channel operations.
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Train field teams and partners on agri-finance principles and product usage.
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Monitor product adoption across key agricultural zones.
5. Risk Management
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Develop and implement risk assessment frameworks for group lending.
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Recommend mitigation strategies, including insurance, guarantees, and alternative credit scoring models.
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Monitor repayment behavior and identify potential portfolio risks.
6. Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
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Track loan performance, repayment trends, and portfolio health.
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Analyze data to identify risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.
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Prepare operational dashboards and fortnightly/monthly performance reports.
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Monitor product development, adoption rate, and time-to-market.
7. Stakeholder & Partnership Management
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Build and manage relationships with agribusinesses, input suppliers, cooperatives, financial institutions, NGOs, and local government authorities.
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Negotiate partnership agreements and co-financing arrangements.
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Engage cross-functional teams to ensure seamless project delivery.
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Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to drive product scale and performance.
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
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Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
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A postgraduate qualification is an added advantage.
Experience
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Minimum of 3 years’ experience in:
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Agricultural finance
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Digital lending products
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Strategic planning and portfolio management
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Experience in rural lending models and farmer group financing.
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Strong exposure to mobile-based lending platforms and digital financial services.
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Experience managing large-scale public service or agricultural projects is an advantage.
Technical & Professional Skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Advanced stakeholder management capabilities.
- Excellent communication skills in both English and Swahili.
- Ability to conduct market research and reveal industry insights.
- Experience in project governance, budget tracking, and performance monitoring.
- High adaptability to work in both rural and urban settings.
- Strong ability to prioritize and execute tasks in high-pressure environments.
Working Conditions
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Extensive travel across different regions of Tanzania.
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Field-based engagement with farmer groups and partners.
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Ability to work effectively in cross-functional environments.
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High flexibility and adaptability to changing field conditions.
Performance Metrics (KPIs)
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Loan Portfolio Performance (NPL & Portfolio at Risk)
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Time to Market and Commercial Scale Milestones
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Product Development & Adoption (Number of Farmers Onboarded)
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Portfolio Growth and Repayment Performance
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Timely Delivery of “First Time Right” Solutions
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Successful Pilot Execution and Scale-Up
How to Apply
Qualified candidates should submit their applications to:
Human Resource Manager
Tanzania Empowerment Forum Limited (TEF Consult)
Email: info@tef.co.tz
P.O. Box 33542, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
To apply for this job email your details to info@tef.co.tz