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Field Support Officer Financial Education (Voluntary) - Cambodia

Good Return

ABOUT GOOD RETURN

Good Return's mission is to enable those living in poverty to achieve economic empowerment through responsible financial inclusion and capability development. We do this by engaging with partners across the Asia Pacific, where two-thirds of the world’s poor live. We help them deliver better financial services and economic opportunities to those living in poverty.

Our work focuses on promoting responsible inclusive finance, building financial capability & consumer empowerment, and providing access to credit through our micro lending platform and impact investment programming to support SMEs in the agricultural sector.

Good Return is the registered business name of World Education Australia, an Australian Aid accredited agency and member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID). We hold Australia Financial Services License granted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Visit our website for more information.

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS

We have been working in partnership with various Financial Service Providers across the Asia Pacific Region since 2010. Our current partners are located in Cambodia, Indonesia, PNG, Nepal, Philippines, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Australia.

Our partnerships are based on a shared mission to provide responsible and inclusive financial services to people living in poverty as well as build the financial capability of consumers.

Our microfinance partners are committed to improving their social performance management systems, which includes implementing the seven client protection principles.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BANK OF CAMBODIA

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is the national prudential regulator in Cambodia of banks and financial institutions which are legal entities licensed to carry out banking operations as their regular business (Commercial banks, Specialised Banks, Microfinance Institutions and Microfinance Deposit Taking Institutions). The NBC is also responsible for monetary policy in Cambodia. The NBC operates under the law on the organisation and conduct of the National Bank of Cambodia. The main prudential functions of the NBC are to license, de-license, regulate and supervise banks and financial institutions (for more information: ​see here​)

Job Description

Field Support Officer Program Objectives

The objectives of the Field Support Officer (FSO) Volunteer Program are for FSOs to:

  • Gain valuable experience living and working in a developing country as part of a professional team
  • Assist with the implementation of Good Return and partner objectives and specific programs
  • Strengthen relationships with partners by enhancing communication and coordination
  • Support Good Return’s communications and marketing

The FSO Program has enabled previous volunteers to build their careers in the international development sector, with a number now in paid roles both in Australia and overseas.

Assignment objectives

The assignment objectives of the Financial Education FSO are to provide support to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the government financial regulator, on a number of national consumer awareness campaigns, financial literacy and research projects. Good Return has partnered with the NBC since 2015 supporting financial inclusion and financial education, including co-delivering the “Let’s Talk Money!” Consumer Awareness Campaign in 2016 and the “Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little” Campaign in 2022, the 3-2-1 Financial Literacy phone service and the NBC-Edu App, an engaging children’s financial education app.

A key focus of this role is to provide support to the “Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little” Campaign. The objective of the campaign is to raise public awareness on financial issues such as choosing suitable financial products and services, encouraging shared participation in financial decisions between men and women and preparing for unexpected future financial shocks with the aim to support the implementation of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2019-2025.

This campaign covers four themes:

  • Manage your money better,
  • Prepare for the unexpected,
  • Know your rights and responsibilities, and
  • Speak it out (consulting others on issues related to the use of financial services).

A four-part drama video series follows the story of main characters Chakriya and Panha as they move from the country to the city and navigate life’s challenges. The Campaign has been featured on Facebook, a dedicated website, television, radio and through face-to-face sessions with garment factory workers and women entrepreneurs. The aim is to evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness so far and expand the campaign training to effectively reach more target audiences.

Another key focus of the role will be to support the NBC’s priority for savings mobilisation in Cambodia. A national survey on savings in a 2008 report pointed to the very low levels of formal savings in rural Cambodia. Only about 0.6% of the survey respondents voluntarily save in banks, cooperatives, or microfinance institutions. NBC and Good Return are jointly pursuing funding for a research project that aims to help stakeholders and policymakers understand better the financial needs of target groups (such as women entrepreneurs) particularly their savings behaviours and preparation for financial shocks. The results of the action research would be used to inform the recommendations on improving national policies and implement other measures like general financial product features or marketing/campaigns in Cambodia, to expand access and usage of formal savings products for target groups.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Financial Literacy & Consumer Protection Campaign & Training Activities (40%)

  • Support the scoping and creative design of face-to-face Training of Trainer delivery and training implementation related to the extension of the “Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little” Campaign.
  • Participate in field testing of financial literacy activities with target users and collect communications materials.
  • Work with Good Return’s partners to develop social media strategies, schedules and content to promote financial literacy campaigns.
  • Support as needed on policy development related to consumer protection and financial literacy.
  • Contribute to women’s economic empowerment initiatives and activities.

2. Monitoring, Evaluation & Research (40%)

  • Work with Good Return’s partners to monitor and evaluate financial literacy activities, including contributing to the evaluation of the “Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little” Campaign, which may include field work, data analysis and report writing.
  • Contributing to the desk research, design and field work research implementation (surveys and focus group discussions or key informant interviews) of the Savings Mobilisation Research.

3. Marketing & Fundraising (20%)

  • Research and assist in writing funding proposals for financial education and economic empowerment activities.
  • Attend funding meetings with potential donors and expand Good Return and NBC’s funding networks.

4. Other activities

  • Other activities may arise with the partner organisation during the course of the FSO assignment and responsibilities will be agreed in accordance with the needs of the partnership.

Qualifications

Citizenship:

You must be an Australian citizen or have permanent residency to apply for this position. Applicants not meeting this requirement will not be considered.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

  • A degree in International Development, Education, Communications, Economics, Finance/Business or similar
  • Experience working in a cross-cultural context
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
  • IT skills, particularly Microsoft Word and Excel
  • Strong research, analysis and report writing skills
  • At least 1 year of relevant work experience, such as in public communication campaigns/marketing, teaching/training, curriculum development, finance/banking, policy regulation

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

  • Independent living or travel experience, preferably in the Asia Pacific region
  • Social media experience
  • Experience in developing training and assessment programs
  • Experience in monitoring and evaluation
  • Interest in gender issues and women’s economic empowerment

ESSENTIAL PERSONAL QUALITIES

  • Independence and resilience
  • Cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity
  • Patience, tolerance and open-mindedness
  • Responsible (for own actions, upholding integrity)
  • Initiative and ability to adapt to limited resources
  • A sense of humour!

ALLOWANCES AND SUPPORT

Pre-departure:

  • Induction training
  • Health check and vaccination expenses
  • Visa expenses
  • International airfares at the commencement and conclusion of the assignment

Settling in:

  • Support to find and book initial accommodation; it is the responsibility of the FSO to secure long-term accommodation
  • First 2 monthly allowance payments paid in advance to assist with set-up costs in-country
  • Orientation support (negotiating lease agreements, shopping options, etc.)

During assignment:

  • Support, monitoring and security guidance from Supervisor and Good Return regional & Sydney offices
  • Monthly allowance (to cover living and accommodation expenses)
  • Language allowance
  • Travel insurance
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Debrief following conclusion of placement

Additional information

Length of assignment: July 2022 to December 2023 (18 months)

Level of effort: Full time 38 hours per week plus occasional weekend activities

Allowance: Volunteer provided with monthly volunteer allowance

Additional information: The placement will commence in-country in July 2022. Later commencement dates and/or periods of less than 18 months will not be considered.

Good Return will provide international airfares, certain pre-departure medical costs, visa expenses, insurance and a monthly living allowance (including accommodation costs).

How to apply:

To submit your application, click Apply Now.

Applicants should provide a CV and a cover letter that clearly states your Australian citizenship/permanent residency status, and addresses the selection criteria listed in the full position description, along with your phone contact details. Cover letters can be included in the messages section or uploaded together with a CV file.

Please indicate in your cover letter which role/s you wish to be considered for, but apply only for your preferred role (you do not need to submit multiple applications).

Please indicate how you heard about this position.

Enquiries can be directed via the Good Return website.

Additional notes:

  • Good Return is an inclusive organisation. We strive to build a team that truly represents our diverse society and those of the Asia-Pacific communities we operate in. We actively encourage all applicants, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, disability and sexuality, to apply. If you require adjustments to the recruitment or interview process to accommodate your specific needs, let us know and we will try to provide them.
  • Good Return is a child safe organisation. Our recruitment processes reflect our commitment to the protection of children from abuse; successful candidates will need to comply by our Child Protection Policy and undergo pre-employment checks.

How to apply

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