Job Summary
- Applications close:
- Job posted on: 18th Mar 2024
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 goodreturn.org.au for more information.
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 include implementing the seven client protection principles.
Please visit our website for further information on our partners.
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, Specialized 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 organization 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: here)
The objectives of the Field Support Officer (FSO) Volunteer Program are for FSOs to:
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.
The assignment objectives of the Financial Inclusion FSO are to provide support to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the government financial regulator, on a number of national financial awareness multi-media 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, comic books and the NBC-Edu App, an engaging children’s financial education app.
A key focus of this role is to provide support to NBC's new loan comic project. The top complaints received by the NBC hotlines are about loans, which indicates an issue in Cambodia where consumers do not fully understand how to apply for or manage loans safely and responsibly. The objective of these comics is for consumers to have a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities when taking out loans, how to protect themselves from illegal/informal lending practices, and improve their digital financial literacy. It also aims to support the implementation of the Royal Government of Cambodia’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2019-2025, so that all Cambodians have improved understanding of money management and can access financial services successfully according to their needs. So far, three stories have been written by NBC and Good Return, with two of the three stories having been graphic-designed into mini comic books. The Financial Inclusion FSO will work closely with the NBC to conduct field testing in local communities for feedback on the comics and their impact, create a distribution plan, find sponsors for turning the final story into a mini comic book, and refine and scale up the comics to videos or a larger project/campaign to reach a wider audience.
Another key focus of the role will be to support the NBC’s priority for savings mobilisation in Cambodia. A national survey on financial inclusion in 2015 indicated very low levels of formal savings in Cambodia. Only 11% of the survey respondents voluntarily save in formal institutions such as banks, cooperatives, or microfinance institutions, while 56% of Cambodians were not saving at all. 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.
1. Financial Literacy, Consumer Protection & Training Activities (40%)
2. Monitoring, Evaluation & Research (30%)
3. Marketing & Fundraising (20%)
4. Other Activities (10%)
You must be an Australian citizen or have permanent residency to apply for this position. Applicants not meeting this requirement will not be considered.
The placement will commence in-country from May 2024 to October 2026 (18 months from the date of arrival in-country). Periods of less than 18 months will not be considered. A later commencement date of June 2024 may be considered, although May 2024 is preferred.
Good Return will provide international airfares at the commencement and conclusion of the assignment, certain pre-departure medical costs, visa expenses, insurance, and a monthly living allowance (intended to cover accommodation and other daily expenses).
Applications can be submitted by selecting the 'I'm interested' link below.
Applicants should provide a CV and a cover letter that addresses the selection criteria listed in the full position description, along with your phone and Skype contact details. Cover letters can be included in the messages section or uploaded together with a CV file.
We would love to hear how you heard about the position.
Enquiries can be directed via the Good Return website goodreturn.org.au/contact.
Length of assignment: 18 months
Level of effort: Full-time, 38 hours per week plus occasional weekend activities