BACKGROUND
The Government of Lesotho (GOL) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have jointly designed and established a Rural Financial Intermediation Program (RUFIP) that is managed by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MOFDP) and works within the Department of Private Sector Development and Financial Affairs (PSDFA). The overall objective of the programme is to enhance access to efficient financial services by the rural poor on a sustainable basis. The programme components are to:
i. develop member-based financial institutions (MBFIs) including financial cooperatives, rural savings and credit groups [RSCGs] and other informal financial groups;
ii. facilitate the rural outreach of formal financial institutions, mainly focusing on the strengthening of the Lesotho Post Bank (LPB);
iii. develop an enabling environment for micro/rural finance, including the support for policy dialogue, as well as capacity building of the Department of Cooperatives (DOC), Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) and other relevant service providers.

SCOPE OF WORK
In efforts to critically reflect upon the challenges faced in supporting the development of financial cooperatives and to map out the future direction in the context of the overall programme objective, the RUFIP seeks services of an individual consultant to undertake a strategic review of the financial cooperative sector in Lesotho. Such review would include the overall assessment of policy and institutional framework in the sub-sector, performance of financial cooperatives, their potential role in enhancing access to financial services and constraints and opportunities, institutional framework, capacity and roles of the Department of Cooperatives in the sub-sector development, as well as recommend a turnaround strategy for improved performance of the sector.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

LANGUAGE: Excellent spoken and written English, with good communication skills.

ACADEMIC: A university degree in Strategic Management, Finance, Banking, Agricultural Economics, or other relevant field. WORKING EXPERIENCE:
• A minimum of 10 years experience at in financial service provision in the region;
• Experience in working with financial cooperatives, preferably in Africa, would be an important consideration;
• Experience in conducting a strategic review, assessment, evaluation and in strategy development of a sector or institutions in relevant areas;
• Up-to-date knowledge and experience in the microfinance sector, preferably in Africa;

Interested qualified candidates are requested to submit their expression of interest in English accompanied by updated CVs and a cover letter describing the suitability of candidacy and relevant experience to info@rufip.gov.ls by 17:00 (Lesotho time, GMT +2) on Friday 16th July, 2010, late expression of interest shall be rejected. Alternatively they can be hand delivered to:

Ministry of Finance & Development Planning Rural Financial Intermediation Programme

3rd Floor Mortgage House,

Private Bag A249 Maseru 100, Lesotho

Only shortlisted candidates based on qualifications will receive letters of invitation to submit technical and financial proposals for this consulting service.