Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Ghana

Technical specialist: Organizational Development Advisor

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Eligibility criteria:   Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Location:   This position is in the field (Bimbila, Kpandai and Salaga)

Start Date:   As soon as possible.

Duration:   3 months

Language Requirement:   English (Mandatory)

Reporting to:   Country Program Officer

The Program – VOICE for Women and Girls

VOICE for Women and Girls, funded by the government of Canada, is a volunteer cooperation program (2020 – 2027) that aims to strengthen the performance of country partner organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 co-operative and credit union members from marginalized communities in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

The program, supported by volunteers, strives to address the challenges and barriers that adversely affect the economic and social well-being of vulnerable groups, with particular emphasis on women and girls. VOICE aims to respond to the needs identified by these groups and to increase the capacities of individual producers and primary co-operatives, to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth. Supporting institutions such as apex co-operatives, co-operative colleges, and government/regulatory bodies will also be engaged to increase the capacity and prioritization of vulnerable groups.

The Partner you will work with

SEND Ghana has previously implemented the ACCESS and Fostering project and in some initiatives including 4R-NSP in partnership with CDF with funding from GAC. SEND Ghana focuses on research and advocacy to increase good governance practices of accountability, transparency, equity and participation in pro-poor policies and social services as well as empowers resource poor women and men to expand their small enterprises to improve income and farmers to increase food and nutrition security

What you will do – Activities and deliverables

Your assignment

The Organizational development advisor Volunteer will be based in Bimbila and travel to the other districts. He or she is expected to work hand in hand with the local partner SEND, the BOD and management of the credit Unions on a regular basis, hosting meetings and sessions with the Partner, the BOD, and the branch managers of the credit unions to interact and collaborate to get project goals accomplished.

The credit unions seek to improve on developing, (strategic and business plans, reviewing their policies and bylaws), improve governance and effective leadership. The focus is to develop a clear measurable path of success for the co-operative to grow its financial, human resources, and operational processes. The intension is to position the co-op as a formidable business entity resilient to social and economic challenges and provide incentivized products and services to its members. VOICE has conducted needs assessment to identify the needs or the challenges of the co-op and developed a capacity building plan, a strategy that allows us to focus on and provide support to improve their capacity to be able to provide innovative services to their members.

Deliverables

The desired Organizational Development Volunteer is expected to carry out the following key duties and responsibilities.

·        Conducting an Organizational Analytic Assessment that produces a comprehensive assessment report on current state of the credit unions

·        The advisor will support developing and implementing a change management strategy to guide the organization through planned changes, such as restructuring, new technologies, or process improvements.

·        Create a leadership development program tailored to the needs of the organization.

·        work closely with leadership to develop a long-term organizational development strategy that aligns with the company’s mission, vision, and goals..

·        Provide training to the BOD, and management of the credit union on records keeping and financial management.

·        Support the Branch managers and BOD to prepare / Review their policy on records keeping, and financial management and plan interventions for gaps identified in the cause of training and assessing their operations.

·        Mentor the BOD and Management in areas that need coaching interventions to support the credit union, to implement new strategies and approach developed.

·        Provide training, tools, and orientation that will improve the capacity of the co-op managers to continue to provide records keeping support to the co-op member when the project comes to an end.

·        Share knowledge with the partner to help to improve the technical understanding of co-op operations to provide innovative services to the credit unions.

·        Develop and share success stories and case studies

Your qualifications

Education:

·        Degree in organizational development, leadership, governance, business development, strategic development or equivalent experience in the areas listed.

Experience:

·        Experience and knowledge knowledge in developing Strategic plans for organization, experience developing strategic plans with Credit Union co-op, developing governance and leadership programs will be an asset

·        Knowledge and experience working with credit union BODs, management, and leadership with a bias towards community-based credit unions.

·        Experience in co-operative development is an asset.

·        Experience on training material development

·        Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills to engage varied stakeholders.

·        Strong oral and written communication skills in the English language. Other local languages are an asset.

·        Should be a proactive self-starter with the ability to work independently; need strong ability to set priorities, solve problems, and be resourceful under pressure.

·        Strong skills in writing small proposals

Support package

This is a voluntary assignment. CDF Canada supports volunteers through the provision of a comprehensive package designed to cover a modest and healthy lifestyle, while allowing for effectiveness in the placement:

·        Return-trip international and/or domestic airfare.

·        Visa-related costs (if needed).

·        Police record check.

·        International health insurance.

·        Vaccination and health-related costs (covered by the insurance if needed).

·        Interpreter and/or translator (if needed and depending on the assignment).

·        Modest monthly living allowance.

·        Pre-departure support and orientation.

·        Support and orientation during the assignment.

·        Debriefing upon completion of the assignment.

E-volunteering

Depending on the nature of the assignment, volunteers are encouraged to provide e-volunteering support to our local partners before or after their assignment.

Engaging Canadians

CDF Canada provides technical and logistical support to young and experienced professionals through volunteer assignments to apply and acquire new skills and knowledge in international co-operative development. We ask each volunteer, regardless of the duration of their assignment, to share their experience during and upon return to Canada. The experience can be shared by providing stories of human interest and photographs that can be used for social media outreach; Participate in events/conferences or other public engagement activities to share their experience to motivate other Canadians to volunteer.