Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Ghana

Co-operative Development Advisor (Credit Union) - Ghana

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Eligibility criteria:   Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Location:   Salaga, Bimbilla, Kpandai

Start Date:   Exact timing will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

Duration:   3-6 months , in-country and online support

Language Requirement:   English (Mandatory)

Reporting to:   Country Program Officer

The Project – VOICE for Women and Girls

The VOICE for Women and Girls project is a seven-year initiative (2020 – 2027) aimed at strengthening the performance of developing country partner (DCP) organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 women and men from marginalised communities, in particular young women (target: 60% women and girls), in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Malawi with a focus on action areas of the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), namely:

• Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls, and
• Growth that Works for Everyone.

The Project responds to the needs identified by women and men of cooperatives and the entire members in the countries of operation and is designed to increase the capacities of individual producers and primary co-operatives to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth. Supporting institutions, including apex co-operatives, co-operative colleges, and government/regulatory institutions 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

The Co-op advisor Volunteer will be reporting directly to the Country Program Officer, who is coordinating all project activities at the country level. He/She is also expected to work hand in hand with the local partner SEND, the BOD and management of the credit Unions on regular basis The Co-op development advisor is expected to host 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 expectation is that any potential volunteer should consider committing not less than 1-3 months to the project.

The credit unions seek to improve on developing the needed processes (strategic plans, business plans, reviewing policies, bylaws) develop a clear measurable path of success for the co-operative to grow the co-op’s financial and human resources. The intension is to position the co-op as a formidable business entity resilient to social and economic challenges and providing 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.

Objectives

The credit union wants to improve their services and develop innovative services that will enable them to serve their members very well. this will call for the credit union to be supported to look at their policies and revise them to meet their expectations. The credit union advisor is expected to play a leading role in gathering the needed information, analyzing the information, and advising the co-ops on growth and sustainability.

The VOICE for women and girls project is working with 4 credit union co-ops in 5 districts of the Northern and Savannah regions of Ghana. These 4 credit union co-ops have 12 branches and a membership base of over 18,366. The project interest is to improve women access and control over productive resources to ensure an economic growth the work for all. The aim is to enhance the institutional capacity of these credit unions to provide products and services that respond to cooperative member needs, at the same time ensuring its financial growth and stability.

Deliverables

The desired Credit Union Advisor volunteer is expected to carry out the following key duties and responsibilities:

Co-op support

• Development scheme of activities with guidance from the capacity building plans for co-op and business development thematic areas. 
• Develop and administer credit union performance assessment methodologies to identify specific areas for technical support
• Provide training for the BOD, and leadership of the credit union relating to business development and support the Branch managers and BOD to prepare their strategic and business plans
• Mentor the BOD and Management in areas that need coaching interventions
• Provide training, tools, orientation that will develop the capacity of the co-op managers to continue to provide organizational development support to the co-ops when the project comes to an end.
• Have engagement with the partner and the co-op managers to obtain information to develop the training session plans
• Discuss with the CPO the best approach to develop the session plans, identify a training session plan development template that ensures better understanding of training steps for third party users
• Develop tools and materials to support the partner gain the needed knowledge and skill to provide support to the co-op
• Share knowledge with the partner to help to improve the technical understanding of co-op operations to provide innovative services to the partner
• Lead the coordination between local partner and VOICE project to ensure collaborative development of the partner’s capacity including the co-op managers

Project Management

• Document all program related information and share with the country Program officer
• Stay in constant communication with the CPO, partner’s focal person and the co-op managers to obtain the needed information regarding the co-ops
• Prepare and submit weekly deliverables to the program officer and discuss what you require to complete those tasks
• Complete monthly reports and times sheets and submit to the volunteer coordinator
• Collect and compile relevant data required by the project and also assist with the field data collection whenever its required 

Training and development of training materials

• Will be required to review and develop training materials, prepare session plans or use available learning material to provide training for the co-ops in areas they require improvement for effective co-op management
• Develop training assessment tool, use the tool to collect information about the training and use the information to revise the session plans
• Ensure that only the most current session plans are appropriately stored in a format that is easy to retrieve and use
• Coordinate with the co-op development facilitators to ensure that co-op development training activities are appropriately down streamed

Your qualifications

Education:

• Degree in organizational development or business development or strategic development or equivalent experience in the areas listed

Experience:

• Experience and knowledge in developing strategic plans for organizations.
• Experience working with credit union co-op will be an asset. 
• Knowledge and experience working with credit union BODs and management and leadership with a bias towards community-based credit unions.
• Knowledge and skills in facilitation with understanding in adult learning methodologies
• Experience and knowledge of co-operatives. Proven experience in co-operative development in a developing country context will be an asset. 
• Excellent capacity to analyze, develop recommendations and capture lessons learned.
• Ability to travel to and possibly live in remote locations where services (internet) are minimal.
• Ability to work autonomously, be flexible and analytical.
• Knowledge and experience in credit union performance assessment methodologies is an asset
• Demonstrated ability and interest in communicating and interacting effectively with people of a different culture and literacy levels. 
• Ability to transform complex concepts and information into plain simple language and reports

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:

• Monthly living allowance.
• Return-trip international and/or domestic airfare.
• Visa-related costs (if needed).
• International health insurance.
• Vaccination and health-related costs (if needed).
• Interpreter and/or translator (if needed and depending on the position and duration of the assignment).
• 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 placement, volunteers are encouraged to provide e-volunteering support to our local partners before or after their placement.

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 mandate, to share their experience during and/or at the end of their assignment either in the country of assignment or in 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 others.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and CV/resume, by applying directly on our recruitment webpage. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Successful candidates will be required to obtain a police-check from their local police or RCMP detachment. All applicants are thanked for their interest in CDF Canada; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.