Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Ghana

Cooperative Development: Governance Advisor

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Eligibility criteria:   Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Location:   This position is in the field (Kpandai or Tamale)

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 Governance Advisor will be based in Kpandai and will play a key role in strengthening governance systems, promoting transparency, accountability, and inclusive participation within the three credit unions and their associated primary cooperatives. This position requires providing technical support and strategic guidance to ensure that governance practices are effectively integrated across all levels of cooperative leadership and operations.

Deliverables

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The desired governance advisor is expected to carry out the following key duties and responsibilities.

·        Have engagement with the partner, co-op managers, board members and member leaders to obtain information to develop the training session plans.

·       A complete set of training materials, tools, and guides designed to strengthen governance practices within the cooperatives, tailored to the needs of board members and cooperative leaders.

·       A minimum of three (4) governance-focused training sessions conducted for cooperative boards and leadership teams, with attendance records and post-training evaluations.

·        Assess current situation of how the boards have been able to roll out their strategic plans developed, access their challenges and provide alternatives to support sustained implementation of the plans.

·       Actionable improvement plans developed in collaboration with each cooperative board, outlining steps to strengthen governance practices and address gaps

·       Comprehensive assessment reports on the implementation status of each cooperative’s strategic plan, including identified challenges and proposed recommendations for improvement.

·       A detailed end-of-assignment report summarizing engagement with  co-op managers, board members, partners, and member leaders, highlighting key insights used to inform training,  results achieved, lessons learned, and recommendations for sustaining governance improvements.

Your qualifications

Education:

·        Degree or equivalent experience in business and strategic plans development, international development, or related field with a proven track record in livelihoods programming 

Experience:

·       Possess the ability to provide tools, templates and information to support the credit union to improve their service provision to their members

·       Zealous about training and guiding cooperative board to obtain knowledge to provide implement efficient programs to ensure sustainable growth.

·       Possess the ability to mentor, guide and assist board to develop the capacity to implement their strategic plans.

·       Experience and knowledge of co-operatives. Proven experience in co-operative development in a developing country’s context will be an asset. 

·       Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills

·       Excellent capacity to analyze, develop recommendations and capture lessons learned.

·       The ability to travel to and live in remote locations where services are minimal. 

·       Knowledge in community participation methodologies.

·       Experience facilitating group learning/training sessions or focus groups. 

·       Demonstrated ability and interest in communicating and interacting effectively with people of a different culture. 

·       Must be able to work alone as well as with the credit union.

·        Ability to transform complex concepts and information into plain language 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:

·        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.