ABOUT GOOD RETURN

Good Return’s mission is to enable those living in poverty to achieve economic empowerment. We do this by working in partnerships that innovate and strengthen financial services and provide economic opportunities for those living in poverty across the Asia Pacific Region.

Our work focuses on promoting responsible inclusive finance, building financial capability & consumer empowerment, and developing smallholder agribusiness solutions. We also deliver interest free loan capital raised from the Australian public. Together these powerful tools empower people to create lasting change for themselves. 

Good Return is an initiative of World Education Australia, an international development agency accredited by Australian Aid and a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID). Good Return has no religious affiliations. Visit www.goodreturn.org.au for more information.

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS

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, Nepal, Laos, Philippines, Solomon Islands,  Fiji, Tonga & Samoa. 

Our partnerships are based on a shared mission to provide responsible microfinance services to people living in poverty as well as build the financial capability of their clients. Our partners are committed to improving their social performance management systems, which includes implementing the seven client protection principles. For more information Social Performance Management & Client Protection: 

• http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.11.48260/1.26.9231/ 
• http://www.smartcampaign.org/about-the-campaign/smart-microfinance-and-the-client-protection-principles

Please visit our website (www.goodreturn.org.au) for further information on our partners.

ABOUT ONOW

ONOW is an Entrepreneurship development system in Myanmar that seeks to reduce poverty by providing business training, financial capabilities, coaching and digital support tools to Myanmar's young entrepreneurs. ONOW not only provides the support framework to help a business launch, but also provides the capital that students need to succeed with their business through the ONOW Social Launch Fund. ONOW ran its first entrepreneurship training program in May 2012.

ONOW is a social enterprise, committed to delivering financially sustainable positive change in the lives of the entrepreneurs we work with. Rather than existing to create shareholder value, ONOW commits to reinvesting at least 50% of profits into creating new tools in the Development Lab, extending the reach of the Enterprise Development System, and training ONOW's young Myanmar staff to become creative professionals beyond their work with ONOW.

FSO Program Objectives 

The objectives of the Field Support Officer (FSO) Volunteer Program are for FSOs to: 

• Gain valuable experience living and working in a developing country as part of a professional team
• Assist with the implementation of Good Return and partner objectives and specific programs 
• Strengthen relationships with partners by enhancing communication and coordination 
• Support Good Return’s communications and marketing

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.

Assignment Objectives

The assignment objectives of the Social Enterprise Field Support Officer are to provide support to ONOW on a number of activities providing business training, financial capabilities, coaching and digital support tools to Myanmar's young entrepreneurs. Good Return is currently partnering with ONOW particularly to improve the digital financial literacy of women and to explore how to meet the access to finance needs of entrepreneurs. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Consumer Awareness and Financial Empowerment

• Support ONOW and Good Return to implement financial capability initiatives that improve the awareness and money management practices of entrepreneurs, including face to face training, digital training and creative public awareness campaigns
• Support initiatives on digital financial literacy that improve understanding and uptake of digital financial services

 2. Impact Investment

• Conduct research and explore potential partnerships for stimulating investment to small to medium enterprises (SMEs), including working with financial institutions and entrepreneurs to ensure financial products are well suited to the distinct needs of SMEs

 3. Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

• Assist with project monitoring, evaluation and learning and build ONOW staff capacity in MEL 

 4. Partnership & program development support

• Support effective communications between ONOW and Good Return teams
• Produce content for print and digital including, interviews & case studies for marketing & promotional materials, feature stories for e-newsletters, short blogs, photographs and video for Good Return website promoting partnership work
• Identify and follow up on funding opportunities for the ONOW and Good Return partnership, including meeting with potential partner or donor organisations and supporting proposal writing
• Other activities may arise with the partner organisation during the course of the FSO year and responsibilities will be agreed in accordance with the needs of the partnership.

CITIZENSHIP

You must be an Australian citizen or have permanent residency to apply for this position. Applicants not meeting this requirement will not be considered.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• A degree in Economics, Finance/Business, Communications, International Development, Education or similar is required
• At least 2 years of work experience (paid or unpaid) relevant to Good Return’s program areas, such as international development, finance/banking, adult education, business, communications
• Independent living or travel experience, preferably in Asia
• Willingness and ability to travel to the field
• Self-motivation and desire to learn
• Strong written & verbal communication skills, including report writing and ability to adapt communication style for various stakeholders 
• Experience in conducting monitoring and evaluation activities
• IT skills, particularly Microsoft Word and Excel

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• A postgraduate degree in a relevant field (International Development, Finance, Business, Education, etc.) 
• Experience in coaching, training, mentoring or curriculum design
• Experience in public communication campaigns (e.g. social media)
• Experience in social inclusion (particularly gender and disability inclusion)
• Desire and interest to learn local language

ESSENTIAL PERSONAL QUALITIES

• Independence and resilience
• Cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity
• Patience, tolerance and open-mindedness
• Responsible (for own actions, upholding integrity)
• Initiative and ability to adapt to isolated settings with limited resources
• A sense of humour!

ALLOWANCES AND SUPPORT

Pre-departure:

• Induction training at Sydney office (4 days)
• Health check and vaccination expenses
• Visa expenses
• International airfares at the commencement and conclusion of the assignment

Settling in:

• Initial accommodation arranged; it is the responsibility of the FSO to secure long-term accommodation
• First 2 monthly allowance payments paid in advance to assist with set-up costs in-country
• Orientation support (negotiating lease agreements, shopping options, etc.)

During assignment:

• Support, monitoring and security guidance from Supervisor and Good Return regional & Sydney offices
• Monthly allowance (to cover living and accommodation expenses) 
• Language allowance 
• Travel insurance
• Professional development opportunities
• Debrief following conclusion of placement

The placement will commence in-country in July 2020. Applicants must be available for a four day induction course (held in May 2020 at Good Return’s Sydney office), prior to the commencement of their placement. Later commencement dates and/or periods of less than 12 months will not be considered.

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 (including accommodation costs).

How to apply: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.

Please indicate in your cover letter which role/s you wish to be considered for, but apply only for your preferred role (you do not need to submit multiple applications).

We would love to hear how you heard about the position.

Enquiries can be directed via the Good Return website https://www.goodreturn.org.au/contact

Applications close: Sunday, 9 February 2020

Note: Interviews are expected to start late February/early March. It is still possible to apply after that date.

Note: Good Return is an inclusive organisation. In our recruitment activities we strive to build a diverse team that represents our society and the communities that we operate in - in terms of gender, age, disability, ethnicity, culture and sexuality.

Good Return is a child safe organisation. The successful candidate will be required to comply with our child protection policy and will be subject to pre-hire checks.