Role Description

Application deadline: April 20, 2025

The microfinance technical project specialist is responsible for implementing and championing project management as a discipline with the HOPE microfinance department and managing strategic projects at the department and network-levels. This role liaises with different departments and stakeholders within the US and field-based microfinance teams to complete projects that contribute to the MFI department’s strategic objectives.

• Location: Lancaster, PA; Kigali, Rwanda; Nairobi, Kenya; remote considered, RwandaUnited States

• Level: Senior Professional

• Salary range: US Base*:$50,000-$60,000

• Type: Full-time

• Department: Microfinance

• Reports to: MFI Project Management Manager

Responsibilities

• Promote and fulfill the mission and vision of HOPE International
• Project Management
• Manage large microfinance projects with an emphasis on network and department-level support, and internal working groups for strategic initiatives ranging across multiple MFIs
• Assist team leadership to ensure smooth team operations; maintain accurate vision across departmental project workload, proactively raising concerns as needed
• Act as the liaison between project requestors and the microfinance department and coordinate with interdisciplinary and cross-cultural distributed teams including internal IT, finance, and field program resources
• Employ HOPE’s project management software (Asana) to facilitate a smooth project process and track projects to completion in a timely manner, with use of other tools as needed
• Champion the use of technology systems throughout the MFI team, train new staff, and provide updates on new features of existing systems
• Stay up to date on industry research and best practices in project management, especially for international organizations, and raise recommendations for ongoing improvement
• Prepare project updates for a range of stakeholders, including executive leadership
• Reinforce a culture of sharing learnings from projects in the MFI network
• Other
• Champion and facilitate lateral learning between MFI programs and partners, particularly related to best practices in project management
• Champion HOPE International’s culture of P.A.S.S.I.O.N. (Prayer, Allegiance, Service, Stewardship, Innovation, and Optimism)
• Liaise between microfinance field staff, US based MFI team, and other US based HOPE teams

Qualifications

• Personal confession of Christian faith and commitment to the mission and vision of HOPE International

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, international development, international business or other relevant field

• 3+ years of professional experience related to project or program management, economic development, financial services, or other related field

• Exceptional project management skills, including coordinating the full project cycle from identification of business requirements to design and implementation of solutions, including assessment of the project outcome

• The ability to work effectively with others, including motivating and holding distributed/remote teams accountable to goals and timelines

• The ability to think critically, anticipate needs, and proactively improve processes

• Demonstrated ability to work independently with the ability to problem-solve with minimal oversight

• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 75 days per year

• Experience or certification in project management frameworks such as PMP, Agile, Scrum, or Lean preferred

• Microsoft Office computer proficiency, with an emphasis in Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel; experience with Asana, or other project management software, preferred

• International experience and cross-cultural skills, particularly in cross-cultural communication, preferred

• A working knowledge of language(s) spoken in HOPE’s programs, preferred, like French, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Spanish, Swahili, and Ukrainian, preferred

Special application instructions

*Note on salary: HOPE International determines starting salary ranges based on internal equity and the external market. Because we take a market-based approach to pay, this salary range is specific to US-based employment. Hires made in other countries will have a salary range based on local market factors and this range will be disclosed during the interview process.

Additional information