Microfinance Centre is hiring for the position of the  Advocacy  Officer 

We are looking for creative and enthusiastic candidates, willing to contribute to the fair economic system, especially for underprivileged, especially migrants and refugees. We seek team member willing to influence policy and regulation at European level and on EU countries level. The candidate should be open to work in international environment with peers from Europe, Central Asia, Africa and Americas, as well as partners from global institutions, international NGOs, representatives of governments and European Commission, and our main partner UNHCR. Your working language will be English, and you should get ready for a bit of traveling, in Europe and outside. You will join a small, but widely recognized organization, with 25 years of experience in making this world a better place for hard working, low income entrepreneurs. 

MFC’s advocacy programmes aim broadly to improve the policy framework for access issues in Europe and Central Asia.  The Advocacy Officer will be responsible for activities such as: 

  • Working in close cooperation with MFC Member institutions to understand their needs regarding the policy and regulatory issues in context of proving financial services to underprivileged 
  • Raising awareness of public officials with regards to social finance policy and regulatory constraints and advocating for the development of favourable social finance and microenterprise policy and regulatory environment 
  • Working in close cooperation with UNHCR to understand their refugee agenda and to facilitate the creation of the access to finance support agenda for migrants and refugees in the MFC region 
  • Working in close cooperation with the European Commission to understand their enterprise development and social finance agenda and to provide feedback from partners in the countries of EU 
  • Gathering and sharing information about the social finance and microenterprise related policy and regulatory initiatives 
  • Participating, and if necessary, moderating workshops at the MFC and other conferences, workshops and webinars 
  • Planning for, organizing and moderating stakeholders’ meetings 
  • Developing capacity of MFC Member representatives to work on policy and regulatory issues in their countries 
  • Writing MFC Newsletter updates, social media announcements and articles related to the Advocacy activities in coordination with the MFC Communication Manager 
  • Developing plans and budgets for MFC Advocacy activities 
  • Drafting of proposals for funding of the MFC Advocacy programmes and activities. 
  • Overseeing Advocacy budgets and drafting reports to funders 

The position is based at the MFC office in Warsaw, Poland with opportunities to work in the international microfinance community and travel within the region of Europe and Central Asia.  It includes private medical insurance, subsidy for sport activities related (OK System), additional out-of-office time for self-development (12 days a year) and an annual, performance based bonus. Work from home is a possibility.  

MFC is an international NGO and the leading social finance network uniting 95 institutions in Europe and Central Asia. We care for promoting fairness, inclusion, equality and responsible service. We are a small team, committed to big vision, highly valued for what we do. Visit our web site at www.mfc.org.pl.  

MFC has a horizontal organizational structure and you will be reporting directly to the MFC Management Board. The position has no direct staff responsibility. 

REQUIREMENTS 

The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills with a brilliant command of English and superb organizational skills. Prior knowledge of the social finance policy issues would be an advantage. 

  • Bachelor’s degree in economic development, international relations, journalism, public relations or relevant field. 
  • Relevant experience and knowledge of EU policies 
  • Fluency in English (close to native level), fluency in Russian will be a significant advantage 
  • Experience in work on projects related to issues of migration or refugees  
  • Experience in grant based project coordination. Experience in coordination of the EU financed projects is a plus 

Applications should be sent by email to microfinance@mfc.org.pl   

Please add in your e-mail:   “Application for MFC Advocacy position”  

The closing date for applications is 19/02/2023
Only the candidates shortlisted for an interview will be contacted during the following week.