Senior Associate, Rwanda

About the role

Aceli Africa, a market catalyst that connects agricultural enterprises with private sector lending, is hiring a Senior Associate in Rwanda. Reporting to the Manager, Rwanda and working with colleagues across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and the United States, the role provides operational, coordination and administrative support to lenders, technical assistance providers, data and learning organisations, industry associations, donors and policymakers. The ideal candidate has experience in project coordination, stakeholder engagement, data management and program reporting in agricultural development, financial inclusion or SME finance.

Key responsibilities

• Partner and stakeholder support: lead outreach with lending partners, coordinate onboarding of Rwandan lenders into the Aceli Network, support branch-level activation, follow up with agricultural SMEs in Technical Assistance programs, maintain contact lists and meeting notes, and plan and support training sessions and workshops.
• Program coordination: support TA events, investor pitch sessions and lender-SME matchmaking, collect and verify SME and lender data, support impact assessments and site visits, coordinate Gender Lens Investing initiatives, and plan and run Aceli Rwanda events, retreats and field visits.
• Data management and reporting: enter and update partner data in Salesforce and Power BI, troubleshoot system issues, compile data for donor and internal reports, and record project activities and event attendance.
• Policy and regulatory reforms: coordinate scheduling and documentation for policy engagements, support the partnership with the Rwanda Bankers Association, prepare stakeholder engagement materials, track regulatory developments and maintain action trackers.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Development Studies, Economics, Business Administration or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in SME finance, project coordination, stakeholder engagement, relationship management or donor-funded program implementation.
• Experience in lending, agricultural finance, SME development or financial inclusion in Rwanda or the wider East African region is an advantage.
• Right to live and work in Rwanda.

Required skills

• Proficiency in the MS Office suite.
• Experience with CRM systems such as Salesforce or data dashboards such as Power BI.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working proficiency in Kinyarwanda is required, French is an advantage.