Private Sector Innovation Manager (digital financial services/fintech) at Cenfri

Role Summary

• We are looking for a Private sector innovation Manager or Associate to work with FinTech’s and other financial services providers to develop innovative and inclusive financial products services. This individual will work with these organisations to advise on strategy, product development and launch (including consumer centric design) and/or regulatory advise, as required. This individual will leverage high quality evidence and ideas to help organisations build new inclusive products and innovate, with a particular focus to digital products. Approaches will be anchored in applied research, including behavioural interventions and market testing. This individual will also be responsible for community building, leveraging new and existing fintech networks to build strong innovation ecosystems.

Key responsibilities include:

• Designing and leading research and innovation design work, incorporating the latest research in qualitative and quantitative methods, behavioural science, psychology, economics, and development to provide practical solutions to engagements.
• Serving as a point of contact for clients and managing their needs through proactive communication and troubleshooting.
• Planning, managing, and executing external engagements independently from start to finish, being responsible for project timelines, deliverables, reports, and staffing.
• Contributing to the creation of proposals, concept notes, and pitch decks for new business opportunities and knowledge sharing.
• Building and managing a community of FinTechs and providers, leveraging new and existing networks to build strong innovation ecosystems
• Informing our impact agenda, new business development and network building to engage stakeholders
• Working closely with thematic specialists across our team to help policymakers, private sector and development partners
• Taking ownership of client engagement, project design and project delivery
• Inspiring and managing teams to effectively deliver on key goals
• Actively contributing to and shaping Cenfri’s independent research objectives, operations and strategy in pursuit of impact
• Travelling domestically and globally to explore the challenges we address for our partners

Requirements
Who you are

• You understand what it takes to design and launch financial products and services, as well as how to address barriers to uptake and usage
• You thoroughly monitor new developments in financial innovation including new technologies and business partnerships
• You are a curious and creative thinker, interested in achieving impact beyond yourself, and you have a sustained interest in solving real world problems.
• You have the patience to pursue impact over time by generating, sharing and applying insights.
• You aspire to be wise rather than clever, and you enjoy an adventurous and entrepreneurial environment where you can balance work and life.
• You bring inspiration and inspired points of view from diverse sources to help your teams and clients imagine new opportunities.
• Having a curious mind, you naturally make connections between diverse fields and industries.
• As a strategic thinker, you can synthesise specific insights and stories into impactful, well-articulated outputs.
• You enjoy managing complex projects that deliver on objectives.
• Being highly collaborative, you appreciate and learn from the perspectives of those who have different backgrounds and skills.

Qualifications

You have:

• A minimum of five to eight years’ in a research and/or consulting environment and applying this in a developing country context.
• Experience working in financial services, financial inclusion, digital transformation or a related field
• Experience working with financial service providers and/or FinTech’s, especially in areas that support their growth and innovation efforts
• Experience as a behavioural science practitioner would be beneficial.
• Excellent strategic thinking and superlative verbal and written communication skills, along with fluency and confidence in inspiring teammates and clients
• Experience in research and project design to solve problems while developing and empowering junior team members, including proposal development, budgeting, resource management and talent management
• Demonstrated ability to work flexibly and efficiently, exercising a balance between research rigor and nimble project management
• An ability to meet the demands of multiple clients simultaneously, balancing efficiency with quality and accuracy
• A high comfort level in working within a self-directed culture and navigating ambiguity
• A proven appetite for experimentation (while you have facility in a range of research methods, you are innovative and you value great inspiration over dogmatic adherence to process)
• A Master’s degree or similar qualification in economics, law, policy, development or related areas
• Fluency in French will be an advantage, but not a requirement

Location

• Cenfri is based in Cape Town, South Africa. Given the extent of teamwork it is ideal to be based locally although virtual and flexible work is feasible. We are open to discussing remote working or flexible hours and will be happy to speak to you about this.

Application instructions

• If you identify with our values, are excited about impactful research and would like to contribute to our mission and vision, we would love to hear from you.