Organizational Setting

FAO has been actively supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in strengthening inclusive rural development, working in close partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), the Bank of Sierra Leone (BoSL), and the Ministry of Gender and Children's Affairs (MoGCA).

Rural women in Sierra Leone remain systematically excluded from formal financial services. Only 25 percent of women hold an account versus 33 percent of men, and just 5 percent of women aged 15 and above reported borrowing from a formal financial institution in 2021. Gender-specific barriers, including women's limited access to and control over land, low levels of financial literacy, and the limited availability of suitable financial products, continue to restrict women farmers' access to finance and social protection. System-level constraints compound the problem: the Collateral Registry is underutilised, and implementation of the NSFI 2022 to 2026 and the GEWE Act 2022 with 2024 Regulations remains nascent in rural markets.

Based on the above, FAO has developed a project component, endorsed by MAFFS, to be implemented in Sierra Leone under the project titled “Pathways for Inclusive and Gender Responsive National Policy Instruments to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty,” funded by the FAO's Flexible Voluntary Contributions (FVC) Programme. The project is implemented in two countries, the Dominican Republic and Sierra Leone, each addressing distinct but complementary policy priorities under the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (GAAHP) framework.

The Sierra Leone component responds to the GoSL priorities to accelerate gender-responsive and inclusive access to finance for smallholder farmers and rural communities. It will focus on three outputs: (1) strengthening the evidence and knowledge base and co-designing an intervention framework to promote gender-responsive finance; (2) piloting a gender-responsive financial service model for rural women organised in Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in a selected area; and (3) developing a national scale-up strategy and facilitating a GAAHP matchmaking exercise.

Reporting Line

Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative in Sierra Leone, the National Consultant will be technically supervised by the Lead Technical Officer, FAO ESP Division, and relevant ESP teams and in close collaboration with the National Technical Project Coordinator.

Technical Focus

The candidate delivers the Plan phase of the Sierra Leone component (Component 1 of the project chronogram, July–December 2026): the diagnostic study, the VSLA maturity and autonomy assessment tool, the targeting of the value chain and pilot district, and the pilot package co-designed with rural women and financial institutions and validated by government. The Plan phase outputs feed directly into the Implementation phase delivered by the Service Provider in 2027.

Tasks and responsibilities

The candidate will deliver the activities of Component 1 of the project chronogram, grouped under three work streams:

Diagnostic study
•    Develop the diagnostic study, methodology and instruments in collaboration with ESP Team HQ.
•    Conduct the desk review, policy mapping and stakeholder mapping
•    Lead the field data collection through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and surveys, in the post-rains window (October–November 2026).
•    Develop the VSLA maturity and autonomy assessment tool, to be tested in 2027 during the pilot.
•    Analyse the data and produce the draft diagnostic report.
•    Organise the validation workshop and finalise the diagnostic report.

Targeting (value chain and geography)
•    Develop the value chain and geography selection criteria.
•    Conduct the rapid screening and propose the value chain and pilot district.
•    Facilitate Government and FAO sign-off on the value chain, area and target group.
•    Develop the target group and beneficiary selection protocol.

Co-design
•    Convene consultations with women, financial institutions and government to establish the working group.
•    Develop the exploratory pathways to link women to financial institutions, through participatory processes.
•    Produce the co-designed pilot package — capacity development package and exploratory pathways to promote linkages with financial institutions — together with the rollout plan and lean MEL plan.

Handover and continuity
• Support the Service Provider during the inception and early implementation of Component 2 (January–March 2027) to ensure full handover of the Plan-phase deliverables, and provide technical clarifications on the diagnostic findings, the VSLA maturity tool and the rollout plan.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Finance, Development Studies, Gender and Development, Social Sciences or a related field.
•    At least five (5) years of relevant professional experience in rural finance with additional expertise in financial inclusion, gender-responsive programming and/or applied research on rural development.
o    Demonstrated experience in carrying out assessments of needs and markets for rural finance products and services with focus on rural women's financial inclusion using qualitative (KII, FGD) and (where possible) quantitative (mini-survey) methods, with sex- and age-disaggregated analysis.
o    Demonstrated experience working with VSLAs, cooperatives or community-based financial institutions in Sierra Leone or the West Africa region.
o    Sound knowledge of Sierra Leone’s financial sector landscape, including the NSFI 2022–2026, the GEWE Act 2022 with 2024 Regulations and the Feed Salone Programme.
•    Working knowledge of English (level C).
•    National of Sierra Leone

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Technical knowledge of gender-responsive financial inclusion in rural agrifood contexts.
•    Experience in the design of maturity or capacity assessment tools for community-based organisations.
•    Ability to facilitate multi-stakeholder consultations and co-design processes.
•    Knowledge of socio-cultural and gender dynamics in rural Sierra Leone.
•    Familiarity with FAO’s strategic priorities on gender equality and rural transformation is an asset.
•    Experience in Results-Based Management (RBM).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

Gender, Rural Finance and Financial Inclusion Specialist