Are you a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you are invited to submit your job application for the position of IT Advisor at CDF Canada. Related to current jobs in Ghana 2023

Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Ghana

IT Advisor (Co-operative development)

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Location: Salaga, Kpandai, Bimbila

Start Date: As soon as possible

Duration:   Six months to One Year

Language Requirement: English (Mandatory) 

Reporting to: Country Program Officer

Volunteer Category: North South

No. of Position: 1

The Project

The VOICE for Women and Girls project is a seven-year initiative (2020 – 2027) aimed at strengthening the performance of developing country partner (DCP) organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 women and men from marginalised communities, in particular young women (target: 60% women and girls), in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Malawi with a focus on action areas of the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), namely:

• Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls, and
• Growth that Works for Everyone.

The Project responds to the needs identified by women and men of cooperatives and the entire members in the countries of operation and is designed to increase the capacities of individual producers and primary co-operatives to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth. Supporting institutions, including apex co-operatives, co-operative colleges, and government/regulatory institutions will also be engaged to increase the capacity and prioritization of vulnerable groups.

 

Our Partner

SEND Ghana has previously implemented the ACCESS and Fostering project and in some initiatives including 4R-NSP in partnership with CDF with funding from GAC. SEND Ghana focuses on research and advocacy to increase good governance practices of accountability, transparency, equity and participation in pro-poor policies and social services as well as empowers resource poor women and men to expand their small enterprises to improve income and farmers to increase food and nutrition security. 

Your Assignment

The IT Specialist Volunteer will be reporting directly to the Country Program Officer, who is coordinating all project activities at the country level. He/She is  expected to work hand in hand with 4 community credit union that the VOICE project is working with.  On a regular basis the advisor is expected to host meetings and training sessions with the management of the credit Unions and branch staff where they have been assigned. This is a multiple location assignment and is estimated to last for one year.

There are 4 credit unions with 12 branches providing services to the members of the co-ops, using manual and laborious processes to serve their members which limits provision of quality service to its members. There is the need to move away from the manual inefficient processes to the use of technology, data management system and interactive applications that could make members perform some of their banking needs and support management serve their members with high level accuracy and efficiency.

Objectives

The credit union needs to develop an excel based accounting tool aimed at facilitating systematic and standardized bookkeeping and accounting for cooperatives at the branch level and help them to network with their headquarters for effective monitoring. Assess the accounting tool used at the head office and make improvements considering reporting requirements. The tool should be able to produce financial reports and create an audit trail to enhance compliance to regulatory requirements for accountability and transparency. The tool should also be able to be hosted on a mobile device (tablet) for field mobile bankers to easily perform transactions with members and synchronize data.

The credit unions seek to improve their operations and the features in the said accounting tool should have the ability to enhance credit union managerial operations and guarantee data security and integrity, to create a database and an interface and to develop it into a multiuser application.

Deliverables

The desired IT Volunteer Advisor is expected to carry out the following key duties and responsibilities:

• Assess the current accounting systems and tools being used by the credit unions to identify any capacity gaps
• Improve, create or develop an accounting system that is user friendly at branch level and headquarters
• Develop concept notes for to access SIF to purchase materials and equipment to support IT capacity building at in the credit union
• Assess the IT gap at the credit union and provide training on the systems developed for effective work.
• Discuss with the CPO the best approach to develop the session plans, ensuring better understanding of training steps for third party users

Qualifications

The applicant must possess the following skills, experiences, and personal characteristics: 

The successful applicant must possess the following skills, experiences, and personal characteristics: 

· Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in computer programing and software development

· Experience and knowledge in Management Information Systems, database development

· Knowledge and skills in Javascript and any other related platforms

· Formal computer skills (Microsoft Office) are a must. 

· Experience and knowledge of co-operatives. Proven experience in co-operative development in a developing country context will be an asset. 

· Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills 

· Excellent capacity to analyze, develop recommendations and capture lessons learned

· Ability to travel to and live in remote locations where services are minimal 

· Ability to work autonomously, be flexible and analytical

· Knowledge in community participation methodologies. 

· Experience facilitating group learning/training sessions or focus groups. 

· Demonstrated ability and interest in communicating and interacting effectively with people of a different culture. 

· Must be able to work alone as well as with the credit union

·  Ability to transform complex concepts and information into plain language reports

·  Demonstrated experience working internationally, including rural and remote contexts

Application Process

Please submit a resume and letter of intent to [email protected]. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Successful candidates will be required to obtain a police check from their local police/RCMP detachment. All applicants are thanked for their interest in CDF Canada; however, only those selected for an interview