Programme Officer – Village Savings And Loans Association (VSLA) at Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) - MY NGO JOBS

PROGRAMME OFFICER – VILLAGE SAVINGS AND LOANS ASSOCIATION (VSLA)

The Opportunity: Empowering Communities Through Financial Inclusion

In fragile and conflict-affected regions like Yobe, access to reliable and safe financial mechanisms is critical for rebuilding household stability and achieving long-term economic recovery. This VSLA Programme Officer role is fundamental to the humanitarian and development context as it directly facilitates community-led financial resilience, empowering vulnerable populations, especially women and youth, to save, borrow, and invest. By strengthening local economies from the grassroots up, this position contributes significantly to poverty reduction, food security, and social cohesion.

Job Summary

Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is seeking a motivated and experienced Programme Officer to lead the implementation of the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) component in Potiskum, Yobe State. The officer will be responsible for establishing, strengthening, and monitoring community-managed savings groups, providing comprehensive training on financial literacy and entrepreneurship, and linking successful VSLAs to formal financial institutions and viable market opportunities along key agricultural value chains.

What Skills Are Needed: Core Financial Inclusion and Livelihood Competencies

Competency	Description
VSLA Technical Mastery	Deep knowledge of the Village Savings and Loans methodology, including group formation, governance, record-keeping, and advanced facilitation skills.
Livelihoods Linkages	Proven ability to identify viable income-generating activities (IGAs) and connect groups to microfinance institutions, agricultural markets, and relevant government services.
Financial Education	Strong experience in developing and delivering training on financial literacy, basic business management, and entrepreneurship to diverse rural audiences (women and youth).
Conflict Sensitivity	Commitment to adhering to gender equality and conflict sensitivity policies, ensuring inclusive participation and integrating peacebuilding dialogues into group activities.

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables

The Programme Officer will manage the lifecycle of the VSLA component, from initial formation to sustained economic linkage.

1. VSLA Group Formation and Capacity Building

Group Establishment: Facilitate the creation and formalization of new VSLA groups among project beneficiaries, ensuring inclusive representation of women, youth, and marginalized groups.
Core Training: Conduct comprehensive training for communities on the full VSLA methodology, financial literacy, group governance, and record-keeping practices.
Digitalization: Promote and facilitate the digitalization of VSLA group operations, exploring partnerships with mobile money providers like Airtel to enhance efficiency and security.

2. Economic Recovery and Market Linkages

Financial Access: Link high-performing VSLA groups to formal microfinance institutions (MFIs), commercial banks, and revolving funds to expand access to larger capital.
Enterprise Development: Identify and develop viable economic opportunities and additions along the agri-value chains, specifically supporting youth and women to access capital for commodity processing, packaging, and marketing.
Registration & Guarantees: Facilitate the legal registration of mature VSLA groups as cooperatives and link them to the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for potential government financial guarantees.

3. Monitoring, Reporting, and Peacebuilding

Performance Tracking: Implement robust monitoring systems to track critical VSLA performance indicators, including savings growth, loan repayment rates, and social fund utilization.
Documentation: Systematically document success stories, case studies, and key implementation challenges, submitting regular and detailed progress reports to the VSLA Officer.
Social Cohesion: Actively promote inclusive participation and integrate peacebuilding dialogue and conflict-sensitive approaches into routine VSLA meetings and activities to enhance social cohesion within the community.

Professional Qualifications and Experience

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or a related field.

Experience

A minimum of three (3) years of direct field experience managing VSLA, microfinance, or community-based savings and loans programs, ideally within a humanitarian setting.
Proven experience in livelihoods and economic recovery programming, including small business development and market linkage facilitation.
Experience collaborating effectively with other sectoral teams (e.g., peacebuilding, nutrition, natural resource management).

Skills & Attributes

Highly developed facilitation, training, and community mobilization skills.
Strong ability to work effectively in a remote field environment and willingness to travel frequently to rural communities.
Proficiency in English is required; knowledge of local languages (Hausa/Kanuri) is an added advantage.
Adherence to project policies on conflict sensitivity and gender equality.

Benefits of Applying

COOPI offers a stimulating environment focused on humanitarian impact and principled action:

Competitive Salary: Compensation is competitive and will be benchmarked against similar technical program officer roles in the humanitarian sector in Yobe State.
Direct Livelihoods Impact: Opportunity to directly improve the financial security and resilience of hundreds of vulnerable households.
Integrated Programming: Work collaboratively with teams across various sectors (e.g., Forestry, Nutrition) to deliver holistic community solutions.
Professional Specialization: Deepen expertise in financial inclusion, microenterprise development, and digital financial linkages in a development context.

About the Organization (Cooperazione Internazionale – COOPI)

Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is a leading humanitarian non-governmental organization founded in Italy, dedicated to supporting vulnerable communities globally to enhance their resilience. Our mission focuses on integrated programming, specializing in climate-smart agricultural productivity, disaster emergency response, protection, and peacebuilding initiatives. We are committed to empowering communities not just through aid, but through sustainable practices, innovative solutions, and localized capacity building efforts. COOPI prides itself on strict adherence to humanitarian principles and fostering an inclusive environment for all employees.

Application Details

Detail	Information
Location	Potiskum, Yobe State, Nigeria
Employment Type	Full-Time Contract
Salary Expectation	Competitive
Application Closing Date	24th December, 2025

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to submit their application, consisting of a comprehensive CV and a cover letter detailing their specific experience in VSLA implementation and financial literacy training, via the designated online application link.

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Tips for Applicants

Quantify VSLA Experience: State the number of groups you have successfully formed, the total number of beneficiaries reached, or the aggregate amount of savings mobilized in previous roles.
Highlight Linkages: Provide a concrete example of a time you successfully linked a community savings group to a formal financial institution, microfinance program, or a government guarantee scheme.
Demonstrate Training Skill: Briefly describe your approach to making financial literacy training accessible and engaging for rural community members, particularly women or illiterate beneficiaries.