The Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) is a
multi-donor fund established in 2010 to address food insecurity and income
poverty in Myanmar. LIFT has received funding from 14 donors – the United
Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, the United
States, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Italy, New Zealand,
Ireland and Mitsubishi Corporation. The United Nations Office for Project
Services (UNOPS) is the Fund Manager to administer the funds and provide
monitoring and oversight.
The overall goal of LIFT is to sustainably reduce the
number of people living in poverty and hunger in Myanmar. LIFT’s purpose is to strengthen the resilience and sustainable
livelihoods of poor people in Myanmar. LIFT’s purpose-level outcomes are
increased income, decreased vulnerability, improved nutrition, and pro-poor
policy developments.
LIFT works with implementing partners that include
international and national non-government organisations, United Nations
agencies, the Government of Myanmar, private sector organisations, academic and
research institutions.
LIFT is active in the four main agro-ecological zones of
Myanmar: the Ayeyarwady Delta, the Rakhine State, the central dry zone
(including Mandalay, Magway and the southern Sagaing region), and the upland
areas of Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin and Shan States and Tanintharyi Region.
So far, LIFT has reached more than 7.2 million people,
or roughly 20 per cent of Myanmar’s population; and is active in almost half
the country’s townships. LIFT is funding projects through to June 2019. For
more details visit www.lift-fund.org.
Objective
of the Assignment
Microfinance
interventions have been a key element of LIFT support to households, aimed at
improving both agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods in Myanmar. Up
until now, LIFT has partnered with 17 microfinance institutions, reaching out
to more than 1.6 million households. The efficiency of microfinance markets
depends on effective regulations and supervisions; the Ministry of Planning and
Finance thus formed the Financial Regulatory Department (FRD)[1] in October 2011
as the focal Government Agency for regulating and supervising microfinance
markets (see more details about FRD at this link http://www.mof.gov.mm/en/content/myanma-small-loans-enterprise).
Since 2012, LIFT
has been supporting FRD in its capacity development in the areas of policy
development, supervision, and information management.
FRD recently
issued a set of regulations that support microfinance markets by allowing
microfinance institutions to provide higher loan amounts, borrow from any other
financial sources, and take up deposit-taking licenses with increased paid-up
capital. These regulations also hold institutions to client protection
principles. This new set of regulations aims to promote operational efficiency,
accountability, responsibility, and client protection among microfinance
institutions when delivering financial services. In order to ensure that all
microfinance institutions comply with new and existing rules and regulations,
FRD is obliged to examine microfinance institutions on a regular basis.
Upon request of FRD, LIFT
recruited a Senior International Adviser for microfinance examination with
responsibilities of providing on the job training to FRD staff members in areas
of on site and off site examinations of the microfinance institutions. LIFT is now recruiting a Microfinance Analyst to support
the Senior International Advisor. The position is based in the FRD
offices in Nay Pyi Taw.
[1] Formerly known as MMSE
– Myanmar Microfinance Supervisory Enterprise