Development Coordinator

CARE International works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. We seek a world of hope, tolerance, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security. We put women and girls at the centre because we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities.

Project Yield is a partnership between CARE, AGRA and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) that moves women smallholder and agripreneurs from informal savings groups into commercial finance. It starts with a pilot in Zambia in Year 1 and scales to Malawi, Rwanda and Nigeria in Years 2 to 4. Women are drawn from existing CARE Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) and Field and Business School (FFBS) groups and move through three stages: (1) identification and assessment through a two-stage gate; (2) a nine-month VALUE4HER enterprise development cycle covering skills, formalization and market linkages; and (3) a capital readiness assessment, followed by placement with financial service providers (FSPs) under an AGF partial credit guarantee.

CARE Zambia, an International Non-Governmental relief and development organization with various projects in Eastern, North-western, Luapula, Lusaka, and Southern provinces of Zambia, is looking for an experienced, innovative and motivated individual to fill the following position;

Job Title:                                    Development Coordinator    

Reports to:                                 Chief of Party – Project Yield  

Location:                                     Choma

Type of Contract:                     Fixed Term

Job Summary

The Development Coordinator is a full-time member of the CARE Zambia country team and is accountable for the direct, day-to-day implementation of Project Yield in Zambia The position holder owns delivery of the pilot cohort from identification through to loan placement, supervises the Community-Based Trainers (CBTs), oversees the work of the country-level Business Development Services (BDS) provider, and manages the relationships with government, regulators, FSPs and buyers that the pathway depends on. The Development coordinator is the operational counterpart to the AGRA and AGF country focal points.

The position will work under the technical guidance of the Chief of Party and will serve as the primary operational focal point for project implementation within assigned geographic areas.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1.    Cohort Delivery: Stage 1 and Stage 2 Implementation (25%)

• Lead pre-launch mobilization activities, including adaptation of the Group Health Checklist and Entrepreneur Readiness Scorecard to the Zambia VSLA and FFBS context.
• Support scoping and engagement of Business Development Service (BDS) providers and Financial Service Provider (FSP) partners.
• Oversee Stage 1 implementation, including application of assessment tools, quality assurance of CBT scoring, and onboarding of eligible women entrepreneurs into the cohort.
• Manage cohort workplans, activity schedules, and budgets in collaboration with CARE shared services.
• Monitor participant retention, support re-entry processes where appropriate, and address operational challenges.
• Coordinate and oversee the Month 9 Capital Readiness Assessment.

2. Supervision of CBTs, Local Partners and Oversight of the BDS Providers (20%)

• Recruit, supervise, mentor, and appraise Community-Based Trainers (CBTs) and allocate caseloads across cohort intakes.
• Coordinate and monitor field and local partners delivering project activities.
• Co-develop implementation schedules with the BDS provider and monitor performance against contractual deliverables.
• Monitor the quality of training, coaching, mentorship, and business support services provided to participants.
• Organize peer learning and mentoring opportunities through graduates of previous cohorts.
• Strengthen the capacity of local partners, community structures, and CBTs to sustain project outcomes.
• Ensure safeguarding, accountability, inclusion, and gender-responsive approaches are integrated throughout implementation.
• Escalate performance or delivery concerns to the Chief of Party (CoP) as required.

3. Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination (15%)

• Maintain strong working relationships with relevant district and provincial government departments, including Agriculture, Community Development, Cooperatives, SMEs, and Local Government.
• Coordinate stakeholder forums, technical working groups, and project review meetings at district and provincial levels.
• Facilitate engagement with regulatory agencies during documentation and business formalization clinics.
• Represent the project in district and provincial development platforms, agricultural shows, business forums, value chain meetings, and other relevant networks.
• Strengthen collaboration with traditional leaders, producer organizations, savings groups, women's entrepreneur networks, and other community stakeholders.

4. Financial Inclusion and Business Support (20%)

• Coordinate engagement with banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), VSLAs, and other financial service providers.
• Support the co-design and adaptation of women-responsive financial products with partner FSPs, ensuring alignment with seasonal cash flows, alternative collateral mechanisms, and group-based lending models.
• Facilitate business planning, enterprise formalization, and preparation of loan application packages.
• Support women entrepreneurs to access business development, mentorship, coaching, and advisory services.
• Assess participant readiness for commercial financing and referrals to partner financial institutions.
• Organize pitch sessions with FSPs and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF).
• Track financing applications through underwriting, approval, disbursement, and post-disbursement stages.
• Monitor loan performance and identify early warning signs of repayment stress for follow-up support.

5. Market Linkages and Private Sector Engagement (10%)

• Facilitate buyer-seller engagements, market days, business networking events, and investment forums.
• Support the establishment of market agreements and off-taker relationships.
• Strengthen linkages between women entrepreneurs, producer groups, input suppliers, aggregators, processors, and service providers.
• Coordinate participation in trade, agricultural shows, and business exhibitions.
• Identify and promote opportunities for value addition, market expansion, and private-sector partnerships.

6. Monitoring, Reporting and Learning (10%)

• Work closely with the M&E Officer to collect, verify, and maintain high-quality project data.
• Track key indicators, including participant retention, progression through programme stages, financing applications, loans disbursed, business performance, and loan repayment.
• Ensure accurate and timely field-level data collection and reporting.
• Prepare monthly activity reports, success stories, case studies, lessons learned, and other implementation updates.
• Contribute to quarterly, annual, donor, and project performance reports as required by the Program Manager and Chief of Party.
• Support learning, reflection, and adaptive management processes to improve programme effectiveness.

Qualifications and Experience

·    Bachelor's degree in agricultural economics, business administration, finance, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

·    At least 5 years of relevant programme experience in agribusiness, women's economic empowerment, financial inclusion, SME development, or rural livelihoods, including at least 2 years in a coordination, supervisory, or team leadership role managing field teams, partners, or programme implementation.

·    Demonstrated experience with women's economic empowerment, agricultural value chains, financial inclusion, or SME/agribusiness finance programming in Africa.

·    Track record of successful resource mobilization, including proposal development and donor relationship management.

· with blended finance instruments, particularly partial credit guarantees, and with financial institution partnership models, is a strong advantage.

·    Hands-on experience with VSLA/ Savings groups, Field and Business Schools or similar group-based programming, including supervising community trainers or.

·    Proven ability to plan and manage activity workplans and budgets, oversee contracted service providers, and produce clear reports.

·    Fluency in English and at least one major Zambian language, and willingness to travel frequently to project areas.

Suitably qualified and interested members of the public are invited to submit their applications through the Thornsoft Recruitment Portal by logging in here. Or https://royalty.thorn-soft.com/recruitment/job-details.php?job=249.

Closing Date: 6th November 2026

Kindly ensure that, all academic qualifications are verified by the Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA).

CARE is an Equal Opportunity Employer promoting equity and diversity.  

As part of CARE’s commitment to preventing sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse and child abuse, we conduct reference checks on all final-stage candidates in line with the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role, you are giving us consent to contact your previous employers to seek information in line with this scheme.