Kiva Zip Operations Intern, Phila Dept of Commerce

Posted by City of Philadelphia on February 16, 2015

Volunteer – Kiva Zip Operations Intern

Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 3-6 months; 3-5 days per week, minimum of 15 hours per week
Start Date: As soon as possible

The Organizations:
Kiva.org was founded upon the fundamental principle that connecting people through lending can help alleviate poverty. To ensure that it succeeds, the company, along with its user base, provides borrowers with the seed capital needed to generate income, and thereby live a life of sustainability and independence. So far, this approach has enabled Kiva to raise over $600 million in loans for 1.2 million+ entrepreneurs in nearly 80 countries around the world.

The Philadelphia Department of Commerce is the umbrella organization for all of the economic development in the city. The Department of Commerce has partnered with Kiva.org to aid in the development and growth of Kiva Zip throughout the city and the region.

Kiva Zip Background:
Kiva Zip (http://zip.kiva.org) is a program aimed at testing ways that Kiva can make its existing model more direct in order to:

• Expand access to capital for borrowers (e.g. by reaching borrowers who are geographically excluded from/do not qualify for microfinance loans)
• Lower the cost of that capital
• Enable borrowers and lenders to connect more directly (e.g. through SMS)

Kiva Zip launched in Philadelphia in 2014. To date, 27 entrepreneurs have been supported on the Kiva Zip website for a total of $110,225.

Job Description:
As the Kiva Zip Operations Intern for Philadelphia, you will work directly with the Kiva Zip Philadelphia Manager for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce. You will assist with daily functions, as well as, provide independent thinking, new strategic ideas, and problem solving skills to anything you encounter. This is a perfect position for someone with a proactive, can-do attitude. The ideal candidate will be excited to volunteer their skills with Kiva and the Department of Commerce, knowing they will gain invaluable experience from an industry-leading organization.

Job Responsibilities:

• Onboarding, reviewing, and posting entrepreneurs who are looking to use Kiva Zip to grow their business.
• Providing support to Kiva Zip trustees by assisting them with the borrower loan application process.
• Supporting our customer service efforts by managing different questions that are asked from our borrowers and Trustees.
• Help create content for social media, blog posts, and monthly newsletters.
• Proactively, and often independently, identify issues that could impede pilot progress, and recommend actions to maintain momentum
• Supporting our delinquency management efforts to follow up with borrowers who are behind in their repayment schedule, and assist them in getting back on track.

Skills / Qualifications / Experience:

• Proven project management skills
• Highly proactive and able to work independently
• Entrepreneurial background
• Micro-finance experience preferable, but not essential
• Preferably enrolled as a Junior or Senior in a 4-year college or recently graduated college

Benefits:

• Broad and flexible role, providing exposure to a number of different parts of the Kiva organization
• Opportunity to be part of the team that has the potential to identify Kiva’s next industry-transforming program
• Opportunity to engage in, and learn about, entrepreneurialism in a controlled environment – while learning from individuals with industry-leading experience in the micro-finance arena.
• Opportunity to learn more about government through working with the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department.

If interested…

• Please send a plain text resume and cover letter to Alyssa.Thomas@phila.gov
• Please note this is an unpaid internship
• Due to the high numbers of applicants for this position, we regret that we can only respond to candidates that we would like to interview