Relationship Manager

Start Date: As soon as possible.

Duration: The project is expected to conclude on 31 August 2027.

Type of Contract: Full-time position.

Compensation: Competitive, dependent on experience.

Location: Pakistan.

ABOUT FINANCIAL INNOVATION FOR IMPACT

Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii)is an international, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of scalable, sustainable, and evidence-based financial and regulatory innovation. We work with academic institutions, digital finance ecosystem partners, and other stakeholders to create knowledge and apply data-driven insights to inform the development of fintech and the decision-making of central banks, securities regulators, and other financial authorities. Fii generates research, develops digital tools, and delivers capacity building at scale through technical assistance programmes to benefit financially excluded, marginalised, and disadvantaged populations.

The Technical Assistance Directorate

Fii's Technical Assistance Directorate delivers practical, evidence-based technical assistance to central banks, financial regulators and policymakers. This role will support Fii’s 12-month technical assistance programme with and for the benefit of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), working with SBP on its approach to overseeing and supporting Pakistan’s evolving digital financial services ecosystem, in collaboration with Fii international specialists and the wider Pakistan-based team.

THE ROLE

Fii is seeking a Pakistan-based Relationship Manager to serve as the programme's trusted day-to-day institutional interface with SBP and to sustain constructive engagement across Pakistan's digital financial services ecosystem. The role will build the relationships, access and shared understanding needed for technical work to progress effectively across the programme's various workstreams.

The Relationship Manager will work closely with the programme’s Pakistan-based Project Manager, Technical Specialist and Fii's international digital financial services experts, providing practical intelligence on stakeholder priorities, institutional dynamics and local ways of working.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a trusted day-to-day interface between Fii and relevant SBP counterparts, maintaining open, professional and appropriately confidential communication across departments and levels of seniority.
• Develop and maintain a programme-wide stakeholder map and engagement plan covering relevant SBP teams, Pakistani authorities, government bodies, financial institutions, payment service providers, fintechs, industry organisations, civil-society actors and development partners.
• Build and sustain relationships with the stakeholders needed across multiple workstreams, tailoring engagement to each workstream's decisions, evidence needs and sensitivities.
• Navigate institutional decision-making processes and local ways of working, helping the Fii team identify the appropriate counterparts, routes for consultation and realistic timing for engagement.
• Facilitate access for technical interviews, diagnostics, consultations, workshops and validation sessions, ensuring the right stakeholder mix and supporting participation from groups relevant to inclusion and consumer protection.
• Identify emerging stakeholder sensitivities, inter-agency issues, relationship risks or conflicting expectations early, and advise Fii colleagues on proportionate engagement and escalation strategies.
• Provide Fii international specialists with timely, practical intelligence on SBP priorities, institutional context, market sentiment and stakeholder readiness.
• Support programme governance and partner coordination.
• Help map and monitor adjacent technical-assistance initiatives so that Fii's support complements related activity, avoids duplicative stakeholder demands and creates clear transition points for future support.
• Support appropriate market-facing engagement where relevant to a particular workstream.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate will combine the experience and judgement required for the role with a practical commitment to collaborative, locally grounded delivery.

Essential

• Based in Pakistan, with the ability to sustain regular in-person engagement with SBP and other programme stakeholders.
• Existing well-connected relationships across Pakistani regulatory and governmental organisations and/or the financial services and digital finance ecosystem.
• Substantial experience in stakeholder relationship management, partnerships, public affairs or institutional engagement in Pakistan, including work with financial-sector or public-sector organisations.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in public policy, international relations, finance, economics, law, business, communications or another relevant field.
• Demonstrated credibility, diplomacy and judgement in engaging senior public-sector officials and working constructively across departments, institutions and levels of seniority.
• Strong understanding of Pakistan's institutional decision-making, political-economy context and professional ways of working.
• Proven ability to map stakeholders, design engagement approaches and organise productive consultations, interviews, working sessions and senior meetings.
• Excellent interpersonal and conflict-sensitive communication skills, including the discretion to manage confidential information and politically or commercially sensitive issues.
• Excellent written and spoken English and native-level Urdu, with the ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• A collaborative and self-directed working style, with enough familiarity with digital finance and regulation to engage credibly while drawing on specialist colleagues for technical leadership.

Desirable

• Experience working with or within SBP, another financial authority, a government institution or a regulated financial-sector organisation.
• Experience supporting an international technical-assistance, donor-funded or development-partner programme.
• Working familiarity with Pakistan's digital financial services landscape.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder consultations, industry working groups, policy roundtables or communities of practice.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A job and a team with a purpose. This is a chance to work on important challenges in the financial sector that greatly affect our economies and society, and to have a real impact using data and tech to transform the public sector.
• Opportunity to innovate and to break new ground in this field.
• Exposure to leading thinkers, researchers, and solution creators in the financial and technology space and academia.
• Opportunities to frame evidence-based discussions in a rapidly evolving industry.
• Opportunities to work and collaborate with exceptional teammates, experts, and partners globally.
• Competitive compensation and benefits as per the location.
• Flexible work schedule

INCLUSION

We welcome applications from all backgrounds. We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you require any adjustments to support your application or participation in the selection process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should apply by 22nd September. We may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date if we receive a high volume of applications. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply as early as possible.