Call for fellowship applications: Parametric insurance for securing livestock livelihoods in Kyrgyzstan

The Fellowship Programme

The objective of the programme is to match qualified professionals with organizations working on the frontiers of financial inclusion, microfinance and impact insurance, to bridge skill gaps and create a new generation of professionals with experience serving low-income populations.

Who can apply?

The ideal candidates for a fellowship should:

• Have relevant expertise to contribute to activities related to financial inclusion, insurance, digital finance and/or public private partnerships.
• Be proactive and ready to document learning experiences during the fellowship.
• Be interested in working in developing countries on development issues.
• Be seriously committed to providing inclusive financial and insurance services and practising in the field on an ongoing basis after the assignment.
• Be resourceful and capable of arranging practical necessities related to travel, life and work in a new environment.
• Be ready to work in a developing country for the duration of the fellowship.

Financial inclusion, insurance or development professionals who are keen to apply their skills to promote social justice in emerging markets and who have worked in a technical capacity for at least five years may participate. Candidates with the requisite skills and experience will be included in the roster and considered for the aforementioned fellowship opportunity.

The fellowship helped immensely in giving me a taste of what it’s like to be a professional working in microinsurance in a developing country. It enabled me to specialise as a microinsurance actuary, focused on agricultural microinsurance. Taking up the fellowship was perhaps the best decision of my career.

Agrotosh Mokerjee, Fellow alumna

Terms of reference

Background

Kyrgyzstan is a land-locked mountainous country with a population of approximately 6.8 million, of which 65.1% live in rural areas and depend significantly on agriculture and livestock breeding; more than half of the rural population is poor or vulnerable to poverty while welfare payments and remittances represent a significant additional source of income in rural areas.

The scale and frequency of climate-induced disasters have increased by over 50% over the past 12 years. Abnormally high temperatures combined with low rainfall are resulting in extreme droughts and reduced availability of irrigation water, while sudden drops in temperatures can extend winters, leading to lower yields across multiple crops, especially fodder. Based on recent research, most livestock keepers encounter challenges related to insufficient fodder or restricted access to fodder, particularly during extreme weather conditions. Due to the increasing volatility of climate shocks and lack of risk transfer mechanism, livestock producers are forced to make suboptimal decisions, limiting any opportunity for economic growth, development and stability. Therefore, it is essential to implement climate and disaster risk financing strategies, including index insurance, that can offer pre-arranged finance to vulnerable households before and after climate shocks.

While weather index insurance has been implemented in Kyrgyzstan for nearly two years, field missions have highlighted the critical importance of timely payouts for marginalized pastoralists and local governments alike. Considering this, the project entitled “Securing Livestock Livelihoods in Kyrgyzstan” aims to support the launch of the first innovative Forecast-based Index Insurance solution in Kyrgyzstan that will be designed specifically for pastoralist communities, offering proactive financial protection against climate-related risks. This solution builds on prior research and earlier piloted solutions. With the new insurance solution, communities will be forewarned about climate-related risks and have the chance to be prepared. The solutions will leverage advanced weather forecasting technology and community engagement to empower livestock keepers to make informed decisions and take pre-emptive actions in response to imminent extreme weather events, ultimately safeguarding their livestock and livelihoods. The pay-outs will be primarily used to acquire and manage fodder to ensure that it will be available amidst extreme climate conditions.

The target populations of the project are economically vulnerable groups of people who own livestock who need to be more prepared for climate extremes. These groups include female-headed households and persons with disabilities.

Modalities

The fellow will be placed at a host organization in Kyrgyzstan and will support the implementation of the project by interacting with the primary host organization and other stakeholders.

The project's primary goal is to improve the current climate risk insurance solution so it provides earlier support and can proactively manage the impact of the climate shock rather than just coping with the losses once it takes place.

Duties and Expected Outputs

The fellow will be responsible for providing technical assistance to the host organization and related stakeholders, in a manner that contributes to the objectives of the project.

Specific duties included, but are not limited to, the following:

• Orientation and quickly assimilating information about the project and stakeholders involved. This includes becoming familiar with past and current pilots, reading past reports/studies and understanding the aims of the project.
• Taking a key role in project implementation.
• Providing technical assistance for capacity building and innovation in inclusive insurance. This includes assistance with product and process design.
• Providing Russian language capabilities.
• Supporting capacity-building initiatives:
  • Assist with developing local training modules and materials on insurance in general, and on forecast-based parametric insurance in particular. Importantly, help with translation.
  • Communicating these materials to the anticipated beneficiary community, financial institutions, local governments, regulators and relevant government departments. May involve training of trainers. Conducting field-based training and awareness sessions.
• Supporting efforts to ensure and measure gender financial inclusion, such as leading the data collection and monitoring related to the gender baseline analysis, and the engagement with local women leaders and gender experts.
• Assist with organising workshops and awareness campaigns, e.g. between local governments and agricultural associations.
• Liaising with stakeholders, including insurance regulators and District Administrations.
• Keep in close contact with ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility.
• Developing knowledge products such as case briefs and short papers, which are based on the project and are for the global insurance industry.

Requirements

Desired attributes

• Motivated; energetic; self-starter; attention to detail; respectful; ability to listen, learn and consider a range of information before decision making. Able to manage projects and a diverse group of stakeholders. Cultural sensitivity. Excellent communication skills. Strong technical skills.

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in economics, management, actuarial science, insurance, finance and banking or other relevant fields.

Professional Experience

• Desirable: 3 to 5 years of professional experience in the insurance industry and knowledge of parametric insurance products/solutions and processes
• Experience in project management
• Experience in business analysis
• Experience in design of insurance solution design and operations
• Experience in design of insurance distribution strategies
• Experience in digital technologies
• Experience in development cooperation, desirable

Languages

• English
• Russian

Application Modalities

Interested candidates should submit their application by downloading and filling out the application form and returning this, together with a CV and cover letter, to [email protected], using subject line "Fellowship Opportunity – Securing Livestock Livelihoods in Kyrgyzstan". The deadline for submissions is 25th August 2025, 23:59 (CEST).