Background

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. Its mission is to create new opportunities for poor households and small businesses by increasing access to financial services and investment capital. UNCDF programmes help to empower women and are designed to catalyze larger capital flows from the private sector, national governments and development partners, for maximum impact toward the MDGs. Within its broader economic development mandate, UNCDF focuses on public and private financing mechanisms. Effective and efficient finance – in both the public and private sectors – can spur economic growth and make it more sustainable and inclusive. UNCDF’s focus on financing mechanisms has special relevance for least developed countries, where public financial management is often weak and private financial systems often underdeveloped and inaccessible to poor people.
 
UNCDF’s approach to poverty reduction through local development is largely predicated upon promoting pro-poor public investments in basic infrastructure and service delivery by working with and through local governments – on a pilot basis – to strengthen their infrastructure and service delivery capabilities by testing out (and then scaling up) improved public expenditure management procedures and processes, more appropriate financing mechanisms, and through “orthodox” capacity building. The outcomes of such pilots are then fed into policy thinking and processes – and, in many cases, subsequently scaled up on a nation-wide basis through the local government system.
 
Whilst positive results have been achieved through this “local development” approach to poverty reduction, it sometimes appears unable to directly target the ultra-poor and chronically food insecure. Improved access to public goods and services tends to be relatively “un-targeted” and provides benefits to the general public as a whole, and not just the poorest, most disadvantaged or most vulnerable. UNCDF experience to date indicates that whilst locally-financed and delivered public goods and services are a necessary element to sustained poverty reduction, they may not – in themselves – be sufficient.
 
In recent years, a range of innovative social protection and safety net initiatives have shown considerable promise in reaching the ultra-poor in developing countries and in providing them with opportunities to build up livelihoods assets. Cash transfer and other such social safety net programmes – targeted either directly at the ultra-poor or at those categories of the population who are assumed to be especially vulnerable (e.g. widows, the elderly, the disabled, etc.) – have shown that it is often possible to go beyond “supply” side approaches and contribute to poverty reduction.  For the most part, however, such social protection and safety programmes have been implemented either by central governments or by specialised agencies.
 
UNCDF is thus currently exploring ways of piloting local-level management and implementation of social protection (or social safety net) programmes – on a real-time basis, with local governments, local agencies of central government or local non-government institutions taking on significant responsibilities (such as targeting, enrolment, payment, monitoring, etc.) in addition to ensuring that the G2P payments or grant payments are financially inclusive.
 
Through this contract UNCDF will supplement the capacity of the UNCDF regional office by engaging one or more specialists in one of the two key technical areas: i) Local level provision of social protection and/or ii) G2P Payment system specialist. Support in these areas are required for a number of programmes in the region and for regional and thematic activities related to these.
 
In the light of the above and other conceptual thinking, the consultant will support UNCDF in facing the challenges and opportunities in widening and deepening the linkages between social protection, local governance and financial inclusion. The consultant will contribute to the development of UNCDFs programme in this area – both conceptually and practically by providing technical input and quality assurance to ongoing work in the local provision of Social Protection (SP).

This solicitation is for a Long-Term Agreement (LTA) for one year and renewable up to three years linked to satisfactory performance of the consultant. “LTA” refers to a mutual arrangement whereby the Consultant will provide services as required, over a specific period of time. An LTA specifies the unit price (daily rate), allowing for a framework agreement to be used when the Consultant’s services are needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the Assignment
 
The objective of this consultancy is to support the UNCDF portfolio of projects and provide assistance to beneficiary countries in the following areas:
  • Support the design and implementation of appropriate local level SP systems that enable both best practice and efficiency to be applied at local level in a sustainable fashion within the local capacity constraints; 
  • Support UNCDF and governments in the development of innovative delivery mechanisms/arrangements that follow best practice and that allow local level ownership; 
  • Support UNCDF and Private Sector Payment service providers in the development of innovative and financially inclusive delivery mechanisms/arrangements for G2P payments that follows best international best practice; 
  • Support UNCDF with substantive technical input to its knowledge and research products and with input to its participation in discussions, conferences and meetings with development partners, private sector agencies and government on the issue of SP; 
  • Support UNCDF in implementing “Enhancing Social Protection” which is a UNCDF global programme initiative focusing on Social Protection delivery and G2P.
Scope of the Work
 
Working under the direct supervision of the UNCDF Technical Advisor responsible for Social Protection and in close collaboration with the government and UNCDF country team the consultant will be responsible for:
  • Backstopping support to Nepal and any other programme SP initiatives;
  • Support the design of new, and provide technical support to ongoing SP initiatives in the region;
  • Working on introducing, improving and ensure innovative learning in developing new delivery mechanisms for social protection initiatives which includes G2P payment system development;
  • Assessing capacity and needs of key local and national stakeholders and provide inputs for further training activities on whole system development and reforms which include payment mechanism at different levels; 
  • Developing and / or contributing to training materials, manuals and best practice guides on local level social protection systems; 
  • Design and provide support to evaluation of innovative practices in ongoing / new SP initiatives; 
  • Presenting material on local level social protection at technical meetings and seminars; 
  • Developing of cross country studies, indicators and systems that can monitor and compare the best practices and best value results from central and local level social protection systems; 
  • Support the delivery of ESP; 
  • Carrying out other relevant tasks as assigned by the UNCDF Technical Advisor responsible for Social Protection and G2P.
Duration of Assignment:
  • One year renewable up to 3 years.
Duty Station and expected places of travel:
  • Home base with the possibility to travel to UNCDF programme countries in Asia & Pacific and Africa;
  • The schedule of travel will be negotiated with the incumbent according to the requirements of each programme country;
  • A separate ToR with clear deliverables, budget and timelines will be prepared and agreed prior to each mission within the terms of this ToR.
Final Product:
 
The following products are expected:
  • Regular country programme technical support as required;
  • Country scoping in AP and Africa region and design of new SP programme for UNCDF;
  • Technical support to Global ESP programme strategy and implementation.

Provision of Monitoring and Progress Controls

A schedule of days worked, outputs produced and costs incurred will be monitored by the Chief Technical Advisor and Programme Officer in each country office and then reported to Regional Operation Analyst at UNCDF regional office. Payments within each mission ToR will be phased and payment will be made against key deliverables. Payments will be authorized by the Regional Technical Advisor at the Regional Office following requests by the Programme Officer in the country office.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:
  • Strong analytical and writing skills and track record in producing relevant reports and other material;
  • High level of communication and interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multi cultural environment; 
  • Ability to work in a tropical climate where appropriate infrastructure and systems are not well established; 
  • Sensitivity to diverse opinions and difficulties arising from differing social and cultural perceptions; 
  • Ability to contribute towards conflict resolution in the workplace; 
  • Knowledge of one or more of the UNCDF programme countries would be an asset; 
  • Localisation in Asia, Pacific and Africa would be an advantage.
Corporate Competencies:
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  •  Postgraduate degree in Social Sciences, Social Protection/Social Security, Public Management, Public Policy, Public Finance or other related fields.

Experience: 

  • At least 10 years of professional experience working on issues related to public welfare, financial sector, local governance, and local administration in developing countries;
  • Experience in local level capacity development in developing countries, ideally in the context of decentralization processes; 
  • Experience of working with other development partners, especially in the area of public financial management.
Language:
  •  Fluency in English is required.
Evaluation Method:

Consultants will be evaluated based on UNCDF’s cumulative analysis method. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract shall be made to the consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial (30%) criteria specific to the solicitation.
 
Evaluation Criteria:
  • Competencies (30%); 
  • Experience (30%); 
  • Education (10%);
  • Daily rate (30%).
Proposal Requirements
Proposals should contain the following information
Technical and Financial Proposals which includes
 Please upload all documents as one file under "CV".