Background

UNCDF

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). Established by the General Assembly in 1966 and with headquarters in New York, UNCDF is an autonomous UN organization affiliated with UNDP which creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital.  UNCDF focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia and the Pacific, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis.  It provides seed capital – grants and loans – and technical support to help  financial service providers  reach more poor households and small businesses, and local governments finance the capital investments – water systems, feeder roads, schools, irrigation schemes – that will improve poor peoples’ lives.

UNCDF works to enlarge peoples’ choices: it believes that poor people and communities should take decisions about their own development.  Its programmes help to empower women – over 50% of the clients of UNCDF-supported microfinance institutions are women – and its expertise in microfinance and local development is shaping new responses to food insecurity, climate change and other challenges.  UNCDF works in challenging environments – remote rural areas, countries emerging from conflict – and paves the way for others to follow. Its programmes are designed to catalyze larger investment flows from the private sector, development partners and national governments, for significant impact on the Millennium Development Goals, especially Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, and Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

UNCDF operates several global thematic initiative (GTI) programmes see http://www.uncdf.org/en/global-programmes) that are offering needed and innovative financial services. The Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA, see http://betterthancash.org/) is housed at UNCDF and works closely with these other programmes.
 
Better Than Cash Alliance

The Better Than Cash Alliance is an alliance of governments, private sector and development organizations committed to accelerating the shift from cash to electronic payments.
Billions of dollars in cash payments are made daily in emerging and developing economies, including payment of salaries, social welfare and relief, payments to suppliers, etc. The problems with these cash payments include a lack of transparency, accountability and security, as well as inefficiency. Furthermore, the individuals who receive the cash are excluded from the formal financial sector. There were approximately 2.5 billion people excluded from the formal financial sector in 2012.

Shifting these payments from cash to electronic has the potential to improve the livelihoods of low-income people by advancing financial inclusion and enabling people to save, while giving governments, the development community and the private sector a more efficient, transparent and often safer means of disbursing payments

The Better Than Cash Alliance seeks to leverage the leadership of governments, the networks of development organizations and the expertise of the private sector in payment technologies to replace the use of cash in their programming and payment streams with electronic payments, where appropriate. It also seeks to build the financial capability of low-income clients who will benefit from electronic payments and a wider range of financial services.

The Better Than Cash Alliance:

  • Advocates for the use of all forms of electronic payments where they provide a preferable payment option to cash;
  • Collaborates with program partners to mobilize available technical expertise and resources to identify; and
  • Implement the most effective approach to make the transition from cash to electronic payments;  and
  • Conducts research, documents good practices and produces knowledge products to address the barriers to adoption and drive the effective shift from cash to electronic payments globally.

The consultant hired for this position will be working with a BTCA project partner called Asociación de Bancos del Peru (ASBANC), under the overall direction of BTCA Managing Director and her delegates.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Duties:

  • Project: working with BTCA project partner ASBANC Peru;
  • Key consulting activities: Coordinating, advising, supervising and reporting on the development and implementation of an interoperable mobile financial services national platform currently under development;
  • Key objectives: Ensuring a successful planning and implementation of the project creating a timely and high quality interoperable platform for mobile financial services; Monitoring and reporting on the implementation process; Promoting a productive collaboration and interaction between the keys pieces of Peru’s digital financial services ecosystem.

Scope of Responsibilities:
Coordinate and ensure the successful implementation of the interoperable platform for digital financial services platform

  • Coordinating the development of and advising, supervising and reporting on the design, progress and the implementation of a tailored integration plan for each of the ASBANC (Peru’s bankers’ association) member institutions, Banco de la Nación and other organizations interested in linking to the Modelo Perú interoperable mobile financial services national platform under development, translating their requirements into technical deliverables for the service provider that support full end-to-end solution, including –but not limited to- security measures, integration with external host systems and other 3rd party interfaces;
  • Monitoring, advising, and reporting on the coordination and management of different technological and operational aspects of the national platform design itself, including coordinating with the platform operator’s implementation team on technological issues, adaptation to electronic receipt and taxation regulations, customer complaint and service mechanisms, service adaptation to the regulatory framework and market demands, among others;
  • Managing project staff within ASBANC and each institution being integrated to ensure that implementation plans are designed to a high standard and on time; and
  • Ensuring that each implementation plan includes consideration of globally recognized practices and standards, technology trends, regulations related to the system design, the system’s impact to other systems and/or procedures and is complete with realistic budgets, timelines, human and technological resource requirements, communications plans

Ensuring good communication between stakeholders and promoting an innovative digital financial services ecosystem:

  • Developing and managing senior relationships in the Banking sector and more broadly in Peru’s digital financial ecosystem;
  • Contribution to project designs and communications activities from a technology expert and digital finance subject matter perspective.

Hours:

  • The position offered is for a 100% FTE consultant for a period of 4 – 6 months. This and other matters are to be mutually agreed by the successful candidate and the supervisor.

Work permit:

  • The position is a local hire based in Peru and is only open to nationals or foreigners with the right to work in Peru and can prove a long-lasting professional and cultural relationship to the country.
  • Location:
  • Most work will be on-site in Lima, Peru. There may be some travel, and some work that can be performed remotely. This will be agreed during contract negotiations.

Pay:

  • This contract will be based on daily fee agreed;
  • Payments will be made to the consultant based on the number of days worked only;
  • The daily fee is all inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the period of the contract, including professional fees, insurance, risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions, and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract;
  • There are no additional living allowances included. Payments will be based on timesheets and invoices approved by the supervisor. Candidates should submit with the application their expected daily fee;
  • The candidates should be aware that the daily rate quoted represents 30% of the final score calculated to evaluate candidates.

Relocation expenses:

  • The UNCDF will not cover relocation expenses of the successful candidate.

Travel:  

  • Business travel will be included under this contract (estimated 10-20%) and agreed with supervisor;
  • If there is any approved travel, UNCDF will pay separately travel expenses (economy airfare, terminal expenses and per diems which include hotel and food expenses) according on standard UN rates based on evidence of approved and actual travel.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
  • Self-development, initiative-taking;
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication within the team and with our external partners, communicating effectively;
  • Managing conflict;
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
  • Informed and transparent decision making.
     

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • A completed bachelor degree in a discipline relevant to these TOR is required;
  • A completed or in progress graduate qualification in a discipline relevant to these TOR is desirable but not required;
  • A certificate or other course in technology, change management, process re-engineering, or technical integration planning is desirable but not required.

Experience:

  • A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience is required but more is desirable.

Languages:

  • The candidate should have a native proficiency in Spanish and at least a good English level.

Evaluation Scoring:

  • Technical evaluation based on online submission, interviews and a possible skill-based assessment 70%
  • Financial evaluation based on daily fee quoted by applicant 30%;
  • Total score: 100%.

Application Requirements:

Note:

  • Please upload all documents as one file under "CV".