UNCDF Jobs - 54379- Re-advertisement - Result Management Analyst

Re-advertisement - Result Management Analyst - UNCDF

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Brussels, BELGIUM

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

30-Jun-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-2

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year (renewable)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Candidates who previously applied need not re-apply.

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s least developed countries. It 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 microfinance institutions 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.

Established by the General Assembly in 1966 and with headquarters in New York, UNCDF is an autonomous UN organization affiliated with UNDP.

Despite the rapid growth of the microfinance industry in the past ten years, it is estimated that between two and three billion people still lack access to a broad range of financial products and services on a sustainable basis. The situation is particularly dire in the LDCs, where often more than 90 per cent of the population is denied access to financial services from the formal financial system. UNCDF focuses its strategy on Financial inclusion, which is universal access, at a reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions. The range of financial services includes savings, short and long-term credit, leasing and factoring, mortgages, insurance, pensions, payments, local money transfers and international remittances.

UNCDF manages a number of initiatives related to digital financial (DF):

Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P)

With support from Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (“DFAT” formerly AusAid), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the MasterCard Foundation (MCF), UNCDF manages Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P), a global thematic initiative that addresses the opportunities and challenges of implementing branchless banking and mobile money in challenging markets in Africa and Asia.

MM4P’s long-term mission is to help low income and rural households in LDCs increase their financial security through appropriate, affordable and secure means to receive, manage and save money through these “digital finance” (DF). To do so, its intermediate goal is to help build inclusive digital financial sectors such that a wide range of digital financial services are provided responsibly, and at reasonable cost, by sustainable institutions in a well-regulated environment. UNCDF’s starts by defining the different stages of a market’s development and the range of interventions needed at different levels (i.e. macro, meso, micro, client) to move it across the stages. This combines a making markets work for the poor approach with UNCDF’s traditional operational model of directly supporting the most crucial level – retail service providers.

MM4P is currently implementing this programme in eight countries (Benin, Laos, Nepal, Liberia, Malawi, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia).

Better Than Cash Alliance

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.

Under the overall guidance of the Programme Manager, the Research and Results Measurement Associate (RRM) ensures effective delivery of the MM4P programme by designing and implementing a DCED compliant monitoring and measurement approach for each of the three MCF countries as well as the global activities. The RRM will also have the primary responsibility for overseeing market – level research and data collection for monitoring purposes, implemented by technical service providers and selected implementing partners, and will play a critical role in ensuring that data gathered from the markets is accurate, reliable, relevant and fulfilling UNCDF’s need to understand how the markets are moving. In this role, s/he will be supported by an expert consultant.

The RRM works in close collaboration with the MM4P Management Unit based in Brussels. The RRM will also work closely with other UNCDF programmes with a DF component to help them develop meaning measurement and monitoring frameworks, including the Better than Cash Alliance (BTCA) and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP), both of which have dedicated research officers.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

Finalize the design and implement MM4P’s results measurement framework (RMF) in the context of DCED Standard for private sector development (PSD);
Build capacity of the MM4P team and its partners in the area of RM in order to improve overall programme effectiveness, enhance accuracy of reporting;
Develop results analysis methods and tools that enable MM4P team to provide meaningful feedback and monitoring to partners, stakeholders and funders;
Manage MM4P’s research activities related to measurement, working with MM4P team members globally and with selected implementing partners and technical service providers to develop and execute research activities that support MM4P’s learning agenda;
Work across UNCDF programmes engaged in digital financial services to harmonize UNCDF’s RM and Research activities in regard to DF, acting in a quality assurance function;
Manage external evaluation teams and liaise with the Evaluation Unit in NY;
Provides corporate support, including fulfilling reporting requirements, assisting with fundraising, managing staff and consultants and representing MM4P and UNCDF at internal and external meetings, workshops and conferences.

Finalize Design and implement MM4P’s results measurement framework (RM) in the context of DCED Standard for private sector development (PSD)/Key Result: To the extent practical, MM4P has a DCED standards compliant approach to measuring results in the development of the digital financial services ecosystem in the countries in which it works:

With expert consultant, analyzes the proposed RM framework within the context of the programme mission, objectives, Annual Work Plan (AWP), partner agreements, as well as with programme evaluation findings in order to set up a comprehensive RM framework utilizing the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development Standards (DCED) for measuring achievements in private sector development;
Based on implementation in the first six months, refines and improves the MM4P results chain and develop results chains for different work streams that may be used by programme units when designing interventions;
With the MM4P team, revises overall programme targets to reflect new RM framework;
Develop all required systems, tools, reports and indicators, required for efficient, effective implementation of RM framework and activities;
Designs, develops and presents monitoring reports to the MM4P Investment Committee (IC) and relevant external stakeholders;
Regularly analyzes RM activity finding and reports in order to provide the Programme Manager and IC with timely, accurate information for decision-making.

Build UNCDF´s capacity (including MM4P, BTCA, PFIP programmes and its partners) in the area of RM in order to improve overall programme effectiveness, enhance reporting/Key Result: UNCDF DF programmes across countries understands and are able to implement required activities in RM increase the likelihood of effecting positive outcomes in the lives of users of expanded financial services:

Trains MM4P team and country teams on proper use of RM systems, tools, reports and indicators to allow for timely and accurate monitoring and reporting at the programme level;
Develops and implements plan to assist MM4P country teams to develop and implement the measurement framework and monitoring activities in their country Annual Work Plans;
Provides support to country teams to train partners to gather and provide data to support the RM Framework;
Assists DF programmes in developing results chains for their country strategies and utilize results chains, indicators and reporting requirements when designing specific interventions;
As needed, assists key partners (e.g. contractors, partners with agreements) in fulfilling reporting requirements, including to the Mix Market as required;
Makes regular visits to MM4P country posts and partner operations in order to monitor progress in project implementation and achievement of results;
Identifies capacity weaknesses and design appropriate activities and tools to improve RM within the programme and partners.

Develop results tracking and analysis methods and tools and reports that enable MM4P team to provide meaningful feedback to partners, stakeholders and funders with a key focus on measuring its objectives to reach out to women and rural customers/Key Result: MM4P team has the data and tools to accurately and meaningfully track progress at the programme, country and partner level and make adjustments to achieve the greatest results:

Tracks RM reporting to ensure timely and accurate submission of quarterly and annual monitoring reports, assisting Programme Manager and MM4P Team to ensure partner reporting;
Develops systems for the flow of knowledge down to the DF programmes in the field, keeping them informed of overall performance related to targets;
Regularly monitors partner reports and conduct report and indicator audits to maintain quality control of internal and external reporting;
Develops accessible report tools at the partner, country and programme level that can be standardized across MM4P;
At the programme level, measuring programme targets and the progress of project activities, including social and gender dimensions and the delivery of outputs against established schedules and indicators of progress on a semi-annual basis;
At the country level, analyse reports and indicators against agreements, MM4P country strategies and relevant benchmarks in order to recommend improvements and interventions to increase programme effectiveness and ability to achieve lasting positive impact on a semi-annual basis;
At the partners level, monitor against quantifiable targets and other relevant benchmarks per partner agreements – including the validation of partner progress reports on a quarterly basis;
Prepares regular progress reports for the purpose of reporting to the Investment Committee by project management.

Manage MM4P’s research activities related to measurement, working with MM4P team members globally to develop and execute research activities that support MM4P’s learning agenda/Key Results: MM4P is fulfilling its learning agenda and sharing results on how DF can be supported and successful serve low income customers in challenging markets:

Works with MM4P team to refine its learning agenda and proposed set of activities at the global and country level;
Ensures that the RM framework includes tracking information linked to each of the key learning questions;
Develops TORs and procurement of contractors to implement research and data gathering related to both RM and the learning agenda and manage the quality and timeliness of their work;
Manages all centralized data tracking efforts at the country effort, act as primary manager for global market research firms (Intermedia, etc.) and manage their work for UNCDF;
Manages partnerships and collaborations for data collections with the Mix Market, GSMA and partner central banks;
Carries out or oversee research and studies, independently or as a counterpart to consultant(s) hired by MM4P, on various issues and undertakings relating to financial inclusion in the region;
Contributes to MM4P publications (focus note, research papers, blogs, etc.) highlighting programme challenges, opportunities and successes;
Works closely with Knowledge Manager to ensure the regular communication of results to stakeholders;
Contributes, as appropriate, to Global knowledge sharing efforts to share information on MM4P and partner experience in financial inclusion.

Work across UNCDF and other DF programmes engaged in digital financial services to harmonize UNCDF’s RM and Research activities in regard to DF:

Works closely with the BTCA research and knowledge specialist and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) and other UNCDF programmes engaged in DF to develop harmonized approaches and tools to RM, providing and seeking support as necessary;
Acts as primary representative for MM4P with other DF support programmes (e.g. GSMA Mobile Money for the Unbanked, CGAP, BMGF Financial Service for the Poor) in regard to RM, Research and Data Gathering, maintaining regular contact to keep MM4P engaged in the global development of standards;
Works with global data gathering organizations (e.g. the Mix Market, Intermedia) and others to ensure that MM4P is contributing to the development of global information services related to DF.

Manage external evaluation teams for MM4P and liaise with the Evaluation Unit in NY /Key Result: MM4P is prepared and responsive to all evaluation requirements, maximizing the opportunity to utilize them to improve its effectiveness:

Acts as focal point of the UNCDF Evaluation Unit and coordinated all aspects of external evaluation and programme reviews in the region as may be required from UNCDF, MCF, BMGF, Sida, DFAT, MasterCard Foundation, etc;
Coordinates the conducting of internal and external evaluations of the programme by internal or independent evaluators;
Prepares annual planning for Evaluations and Reviews in the region, based on the UNCDF commitment and in consultation with the practice areas and the Evaluation Unit;
Manages the project evaluation process, using the SPIRE (corporate) approach. This involves developing the ToRs, conducting the selection process of the consultants, ensuring appropriate backstopping arrangements for evaluation missions, ensuring the completion of Management Responses and tracking and reporting on the implementation of evaluation recommendations.

Provide corporate support under the direction of the Programme Manager, including fulfilling reporting requirements, assisting with fundraising, managing staff and consultants and representing MM4P, UNCDF and UNDP at internal and external meetings, workshops and conferences/Key Result: MM4P is fully funded with resources to be a strong partner within UNCDF and with other DF providers:

As needed supports MM4P team in fulfilling planning and reporting requirement to the IC, UNCDF and its other funders;
Assists in preparation of quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports as well as annual work plans;
Assists in providing data for project appraisal documents for presentation to the IC, donors and partners;
Assists in preparing and grant and performance based agreement documentation for approved partners, particularly related to indicators and reporting;
As directed, manages MM4P relationships with funders in absence of Programme Manager;
Participates in the Annual FIPA retreat.

Impact of Results:

The results of the work will be an increase in DF active users by over four million in the markets in which MM4P is engaged. The RRM will also have a direct impact on the overall programme efficiency, programme management and implementation of programme strategies, particularly relating to monitoring and evaluation, enabling the MM4P to make more informed decisions to allocate resources. Also, the RRM will help MM4P “prove the case” that DF can work in challenging environments and determine if and how a mix of financial, technical and policy support across the ecosystem can accelerate that development. Finally, the RRM will help strengthen UNCDF’s brand and that of its funder through accurately tracking and sharing its results toward digital financial inclusion.

Competencies

Technical:

Good knowledge of methodologies for Monitoring and Evaluation, in particular results bases management, results chain management, DCED Standards, etc.;
Ability to undertake RM activities and extensive field visits across DF focus countries;
Knowledge of data capture systems and how to utilized them for measurement purporise;
Working knowledge of current developments in microfinance, including one or more of the following: branchless banking, microinsurance, social performance, financial literacy;
Working knowledge of international donor organizations and preferably experience in preparing proposals for funding;
Good knowledge of programme and project management skills and procedures.

Managerial/behavioral

Focus on impact and results for clients and stakeholders;
Builds trust in interactions with others;
Ability to work with high level officials as well as local communities;
Takes initiative and calculated risks;
Approaches challenges creatively and effectively, and resolves conflicts;
Takes decisions;
Demonstrates integrity, exhibits high ethical standards;
Excellent speaking and writing skills in English are necessary;
Excellent analytical skills;
Strong oral and written communication skills;
Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude and responds positively to feedback;
Committed to team work, working with other stakeholders;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities, and resolve problems;
Ability to travel regularly.

Corporate:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all persons fairly without favoritism;
Shows strong corporate commitment;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNCDF and UNDP;
Ability to address gender equality and empowerment of women considerations in strategic and operational activities of UNCDF.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Public Administration, Law, Finance, Economics or related field.

Experience:

Two years of relevant and professional experience at the national or international level focusing on: Analysis and RM methods in the development context; Project monitoring and evaluation; Implementation of RM systems, particularly systems based on participatory approaches and Training in RM development and implementation;
Experience monitoring market development project with financial component, conducting basic financial analysis, establishing and monitoring performance based indicators, and investigating impact;
Experience drafting technical TORs for market research, both quantitative and qualitative, and managing implementation;
Working experience and knowledge of socio-economic issues which excludes various vulnerable groups, in particular women, from the financial sector and the strategies employed to address these;
Proven ability to manage projects;
Strong IT skills, including software relating to RM and project management;
Proven cross-cultural communication. The candidate(s) should be able to function effectively in an international, multicultural environment;
Experience in Africa, Asia or the Pacific is preferred;
Knowledge of UNDP/UNCDF field level organization.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English;
Proficiency in French strongly preferred but not required.

Note:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to upload (as a *pdf attachment) the completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded fromhttp://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.docx Completion of all the fields is required.

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.