Background

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).  It is in discussion to consolidate the technical assistance and research aspects of these programmes into a single team.  This team will serve UNCDF’s needs in regard to DF, particularly for two programmes:  Mobile Money for the Poor and the Better than Cash Alliance, but DF also requires support in a number of UNCDF country and global programmes.

Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P)

With support from Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (“DFAT” formerly AusAid) and by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UNCDF launched Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) in March 2012, a global thematic initiative to address 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 financial services” (DFS).  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.  UNCDF is currently implementing this in five countries (Laos, Nepal, Liberia, Malawi and Uganda).

In July 2014, MM4P secured a partnership with the MasterCard Foundation (MCF) for the roll out MM4P activities in three additional countries in sub-Saharan Africa for a period of five years (2014 to 2019), including Francophone (Benin, Senegal) and Anglophone (Zambia) Africa. The MCF agreement supposes a significant increase of workload for MM4P.  To address this workload, MM4P has put forward a new staffing strategy and plan which has been approved by the FIPA director and MCF. This includes placing most technical positions in MM4P countries, with emphasis on the most high profile and advanced in each region.  It also takes into consideration the high availability of funding in certain countries. 

Based on MM4P Theory of Change, help and hasten the shift of the Ugandan DF market from expansion stage they are firmly in the consolidation stage at end of 2019, so that at least 50% active DF users (90 days) of the adult population in Uganda at end of 2019

As part of this new staffing strategy, MM4P is looking for a DFS Associate to be based at UNCDF in Kampala, Uganda. The DFS Associate will report to the Inclusive Finance Specialist and receive support from the office’s administrative team.  

Duties and Responsibilities

As part of this new staffing strategy, MM4P is looking for a DFS Associate to be based at UNCDF in Kampala, Uganda. The DFS Associate will report to the Inclusive Finance Specialist and receive support from the office’s administrative team.

Under the direct responsibility of the IFS, the DFS Associate will specifically:

Support the MM4P technical assistance pipeline:

  • Creates project files and checklists for new projects, ensuring steps are completed;
  • Review of all project descriptions, ensuring quality;
  • Challenge project descriptions and proposing improvements to increase impact and value for the program;
  • Ensure proposed projects are in line with global Programme  objectives and with objectives for each programmatic  work stream (Customers, High volume, Distribution, Providers);
  • Conducts preliminary project due diligence on technical assistance projects;
  • Drafts project appraisal documents;
  • Finalizing due diligence analysis with the IFS;
  • Advises Uganda team members on the DF technical assistance policies and procedures.

Provides technical inputs to the procurement of DFS services:

  • Based on project descriptions, prepares Terms of Reference (ToR) under the guidance of the Technical Team;
  • Provides technical inputs to the MM4P hiring unit for consultant selection (staff, individual and institutional consultancy services, procurement of professional services for of training, seminars, etc.);
  • Drafts agreements and contracts based on technical inputs from team.

Tracks technical assistance work once contracted:

  • Sets up project tracking schedule for key benchmarks, milestones and reports and Monitors tracking schedule to ensure timely receipt of inputs;
  • Monitors project indicators and monthly health check of the supported projects, reporting back to IFS and Technical Team;
  • Develops and updates contractor work plans and budgets;
  • Tracks contractor deliverables, expiry dates and limits;
  • Reviews outputs from consultants and partners, providing feedback, edits and suggestions for improvements;
  • Provides monthly consolidated update on each contractor;
  • Assess post TA uptake and usage of advisory services;
  • Participate to quarterly progress calls with partners organized by IFS.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Professional:

  • Takes on innovation and new approaches and fosters innovation in others;
  • Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
  • Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources.

Management/Client Orientation:

  • Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
  • Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities, and resolve problems;
  • Focus on impact and results for clients and stakeholders;
  • Builds trust in interactions with others, facilitates partnerships;
  • Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude and responds positively to feedback;
  • Committed to team work, working with other stakeholders.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree in technology, economics, public/business administration, social sciences, or related discipline or the equivalent experience

Experience: 

  • A minimum of four (4) years’ experience Project or programme implementation experience, preferable managing specific project implementation;
  • Experience in creating detailed work plans or implementation plans;
  • Experience managing work flow of large projects;
  • Experience in designing and overseeing direct technical or financial (grant) assistance;
  • Working knowledge of concepts in to financial inclusion and preferably knowledge and exposure to branchless banking, mobile phone banking, or other efforts using technology to reach rural and poor populations is desirable but not mandatory.

Language:

  • Fluency in  English.

Consulting fees, standard travel costs and living expenses:

  • This is a local position UNCDF will only accept standard fees based on the local market rates (Belgium)and the experience of the consultant. UNCDF will not provide relocation expenses. Should the consultant be required to travel, UNCDF would apply.  

Application:

  • Please refer to application date above. Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions.

 The best proposal that will be awarded the contract shall be selected through the following method: 

  • Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals as set out in the Request for Proposal. The weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial.

All applications must contain the following information in one word or PDF document combining the following:

Other

Both individual consultants and individual employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply.

Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a procurement notice for Individual Contractor must do so in their individual capacity (providing a cv so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly). Please not that in such case the company institution will be asked to issue a Reimbursable Loan Agreement.   http://www.vn.undp.org/content/dam/vietnam/docs/Legalframework/Reimbursable%20Loan%20Agreement.doc

Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.