UNCDF Jobs - 63388- Intern, SHIFT Programme (UNCDF)

Intern, SHIFT Programme (UNCDF)

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

01-Mar-2016

Application Deadline :

10-Feb-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

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

UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Inclusive Finance

UNCDF provides investment capital and technical support to both the public and the private sector. It provides capital financing - in the forms of grants, soft loans and credit enhancement – and the technical expertise to unleash sustainable financing at the local level.

UNCDF’s work on inclusive finance seeks to develop inclusive financial systems and ensure that a range of financial products is available to all segments of society, including low income men and women, at a reasonable cost, and on a sustainable basis. UNCDF supports a wide range of providers (e.g. microfinance institutions, banks, cooperatives, money transfer companies) and a variety of financial products and services (e.g. savings, credit, insurance, payments, and remittances). UNCDF also supports newer delivery channels (e.g. mobile phone networks) that offer tremendous potential for scale.

Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations (SHIFT) Programme

The ASEAN region is home to more than 600 million people spread across 10 countries. Despite the dynamism of the region, there are significant contrasts between and within the countries, with three LDCs coexisting with some of the world’s largest and most vibrant economies, resulting in 20 per cent of the world’s poorest people living alongside some of the world’s richest.

UNCDF has developed a regional programme called SHIFT (Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations), with initial funding from the Australian Government, FMO and UNCDF’s own resources.

Programme Outcome: At least 6 million low-income individuals, micro-entrepreneurs, and small and medium businesses, including women and young people transition from using informal financial mechanisms to more formalized financial services by the year 2020.

Programme Outputs:

Fund Facility:

Support financial service providers to develop new prototypes and bring to scale viable business models that serve low-income individuals, micro-entrepreneurs, and small and medium businesses, especially women within these markets, in the ASEAN frontier economies.

Learning and Skills Development Portal:

Support business development service providers by leveraging ICT solutions to develop and bring to scale viable e-learning models for professionals in financial institutions to improve productivity and professionalism.

Data and Analysis Hub:

Produce, consolidate and communicate data and information on supply, demand and regulation in financial markets to strengthen the evidence base and investment decisions of providers, regulators and policy makers, specifically targeted towards low-income individuals, micro-entrepreneurs, and small and medium business, especially women within these markets.

Policy and Advocacy:

Influence policy makers, financial service providers and governments to enable financial markets to be more responsive to the wider development priorities of governments and its people.

Objectives of the assignment

The Intern will assist the SHIFT team in undertaking work supporting the implementation of the four outputs listed above, with particular focus on maintaining effective communications with professional networks and partner organizations, assisting the SHIFT team in the organization of financial inclusion (FI) conferences, researching and conducting case studies on a variety of financial inclusion topics, reviewing and editing existing market assessments, as well as supporting the coordination of SHIFT with other UNCDF programmes. Furthermore, the intern will support the SHIFT team in undertaking other tasks on ad-hoc basis depending on current needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern will be responsible for:

Conduct case studies, analysis and policy research on financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment: topic areas may include, remittance, SMEs, agricultural producers and enterprises, innovative products/services, use of ICT, etc.;
Carry out technical research through desk-review (internal and external publications in the area of inclusive finance and women’s economic empowerment);
Undertake data analysis to support the SHIFT team’s MAP diagnostics, drawing out key data and trends which can inform SHIFT implementation and work on the development of financial inclusion roadmaps;
Support the initial research, prospecting and partnership development for SHIFT’s Learning and Skills Development Portal.

Support the SHIFT team in the organization of FI conferences including:

Keeping track of key tasks and preparing a programme management schedule to manage deadlines prior to actual event;
Assisting in preparation of promotional material and press advisories relating to conference;
Supporting meetings and follow-up communication with conference partners which include Myanmar government and other development partners;
Review and edit existing research and communications materials to ensure the information available current and well informed;
Provide backstopping to key activities of the SHIFT team involving planning, implementation and monitoring of results;
Assist in preparation of reports, corresponding presentations and promotional materials;
Assist the SHIFT team in undertaking other tasks on ad-hoc basis depending on current needs.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Commitment to UNCDFs vision, mission, and strategic goals;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty;
Excellent organizational, inter-personal, communication and administrative skills;
Able to work effectively in a team and in an international environment.

Functional Competencies:

Demonstrable skills in research, analytical thinking, and communication;
Excellent writing and editing skills in English;
Proven ability to manage diverse and complex tasks, with tight deadlines;
Able to take initiative and work independently, with minimum supervision;
Strong organizational, communication and interpersonal skills with ability to work under pressure within an international setting;
Interest in the UN system and general knowledge of development issues is a plus;
Ability to perform a variety of administrative tasks.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Enrolled in Masters programme in economics, business and finance, International Relations, Political Science or related field.

Experience:

Demonstrated experience, part or full-time, paid or volunteer, in finance, inclusive finance or related fields;
Demonstrated research and analytical capacity;
Excellent computer capabilities.

Language:

Strong writing and speaking abilities in English.

Conditions:

Interns are not financially remunerated by UNCDF. The costs associated with the latter must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his/her own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc. Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out (i.e. Bangkok, Thailand);
Interns must have medical and life insurance;
The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNCDF but to complement an intern’s studies; therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.
Please submit your Resume/CV and an application using the UNCDF Internship Application form: http://www.uncdf.org/sites/default/files/internship.doc
Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.