UNCDF Jobs - 90173- Research Consultant

Research Consultant

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

home base

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jun-2020

Application Deadline :

09-Mar-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 months

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

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries (LDC). UNCDF uses its capital mandate to support LDCs pursue inclusive growth. UNCDF promotes financial inclusion, also through digital financial services (DFS), as a key enabler of poverty reduction and inclusive growth; and it demonstrates how localizing finance outside the capital cities can accelerate growth in local economies, promote sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure development, and empower local communities. Using capital grants, loans and credit enhancements, UNCDF tests financial models in inclusive finance and local development finance; ‘de-risks’ the local investment space; and provides proofs of concept, paving the way for larger and more risk-averse investors.

Recently, UNCDF has formulated its strategy ‘Leaving no one behind in the digital era’ based on over a decade of experience in digital finance in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. UNCDF recognizes that reaching the full potential of digital financial inclusion in support of the Sustainable Development Goals aligns with the vision of promoting digital economies that leave no one behind. The vision of UNCDF is to empower millions of people by 2024 to use services daily that leverage innovation and technology and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. Please refer to the link for further information:

https://www.uncdf.org/article/4931/global-strategy-leaving-no-one-behind-in-the-digital-era

In this context, UNCDF is looking for a Research Consultant who will develop and refine research frameworks and consolidate learnings from UNCDF activities on Financial Health.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective of the assignment is to develop global learning agenda and conduct research on financial health. The Research Consultant will report to the Regional Technical Specialist - Asia and the Results and Learning Analyst.

The table below shows the activities and associated deliverables and estimated timelines:

Activities	Deliverables	# days (est.)	%	Timeline
Develop global learning agenda on financial health and workplan	Learning agenda	5	2%	Month 1
	Workplan
Design and implement research on financial health using quantitative and qualitative methodologies	Research methodology and tools	30	15%	Month 3-12
	Raw and cleaned datasets
	Interview transcripts
	Summary report on key findings
	Specifications for research companies
Ensure relevant learnings from UNCDF activities are captured and feed into the global learning agenda on financial health	Monitoring and research plans for 5 projects	10	5%	Month 3-12
	Standardized indicators and tools for data collection
Develop a resource repository on financial health for private and public sector multilaterals, market enablers and policymakers (toolbox)	Outline of the toolbox	25	14%	Month 1-12
	Workplan
	Tools and publications for the toolbox
Develop the evidence base of relevant secondary data sources and research on financial health	Updated evidence base financial health	6	3%	Month 1-12
Formulate problem statements for inclusive innovation challenges that address the financial health of consumers	Problem statements for 3 innovation initiatives	12	6%	Month 3-12
Coach UNCDF partners and participants of UNCDF inclusive innovation challenges in better understanding financial health (definition, relevance and measurement)	Presentation deck	5	2%	Month 3-12
Develop donor reporting and communication material to share results and learnings on financial health	3 UNCDF publications	20	10%	Month 6-12
	Input to partner reporting
Review the i3 learning agenda and develop a detailed workplan on financial health for ongoing implementation	Learning agenda	5	2%	Month 1
	Workplan
Conduct the data collection (quantitative and qualitative) and conduct analysis for the learning agenda of the ongoing implementation on Financial Health	Survey tools	30	15%	Month 3-9
	Raw and cleaned datasets
	Interview transcripts
Draft the i3 learning outputs with inputs from the UNCDF project teams	4 reports (Malaysia and China)	32	16%	Month 3-9
Develop presentation material for the i3 learning events	4 presentation decks	10	5%	Month 1-9
Provide input to the i3 cross-country publications	Input to 4 cross-country reports	10	5%	Month 6-9
Total		200	100%

Competencies

Good knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and tools.
Understanding of digital financial services.
Understanding of financial health.
Excellent writing skills.
Able to work effectively in a team and in an international environment.
Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to communicate and engage with project stakeholders.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

A Master’s degree in international development, quantitative or qualitative research or social sciences or a related discipline is mandatory.

Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience leading and implementing projects in the field of financial services, digital finance and/or banking.
2 years’ experience in quantitative or qualitative research preferably in the context of international development.
Must have published research findings in the form of blogs, articles and/or reports.
Experience working with international organizations, the private sector in developing countries and/or regulators is preferable but not mandatory.
Experience in the Asian context is preferable but not mandatory.
Experience with a UN organization/agency is preferable but not mandatory.

Language:

Excellent command over the English language is mandatory.

Timeline, duration of assignment, duty station and expected places of travel:

Timeline: June 2020 to May 2021
Total Number of Working Days for Assignment: Max of 200 working days within 12 months.

For unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Please note that UNCDF cannot guarantee residence permits or visas for consultants. Consultants are responsible for securing their work documentation.

Please note that consultants residing in the duty station will not be compensated for living expenses.

Progress Controls & Payments:

Payment will be made against each satisfactorily achieved deliverables. All payments are subject to the clearance and approval of the Results & Learning Analyst. Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

The payment schedule will be as follows:

Month	Deliverables	Payment %
Month 1	Workplan approved	30%
Month 4	Progress report 1 of deliverables achieved approved by UNCDF	20%
Month 8	Progress report 2 of deliverables achieved approved by UNCDF	30%
Month 12	Progress report 3 of deliverables achieved approved by UNCDF	20%
	Total	100%

Application process:

Interested individuals must submit the following as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications: (NOTE: the system does not allow multiple uploads of document. Applicants must make sure to upload all documents in one PDF file).

All applications must contain the following information:

Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR deliverables; Earliest availability and proposed schedule for consultancy;
Curriculum Vitae and or Completed P11 Personal History Form with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc
Financial proposal for the full assignment outlining: All-inclusive professional fee, providing a cost breakdown of return airfare to join duty station, insurance, living allowance). Candidate is requested to provide a financial proposal for two potential locations of this assignment – Bangkok and Singapore. Please use the form available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
Please note that UNCDF cannot guarantee residence permits or visas for consultants. Consultants are responsible for securing their work documentation. In the case of national consultants, applicants that are not nationals of the duty station requested will have to prove their residence status.
Evaluation:
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:
Preliminary Evaluation - Step I: Screening;
Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% x (Step II: desk review 20 Points + Step III: written test 40 Points + Step IV: interview 40 Points = 100 Points);
Financial Evaluation Weight - 30% = Step IV.

Step I: Screening

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following mandatory criteria (listed under education and experience) and that will have provided samples of writing will progress to the pool for shortlisting.

Step II: Desk Review – 20 points

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates and technically evaluate the candidates. Only candidates that obtained 80% of the points at this stage shall be invited for the next step.

Shortlisting scoring:

20%- Education/Qualification;

50%- Mandatory Experience.

30%- Preferred Experience.

Step III: Written test – 40 points

A written test will be administered to the candidates that obtained 80% of the points in Step II. The test will be scored with pass/fail, the minimum score to pass being 70%. As part of the test candidates will also be asked to provide writing samples.

Step IV: Interview – 40 points

A competency-based Interview shall be conducted for all the candidates who passed the written test.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Steps II (20 points) + III (40 points) + IV (40 points) will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step V: Financial Evaluation

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Award Criteria

The contact shall be awarded to the applicant whose offer have been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and Having received the highest combined weight (technical scores) 70% + financial 30%= 100%.

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 IC must do so in their individual capacity (providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly).

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