Antecedentes

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). 

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.

• 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;
• Implements the most effective approach to make the transition from cash to electronic payments; 
• 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. 

BTCA is in the early days of its technical assistance facility implementation.  These two UNCDF programmes are together more frequently.  The MM4P team is overseeing the implementation of one of the first BTCA performance-based agreements with a partner in Malawi.  UNCDF is also in the process of concluding an agreement with USAID for joint funding of BTCA and MM4P for work in Malawi. 

Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) in Liberia:

Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) is a global thematic initiative of UNCDF, started in 2012.  Its goal is to build inclusive digital financial sectors whereby individuals and businesses, including women and rural customers, have access to and can effectively use a broad range of digital financial services that are provided responsibly, and at reasonable cost, by sustainable institutions in a well-regulated environment in the markets in which they operate.  MM4P conducted a scoping mission of Liberia in 2012, but delayed engagement due to the difficult regulatory environment.  UNCDF worked with the Central Bank of Liberia to change the regulation which was approved in early 2014.  MM4P was initiating projects with several partners during the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).  Due to the travel and assembling restrictions, it ceased those support projects and joined forces with the UN Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), assigning its expert to focus on payments to health care and other response workers.   Its expert left the country in early 2015, leaving UNCDF without an on the ground presence. In September 2015, MM4P conducted a second scoping mission in Liberia. Based on the findings, MM4P wished to re-engage with a focus on support of digitizing a range of payments using DFS, working with providers to develop customer centric products and improving and innovating distribution channels.  With sufficient support it can also continue its work on further improving the policy and regulatory environment and regulators ability to monitor.     

Deberes y responsabilidades

As part of this new staffing strategy, MM4P is looking for a DF consultant based in Monrovia, Liberia.  The DF expert will report to the Technical Specialist Digital Finance based in Senegal (TS DF). Under the direct responsibility of the TS DF, the Consultant will specifically:

Act as primary DF technical resource in the joint UNCDF/UNDP digital finance team:

• Support in developing, implementing and updating joint funder Country Strategy and Work Plans for digital finance, ideally bringing together UNCDF, USAID, UNDP and other DF funders;
• Act as the DF technical point of contact in country for all stakeholders willing to enter or expand in the DF market, building trust and communication among stakeholders;
• Provide high quality technical input on various DF topics (regulatory, product design, agent network, etc.);
• Challenge existing DF ideas and ways of working in order to raise the discussions between stakeholders to more impactful and innovative business models;
• Assist the technical specialist in identifying needs of stakeholders for assistance on key topics (agent network, product design, processes, technology, etc.) to support the ecosystem development on specific areas;
• Seek opportunities to bring expertise and lessons learned to Libeira, including coordinating with other UNCDF and USAID technical staff and consultants to share experience, lessons and innovative ideas.

Assist in the development and the implementation of activities at country level (ecosystem activities) to raise stakeholder’s knowledge and capacity on DF:

• Support TS DF to set-up and animate a DFS working group gathering key DF stakeholders (Central Bank, Government, Banks, MFIs, Telecom Operators, donors, etc.), providing technical input and support, so that it may act as the key coordination body on all DF aspects and promote communication between all stakeholders;
• Through regular contact and training, build a strong relationship with the Central Bank and raise all departments’ knowledge and capacity. Promote open and innovative DF ecosystem and continuous communication between public and private sectors.  Develop training sessions for all departments of CBL to raise their knowledge on DF;
• With support of the USAID, UNDP, UNCDF, work with stakeholder groups to develop a shared national vision and/or roadmap of DFS growth in the country;
• Based on vision and corresponding country strategy, take lead role in implementing ecosystem activities; 
• Plan, organize, animate and participate in various workshops/trainings on DF topics open to all stakeholders to raise their knowledge (strategy, agent, customers experience, product development, partnerships, etc.). 
• Develop and animate a 1 day workshop on DF strategy open to all stakeholders to inform about potential business models and partnerships for banks, MNOs, MFIs, credit unions, VSLAs, etc. to play a role in DF ecosystem;
• Develop and animate a 1 day workshop on agent network open to all stakeholders to disseminate best practices in agent network management;
• Carry out a payment diagnosis and roadmap for Liberia based on BTCA methodology;
• Develop and animate a 1 day workshop on the result of the payment diagnosis and roadmap;
• Develop and animate a workshop on high volume payments, including government to person, person to government, person to business, etc.
• Based on work plan, participate and coordinate market research activities to be conducted by other firms or consultants (e.g. customer experience, customer demand, agent network diagnosis, agent network challenges, payment flows diagnosis, data analytics, etc.) in order to gather the necessary information and market knowledge to reach MM4P objectives in country;
• Involve key stakeholders during market research work to raise their field knowledge.  Furthermore, work with these stakeholders to improve their DF services based on lessons learned from the market researches;
• Write briefing notes, research highlights and knowledge documents tailored responding to specific expectations and challenges of the Liberian DF market;
• Disseminate key information to all stakeholders to raise their DF capacities;
• Organize regular informal exchange sessions with key stakeholders to share information within the market.

Assist all stakeholders in the development of innovative ideas, plans and projects to enter or expand in the DFS (ecosystem, regulatory, customer, high volume, agent work streams) to develop a pipeline of projects:

• Build good and continuous relationship with all existing and potential DF stakeholders and have regular contact (at least monthly) to be aware of all DF market dynamics;
• Assist specific stakeholders individually on DF related topics according to their needs;
• Based on interactions, including those from workshops/trainings, market research and regular contacts, establish a ranking of most promising stakeholders for direct support from UNCDF.Update this ranking regularly based on market dynamics;
• Support the TS DF in identifying, vetting, and developing DF projects and monitor their progress among the top ranked potential partners, work with identified partners to refine and improve project designs for initial engagement;
• Collect necessary documents for UNCDF project endorsements and appraisals;
• Oversee the progress of partners projects, provide regular advice and assistance to ensure that they are completed on time and reach targets;
• Challenge stakeholders about their DF businesses and strategies in order to raise the level of innovation and creativity in country;
• Foster partnerships between stakeholders to develop new business models and innovative ideas.

Support and participate in direct technical assistance to selected partners (providers workstream):

• Work with the TS DF to reactivate former partnerships with LoneStar, Cellcom, BRAC, and WOCCU, helping the TS DF to revise old project descriptions and agreements by updating activities and targets;
• Work closely with other consultants and consulting firms working with MM4P and partners. Provide the necessary programme knowledge in order to have consultants aligned with programme objectives in country;
• Coordinate and regularly follow-up work of consultants;
• For some selected partners, provide direct technical assistance to support project implementation.

Coordinate and support TS DF on reporting at country and stakeholders level:

• Plan, organize and animate the monthly progress call with TS FD and MM4P key people.Prepare agenda for the call, update workplan and write meeting minutes.Develop monthly action plans;
• Coordinate with USAID GEMS and other programmes, recommending the means for collaboration;
• Plan, organize and animate the quarterly progress call with MM4P partners;
• Support MM4P in collect reporting information from MM4P partners on a quarterly basis;
• Support MM4 in collecting information from Central bank;
• Support the TS DF to report on DF activities and developments in country;
• Support UNCDF on the ground in local procurement, working with UNCDF MM4P and UNDP Liberia to secure venues, media and other short-term support by defining needs and requirements.

The outcome of this work will be: 

• Based on MM4P Theory of Change, help and hasten the shift of Liberia DF market from start-up stage they are firmly in the expansion stage at end of 2019, so that at least 10% active DF users (90 days) of the adult population in Liberia at end of 2019;
• Assist the Liberian DF market into an innovative and competitive ecosystem where several stakeholders are testing and implementing new ideas and innovative business models;
• Work closely with UNDP, CBL, USAID, World Bank and other donors / partners to coordinate DF activities in Liberia.

Competencias

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.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• A Master’s degree in technology, economics, public/business administration, social sciences, or related discipline or the equivalent experience.

Experience: 

• A minimum of four years’ experience in progressively more responsible positions in the financial services and/or telecommunications field;
• A minimum of three years’ experience working with branchless banking and mobile financial services;
• Experience in working with the implementation of branchless banking and mobile financial services projects;
• Experience in project management.
• Experience in Liberia, East , West or Southern Africa is a plus
• Excellent writing skills.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in  English.

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

• Timeline: February 4th , 2016 to February 3rd, 2017;
• Location:  Monrovia, Liberia;
• Estimated Total Number of Working Days: 240 days in 12 month.

Consulting Fees/Personnel Costs:

• Applicants should note that the maximum daily rate under UNCDF policy is US$1350 for individual consultants. 

Travel:

• Any travel expenses to join duty station (Monrovia) must be quoted in the financial proposal;
• Occasional travel may be required and will be compensated according to UN polices.    

Application:

Applications close on 15/12/2015. 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 RFP.  The weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial. 

All applications must contain the following information (plese consolidate and upload in one document):

• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR;
• Earliest availability and proposed schedule for consultancy;
• 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 months assignment outlining: Total professional fee (including professional fees, per diems in Brussels (if applicable). Other professional expenses (such as insurance, taxes, etc.).Duty travel (return ticket from country of origin to Brussels) (available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916).

Both individual consultants and individual employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply.  Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.