UNCDF Jobs - 16115- Programme Specialist (LDC Youth for Africa)

Programme Specialist (LDC Youth for Africa)

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Dakar, SENEGAL

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2010

Application Deadline :

12-Jun-10 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 Year

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

4 Years

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

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) was founded as an independent organization within the UN system in 1966, with a mission “to assist developing countries in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants and loans”. Its creation was part of a larger effort to complement technical assistance and pre-investment activities of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), as well as those of larger partners such as the World Bank. In 1973 UNCDF’s mandate was narrowed to focus “first and foremost” on the least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF today remains a capital investment organization for the LDCs. Its work is designed to help reduce poverty and achieve the objectives of the Brussels Program of Action for the LDCs, as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It has special expertise in 1) microfinance / inclusive finance; and 2) decentralization and local development.

UNCDF’s Financial Inclusion Practice (FIPA) area operates programmes in 25 LDCs, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, UNCDF / FIPA provides technical assistance to UNDP inclusive finance programmes around the world, and partners with other UN organizations on issue-specific aspects of the larger financial inclusion agenda (e.g. ILO on micro-insurance; IFAD on remittances).

An inclusive financial sector is defined as a financial sector that offers a range of financial services to the entire active population of a country. An inclusive financial sector is characterized by competition among financial service providers, a diverse range of financial service providers, sustainability with respect to the permanence of access to financial services, and legal and regulatory environments that ensure the integrity of the financial sector and access to financial services

Although microfinance has been making great strides in terms of outreach and creation of sustainable organizations, the number of these organizations which consider youth as a potential new market that needs specific products is limited. And yet, youth between 12 and 24 years of age number 1.5 billion with that number growing by another one billion over the next decade. This potential market is a huge opportunity for institutions providing financial services, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where the youth bulge will occur in the next 10-20 years . It represents their next wave of new clients. Yet, very few FSPs understand the nuances of serving this market and know even less about youth-serving organizations with whom they might partner in order to understand how to reach out to and design products for youth.

Based on the research conducted to date, many FSPs express an interest in serving youth but are not equipped to do so. Reasons for this include staff that is biased against youth as productive recipients of financial services, FSP assumptions that existing products and services are sufficient to attract youth, and client groups that exclude youth based on perceptions that youth cannot save or productively manage credit. In addition, many FSPs cite legal and regulatory constraints on serving youth (i.e., age restrictions).

Against this background, UNCDF will be implementing an “Access to Youth Financial Services in Africa” programme over the next four years. This programme will seek to further the nascent youth financial services (YFS) field by building internal capacity, awarding grants to FSPs for market research, training, new product development and roll-out of products targeted at youth, facilitating linkages and knowledge dissemination, and capturing lessons learned. The LDC Youth Programme Manager for Africa will be hired to manage this programme. S/he will be based in the UNCDF regional offices (Dakar) but covering full Africa and will report to the Head of Regional Office.

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions/Key Results:

The key function is to successfully implement the “Access to Youth Financial Services in Africa” programme. The key results expected are (a) increased access by youth age 12 to 24 of appropriate, demand-driven financial services and (b) increased internal (FIPA) capacity and knowledge to support FSPs and governments interested in YFS. The LDC Youth Programme Manager for Africa (YPM) will pursue these key results by allocating 60% of her/his time to programmatic quality assurance and portfolio management, 25% to knowledge management, and 15% to resource mobilization and corporate support.

Programmatic Quality Assurance and Portfolio Management
The YPM will:

Issue Requests for Applications to targeted FSPs, work with outside consultant(s) to prepare initial scoring of applications (qualitative and quantitative), prepare recommendations for financing to the FIPA Investment Committee;
Work with FSP applicants and FIPA country and/or regional advisors to refine, clarify applications; missions to applicants as needed;
Draft performance-based agreements with disbursement conditions and targets and negotiate with applicants on final agreements;
Manage the FSP agreement executions and ensure disbursements are made on time if/when conditions are met;
Review quarterly and annual performance reports, analyze performance and work with FIPA network of country and/or regional advisors to ensure timely intervention to keep investments on track;
Provide direct technical assistance, in addition to developing a cadre of consultants who can work with individual FSPs on particular issues related to research, development and roll out of youth appropriate (savings) services;
Manage donor budget and ensure targets are met or exceeded; prepare quarterly and annual donor reports.

Knowledge Management
The YPM will:

Ensure learning opportunities are disseminated amongst FIPA staff; coordinate/organize trainings for FIPA staff;
Liaise with training institutes and consultants on youth financial services and disseminate learning throughout FIPA;
Facilitate access to best practices to FSP grantees on linkages to youth-serving organizations;
Organize internal and negotiate space in external information exchange events nationally, regionally and/or globally. Contribute to knowledge-sharing networks on youth financial services;
Engage in policy dialogue on youth financial services at governmental level, with national microfinance associations, AFI, MFW4A, research institutes, networks of commercial banks, and interface with UNCDF Policy Coordinators;
Document lessons learned, organize preparation of case studies;
Ensure key documentation is available on the UNCDF Intranet to facilitate UNCDF staff access to programme information.

Resource Mobilization and Corporate Support
The YPM will:

Support the efforts of the FIPA Director and Deputy Director, UNCDF Partnerships and Communications Unit, and Heads of Regional Offices to mobilize additional resources for the programme. Liaise with Regional Advisors/Managers to ensure that funding gaps are identified;
Develop strategies to mobilize additional resources based on programme resource requirements and new opportunities. Record and manage commitments, disbursements and programming of fund contributions;
Provide input to support annual and cumulative UNCDF results analyses and substantive inputs into Unit work plan and UNCDF Business Plan;
Support to the development of UNCDF programme and business strategies and to annual reviews;
Provide advice to UNCDF senior management on technical issues and business development opportunities, including inputs into corporate presentations and reports.

Impact of Results

Results of the work of the YPM will have a major impact on (a) African youth in LDCs, asset building and poverty alleviation, (b) the nascent field of youth financial services and (c) FIPA. By implementing this programme, FIPA will strive to continue to be a leader in the microfinance sector, tackling frontier issues in difficult markets. By virtue of the organizational reach of FIPA in African LDCs, youth financial services will be addressed not only at the retail (FSP) level but also at the meso and macro levels.

The knowledge management component will ensure lessons are learned, shared and documented. FIPA will leverage its on-the-ground capacity to advocate for youth-appropriate services.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
Serves and promotes the vision, mission, values and strategic goals of UNCDF;
Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly and without favoritism;
Shows strong commitment to the UN and to inclusive finance;
Demonstrated strong technical and practical leadership and knowledge in issues relating to introducing savings services, market research, and new product development and roll-out, preferably including youth;
Ability to manage multi-partner, multi-country projects in complex environments that use state of the art innovation and practice;
Ability to design promotional and knowledge building and knowledge sharing programs. Experience in organizing and coordination of a wide variety of meetings, conferences, events and other activities in professional context.;
Plans and produces quality results to meet established goals. Generates innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations;
Participates effectively in a team-based information-sharing environment, collaborating and cooperating with others;
Establishes clear performance goals, standards, and responsibilities; manages them accordingly;
Promotes a learning environment; facilitates the development of individual and team competencies;
Comprehensive understanding managing for results;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UNCDF;
Strong networking capabilities and ability to associate him/herself with a range of actors with a view to building relations and facilitating linkages;
Conceptualizes and analyses problems to identify key issues, underlying problems and how they relate;
Contributes creative, practical ideas and demonstrates sense of entrepreneurial initiative to deal with challenging situations;
Strives for quality client-centered services (internal/external) when making decisions and taking actions;
Strong communication and negotiation skills;
Excellent presentation skills;
Uses ICT and web-based management systems effectively as a tool and resource;
Is motivated and demonstrates a capacity to pursue personal development and learn.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters degree in economics, finance, business or public administration or related field.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years experience in microfinance, inclusive finance, or related fields of finance, development, research;
Experiences with similar assignments in developing countries, including LDCs and Africa;
Experience with new product development, testing, roll-out;
Experience with savings product development, with youth inclusion a plus;
Experience undertaking market research;
Resource mobilization experience and record of success in reporting to and managing donor grants and reporting mechanisms;
Strong programme management experience with emphasis on monitoring, evaluation and incorporating lessons learned into inclusive finance projects and programmes.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and French with effective written and oral communication skills