Background

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 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.

Hosted by UNCDF, the Centre for Financial Health (CFH) is set-up as an umbrella platform towards convening a global coalition and thought leadership. The Centre for Financial Health acts as a convener, providing a platform to bring together global, regional and local actors committed to using financial and digital solutions to improve the financial lives of low-income families—helping them climb - and stay - out of poverty. The Centre creates space for thought leadership where best financial health (FH) practices and models are exchanged and lead to concrete action with governments and the private sector.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Results Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant shall work under the supervision and direction of the Research and Insights Specialist. The consultant’s key responsibilities are as follows:

1.  Design output and outcomes tracking and analysis tools, methods and processes for FH activities based on the Financial Health Theory of Change.

Key Results: FH team has the tools and methods to accurately and meaningfully track progress of outputs and outcomes at the program, global and country level and make adjustments to achieve the greatest results.

• Design tools, methods, systems and processes for capturing and reporting input, output and outcome data from FH activities at the program, global and country level that streamlined across FH;
• At the program level, tools for measuring and reporting on program targets and the progress of project activities, including social and gender dimensions and the delivery of outputs against established schedules and indicators of progress on a quarterly basis (i.e. three weeks after quarter completion);
• At the country level, develop indicators and tools to report against agreements, FH strategies, Theory of Change and relevant benchmarks in order to assist senior management in designing interventions to increase program effectiveness and ability to achieve lasting positive impact on a quarterly and annual basis;
• At the partners level, monitor against quantifiable targets and other relevant benchmarks per partner agreements, including the validation of partner progress reports on a quarterly basis;
• Develop systems for the flow of knowledge down to the FH personnel in the field, keeping them informed of overall performance related to targets.

2.  Manage reporting process against indicators to enable FH program (CFH) to provide meaningful feedback to staff, stakeholders, and funders with a key focus on measuring against objectives agreed on the Theory of Change.

Key Result: FH team has the data to accurately and meaningfully track progress at the program, global and country level and make adjustments to achieve the greatest results.

• Manage the effective monitoring and evaluation of the FH program by implementing and updating the new FH indicator framework and toolkit;
• Help embed and streamline monitoring and measurement practices and tools into FH operations across regions and verticals;
• Oversee and streamline data collection and data management activities for monitoring purposes, ensuring that data gathered is accurate, reliable, relevant, and fulfilling FH’s need to understand progress in program implementation and its contribution to broader outcomes;
• Act as co-focal point of the UNCDF Evaluation Unit, along with the Research and Insights Specialist, to establish a baseline for future evaluations and coordinate all aspects of external evaluation and program reviews as may be required by UNCDF, FH’s Executive Committee or donors;
• Liaise with other UNCDF Units as well as other UN agencies to ensure an integrated approach to results-based management as required;
• Help coordinate internal and external program evaluations by liaising with evaluators;
• Contribute to the writing of blogs or papers that outline the impact measurement approach, etc.;
• Provide support in other areas related to research and insights as per the direction of the Research and Insights Specialist.

3.  Capacity building of the FH team in the area of results measurement (RM) in order to improve overall program effectiveness and enhance reporting.

Key Result: FH personnel across countries understand and are able to implement required activities in RM to increase the likelihood of effecting positive outcomes in the lives of users of digital payments, in particular those at higher risk of financial exclusion.

• Assist FH team on proper use of RM systems, tools, reports and indicators to allow for timely and accurate monitoring and reporting at the program and project level, as well as in regional and country level Annual Work Plans;
• Assist FH team in developing results chains for their country strategies and utilize results chains, indicators and reporting requirements when designing specific projects or interventions;
• As needed, assist and provide guidance to key partners (e.g. contractors, service providers, partners with agreements) in fulfilling reporting requirements;
• Identifies capacity weaknesses and design appropriate activities and tools to improve RM within the program and partners.

4.  Conduct research activities related to measurement, working with FH team members globally to harmonize monitoring practices and develop and execute research activities that support FH’s RM and learning agenda.

Key Results: Financial Health is fulfilling its learning agenda, leveraging the data emerging from its in-country or global advisory and sharing results on good practices.

• Ensure that the RM framework includes tracking information linked to each of the key program learning questions and objectives;
• Manage all centralized data tracking efforts, act as primary manager for global data sources (international organizations, global market research firms, etc.) and manage their work for CFH, as required by the Research and Insights Specialist.
• Keep abreast of new developments and data trends among partner programs working on digital financial services, financial health agenda within and outside UNCDF (e.g. Digital@UNCDF, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor [CGAP], UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development [UNSGSA], Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [BMGF] Financial Services for the Poor), maintaining regular contact to keep CFH engaged in the global development of standards, and ensure CFH is contributing to the development of the global agenda;
• Manage partnerships and collaborations for data collections with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mix Market, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM Association), Cenfri and partner central banks.

5.  Report on CFH performance based on FH’s Indicator framework and the agreed output metrics.

Key Result: FH is prepared and responsive to all evaluation requirements, maximizing the opportunity to utilize them to improve its effectiveness.

• Prepare timely and accurate quarterly reports on CFH performance for senior management and the Executive Committee based on agreed program outcome and output indicators. Reports shall be ready three weeks after quarter completion;
• Track RM reporting from the different sources feeding into FH’s RM management framework to ensure timely and accurate submission of quarterly and annual monitoring reports to donors/partners;
• Prepare regular progress reports for the purpose of reporting to CFH’s senior management, including Quarterly Reports, Semi-Annual Reports and Annual Reports for donors and external stakeholders.

The table below outlines the list of deliverables and estimated dates of completion:

Mission travels tentatively anticipated are as follows:

All travel will be requested by UNCDF management on a need basis and compensated on a reimbursable basis following the UNDP/UNCDF rules and regulations that state that consultants shall only be paid the most direct and most economical ticket, as will be quoted by the official UN travel agency. Any amount in excess of the said quotation, such as class and airline preference of the consultant, shall be borne by the consultant. The daily living allowance will be paid in amounts not exceeding the UN established rate.

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. 

Provision of Monitoring, Progress Controls & Payments:

• The consultant shall work under the supervision of the Research and Insights Specialist.
• Payment shall be made only upon satisfactory completion and UNCDF’S written acceptance of each deliverable duly approved by the Global Lead for Financial Health and Innovations.
• This is a deliverable-based consulting work where payments are made based on the acceptance of the outputs. The consultant shall not, at any time during the engagement, be made to submit a time sheet with a list of tasks completed on any given 8-hour working day. 
• Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

Competencies

Core Competencies

• Think Innovatively
  • Look beyond conventional approaches and established methods
  • Propose new ideas, approaches and solutions to problems
  • Seek patterns and clarity outside boxes and categories while resisting false certainty and simplistic binary choice
• Learn Continuously
  • Actively pursue opportunities for learning and self-development professionally and personally
  • Keep abreast of new developments in one’s professional area
  • Proactively seek feedback, demonstrates a desire to learn from others as well as from experiences, both positive and negative
  • Contribute to the learning of others

Cross-Functional Competencies

• System Thinking
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
• Knowledge Facilitation
  • Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally
• Knowledge Generation
  • Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need

Technical Competencies

• SDG Finance
  • Financial Inclusion
  • Innovative Finance
  • Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

People Management Competencies

• Demonstrate Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
  • Genuinely care about people; demonstrate empathy with the joys and pains of others
  • Enable the wellbeing of the team(s)
  • Read a group’s emotional currents and power relationships, identifying influencers, networks, and organisational dynamics; adapt leadership styles at the appropriate times
  • See the positive in people, situations, and events

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualification:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent qualifications) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Law, Finance, Economics, Statistics or a related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum five (5) years of professional experience in results, impact measurement and strategic planning with large international organizations, the UN, banks, etc.
• Demonstrated broad knowledge of development issues, especially in the areas of financial inclusion and services, poverty alleviation and livelihood, women’s economic empowerment, etc.
• Strong IT, data analytics and management skills, including the ability to work regularly with business intelligence visualization tools (Power BI preferred).
• Adept in using data analysis tool like R / Stata / SPSS.
• Comprehensive understanding of the project management cycle and managing for results.
• Has experience in researching donors/client priorities, identifying key stakeholders in organizations and creating engagement plans.
• Demonstratable good communication and interpersonal skills and should also be culturally and politically sensitive in the work with counterparts and be able to work at all levels.
• Excellent analytical skills, strong oral and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage organizational projects, with tight deadlines.
• Experienced in creating presentation decks with extensive usage of Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel will be of significant advantage.

Language:

Fluent command of written and spoken English is required.

Application Process

Interested individuals must submit the following documents 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 this Terms of Reference (TOR); 
• Curriculum Vitae with names and current contacts of three referees.

Technically-qualified consultants, i.e. consultants who score the equivalent of or more than 70% with respect to the below-mentioned evaluation criteria, will be requested to submit their all-inclusive fixed total contract price. Consultants should not specify their financial proposals on their CV or with their submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in the event the consultant submits the same. 

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

Evaluation Method

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Preliminary Evaluation - Step I: Screening;
• Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% (Step II: Desk review 50 points + Step III: Interview 50 points = 100 Points);
• Financial Evaluation Weight - 30% (Step IV).

Step I: Screening

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following mandatory criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent qualifications) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Law, Finance, Economics, Statistics or a related discipline.
• Minimum five (5) years of professional experience in results, impact measurement and strategic planning with large international organizations, the UN, banks, etc.

Step II: Desk Review

A desk review will be conducted to produce a shortlist of applicants according to the criteria listed below. Only applicants who obtain 70% of the points at this stage shall be invited for the next step.

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent qualifications) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Law, Finance, Economics, Statistics or a related discipline. – 20 points
• Minimum five (5) years of professional experience in results, impact measurement and strategic planning with large international organizations, the UN, Monetary Financial Institutions (MFIs), etc. – 30 points
• Demonstrated broad knowledge of development issues, especially in the areas of financial inclusion and services, poverty alleviation and livelihood, women’s economic empowerment, etc. – 25 points
• Strong IT, data analytics and management skills, including the ability to work regularly with business intelligence visualization tools (Power BI preferred). – 25 points

Step III: Interview

All candidates who obtain more than 70% of the points at the desk review shall be invited to a panel interview.

Only applicants who obtain scores above 70% of the technical assessment will be considered technically-qualified and will be subject to further review for a financial evaluation

Step IV: Financial Evaluation

The following formula will be used for evaluation of financial proposals:

Lowest priced proposal / Price of the proposal being evaluated x 30

All technically-qualified applicants will be invited to submit a financial proposal based on an all-inclusive lump-sum for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the individual consultant (IC) in completing the assignment are already factored into the lump sum amount submitted in the proposal. If applicable, travel or living allowance cost (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) should be identified separately. Refer to the list of potential travel destinations above. Do note that mission travels will be paid on a reimbursable basis and every travel must be approved by UNCDF’s Programme Manager. The maximum reimbursable amount for each travel shall not exceed the travel per-diem prescribed for each location (see https://icsc.un.org/).

Award Criteria

The contact shall be awarded to the best applicant whose offer have been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest combined score: Technical (desk review and interview) 70% + Financial 30% = 100%.

Individual consultants and persons employed by a company or institution are invited 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 consultant must do so in their individual capacity by providing a CV so that their qualifications may be judged accordingly. Women candidates or women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.

UNCDF 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.

All selection is on merit.