Background

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

a) Personal CV, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

Office/Unit/Project Description:

UNCDF is the UN's capital investment agency for the world's least developed countries (LDCs). It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to inclusive finance 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 can provide seed capital both grants and loans as well as technical support that will improve poor peoples' lives.

The UNCDF digital agenda for migration and remittances falls within the organization's broader global strategy, set forth in 2019, of "Leaving No One Behind in the Digital Era." This vision is to empower millions of people by 2024 to use services daily that leverage innovation and technology and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. Through a market development approach, UNCDF continuously seeks to address underlying market dysfunctions. The Programme contributes to, and benefits from, this overarching corporate mandate. The Programme is administered by UNCDF with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, or SDC, and Sida, the Swedish International Development Agency.

UNCDF's Migration and Remittances for Development Programme, or the Programme, aims at contributing to sustainable development by making remittances more accessible and affordable, while helping build resilience for migrants and their families. For both sending and receiving countries, the Programme seeks to increase the share of migrant remittances flowing through formal channels, thereby giving policymakers at both ends greater visibility into the true picture of inbound and outbound financial flows. For remittances service providers, the Programme seeks to build the capacity to understand the financial needs and preferences of migrants and their families, and to design and deliver responsive products accordingly. For migrants themselves, the Programme aims not only to lower the costs and increase the safety and convenience of sending money, but also to link remittances to a broader suite of financial services-including insurance,savings, pensions, investments, and credit-that can help them reach their goals. The Programme recognizes digitization as the key to achieving these objectives.

Institutional Arrangement:

The direct supervisor of the Senior Payments Specialist will be the Lead Specialist, Migration and Remittance portfolio at UNCDF.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

  • Leading UNCDF's effort and convenings on an open regulated payments network, which includes dissemination and following up with stakeholders on adopting key recommendations
  • Leading UNCDF's effort to design a global interoperability scheme for remittances
  • Leading UNCDF's work on open digital infrastructure, including designing APls to help scale remittance linked products
  • Contributing to the cross-border interoperability reference guide project
  • Reviewing key publications linked to UNCDF's work on share market infrastructure, portability of digital identity, migrant and gender centric open-source user interfaces, remittance-linked credit research, digitization of wage payments, micro-insurance and pensions, etc.

Competencies

Core

 

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives  for  multiple  projects,  have  lasting impact

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 3: Proactively  mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination:

LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner:

LEVEL  3:  Political savvy,  navigate  complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Digital and Innovation

Digital Inclusion

Knowledge of how digital inclusion works, opportunities and challenges for governments and society

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA:

Min. Education requirements

Bachelors degree in business, technology, commerce, business/public administration, economics, finance, or any related discipline

Min. years of relevant work experience

  • 12 years of dedicated experience in financial services, financial inclusion or digital financial services
  • Previous proven experience working on the areas of remittances

Required skills

  • Working knowledge of current developments in including innovative payment methods (e.g., mobile financial services, pre­ paid cards, fintech, blockchain, etc.)
  • Knowledge of the development field
  • Excellent understanding of key issues and international good practices relating to remittances, digital payments, and digital financial inclusion
  • Previous experience with the UN /UNDP is considered an advantage

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

  • Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented.
  • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment;
  • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender

Required Language(s)

Proficiency in English

Professional Certificates

ACCA certificate is an advantage