Background

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 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.

The Better Than Cash Alliance (http://betterthancash.org/) is an alliance of governments, private sector and development organizations committed to replacing the use of cash payments with electronic payments, where appropriate and to promoting a `cash-light’ economy.

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, remittances, 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 payments are often part of the 2.5 billion excluded from the formal financial sector.  This means they are excluded from access to a range of appropriate and affordable financial services to help them save safely, take advantage of economic opportunities and reduce their vulnerability to risk.
 
Shifting these payments from cash to electronic has the potential to improve the lives of low-income people, particularly women, while giving governments, the development community and the private sector a more transparent, time and cost efficient, and often safer means of disbursing payments.

The Better Than Cash Alliance:

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

The Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) is looking to hire a Policy Specialist, Advocacy to support the design and the implementation of the advocacy strategy. For more information on BTCA, please visit the website: http://betterthancash.org/ 

Duties and Responsibilities

Develop and maintain intelligence on priority members

• Refine analysis of motivations/barriers to joining BTCA and points to make the case for joining, based on analysis of experience to date and advocacy scoping study;
• Construct a typical commitment life cycle, based on analysis of processes used to date of recruiting new members and advocacy scoping study regarding channels, entry points, messengers, messages and identify accelerators at each point in the commitment cycle;
• Develop system for soliciting and updating information from within the Alliance that could support bringing on new members;
• Coordinate country focal point teams, ensuring information sharing and communication, including calls as needed; Develop system for intelligence gathering and documentation needed for bringing on new members (country profiles and individual stakeholder analysis), building on advocacy scoping study.

Develop advocacy strategy and action plan:

• Based on experience to date and information gathered through an advocacy scoping study, develop three year advocacy strategy and action plan that meets milestones in concept note, including identifying human resource and financial requirements for implementation;
• Track implementation of strategy and action plan, and details of engagement activities through an online solution, monitoring success and reporting to Managing Director.

Implement advocacy strategy and action plan:

• Tailor messaging brief to be used by all messengers for engagement with key segments (governments, private sector, development organizations) for priority target members;
  
• Develop relationships with key partners, members and implementers of Alliance. Identify how to start conversations (key contacts and messengers) and organize engagement activities (phone calls and/or written communication from the messengers);
• Follow up with existing contacts through a variety of activities (e.g., sharing additional information, drafting follow up correspondence, coordinating second/third meetings, etc.).;
• Organize bilateral meetings when Managing Director and Programme Management Committee members attend an event or visit a priority country member;
• Research and prioritize event opportunities (including research on all BTCA themes of interest, on the audience, strategic positioning, etc.) to inform messengers travel decisions;
• Support country members to organize an eco-system meeting to gather local key stakeholders  involved in the payment value chain before launching their transition;
• Support key messengers to advocate for commitment (tailoring existing information packages, tracking and preparing relevant information to help their messaging, etc.).

The Policy Specialist, Advocacy  is expected to take on any other related duties as required.

Competencies

Core/Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UNDP/UNCDF in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct;

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

• Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.  

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP/UNCDF;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.  

Functional Competencies:

• Substantive knowledge and experience in management of rights based programmes;
• Ability to carry out research, to contribute to the formulation of policies, procedures and guidelines.

Management and Leadership:

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Works with teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates strong public presentation skills, excellent  oral communication and writing skills and demonstrated ability to create persuasive and clear communications.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Promotes knowledge management in UNCDF and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
• Ability to conduct advocacy, and to support the development of programme communications strategies for sharing good practices and successful strategies;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead the formulation and monitoring of management projects;
• Ability to conduct gender disaggregated data analysis and use for programme planning and implementation.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

• Master's degree in Public Policy, Political Science, International Development or a related field.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant international experience preferably including experience working in a developing country
• Experience in working with advocacy campaigns targeting decision makers from the public and private sector;
• Experience in working with research teams and conducting stakeholder mapping;
• Experience in successfully engaging and communicating with senior government officials – preferably in the financial sector including governments in developing countries, bilateral and multilateral donors;
• Experience in matrix management, project management, team coordination and reporting;
• Previous experience with a multilateral or international organization is an asset;
• Experience in the field of financial inclusion and electronic payments is highly desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, Spanish an asset.

Note: 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to upload (as a *pdf attachment) the completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.docx. Completion of all the fields is required.