UNCDF Jobs - 76720- Re- Advertisement: Ghana Water P2G, Consultant

Re- Advertisement: Ghana Water P2G, Consultant

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

ACCRA, GHANA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

30-Jan-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

up to 1 year

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) 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.

UNCDF works to enlarge peoples’ choices: it believes that poor people and communities should take decisions about their own development. 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 is a partnership of governments, companies and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. Billions of dollars in cash payments and transfers 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 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 digital 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 partners with governments, companies, and international organizations that are the key drivers behind the transition to make digital payments widely available by:

Advocating for the transition from cash to digital payments in a way that advances financial inclusion and promotes responsible digital finance.
Conducting research and sharing the experiences of our members to inform strategies for making the transition.
Catalyzing the development of inclusive digital payments ecosystems in member countries to reduce costs, increase transparency, advance financial inclusion-- particularly for women-- and drive inclusive growth.

For more information about the Better Than Cash Alliance, please visit the website http://www.betterthancash.org/

Ghana Water Company Limited

Ghana Water Company is a utility company, fully owned by the state. The company is responsible for potable water supply to all urban communities in Ghana. Ghana Water Company Limited begun the process of transforming its billing processes in August 2016. The transformation process begun with the validation of existing customer database and subsequently capturing customer consumption electronically. The concluding part of the process, and arguably the most important part is the payment made by customers after they have been billed at the end of the month. One key objective to be achieved is the digitisation of customer payments.

Work has gone into integrating with all mobile platforms, some commercial banks, and other online (mobile) payment platforms. With such integration, customers are able to pay their water bills via mobile money (MTN, Vodafone, Tigo and Airtel); via their banks digital payment platforms and online payment platforms like ExpressPay and Slydepay. It is easier now to monitor in real time all payments that are received in respect of water bill collection, and the payments can directly reflect in the customers’ balances.
http://www.gwcl.com.gh/company_profile.html

Duties and Responsibilities

Based in Accra Ghana, the individual Consultant will be working closely with the Better Than Cash Alliance to support the Ghana Water Company in the ongoing digitisation of water payments. The consultant will specifically:

I. Review the current general architecture of the infrastructure and supporting processes and policies established with respect to the digital payments platform for Ghana Water Company Limited;
II. Prioritize areas for improvement, recommend solutions to improve priority areas and advice GWCL on the approach to implementing such improvements;
III. Develop an electronic/digital payment policy that conforms to the existing GWCL policies on customer payments. A part of the policy shall be dedicated to customer protection;
IV. Develop an electronic/digital payment strategy aimed at increasing the volumes of transactions conducted on the various digital payment platforms
V. Training of deliverables.

Deliverables are as follows:

I. Review the current general architecture of the infrastructure and supporting processes and policies established with respect to the digital payments platform for Ghana Water Company Limited:

Liaise with the key departments in reviewing the general architecture of the digital payment platform;
Review the policies and process flows, identifying areas that require improvement;
Prioritize areas for improvement, recommend solutions to improve priority areas and advice GWCL on the approach to implementing such improvements.

Deliverable: Revised GWCL Electronic Bill payments strategy:

II. Develop an electronic/digital payment policy that conforms to the existing GWCL policies on customer payments. A part of the policy shall be dedicated to customer protection:

Review the current GWCL policies and procedures on customer payments;
Using other consumer protection guidelines, like the Responsible Digital Payments Guidelines, and working with the GWCL team, develop an electronic payment policy that is aligned to the general GWCL customer service policies, and conform to industry best practice. The policy must also be aligned to the local consumer protection laws lime;
Develop accompanying e-payments customer service processes manual and training material for customer service staff.

Deliverable: Electronic Payment Consumer policy and procedure manual.

III. Review and develop an electronic/digital payment scaling strategy aimed at increasing the volumes of transactions conducted on the digital payment platforms:

Review the current marketing plan to increase uptake and usage of digital payment platform;
Support the implementation of activities to drive uptake and usage of digital channels to pay for water bills;
In liaison with the management team, support the various marketing activities providing technical guidance on the best approaches for increased usage.

IV: Organise trainings, seminars to support digital payments capacity building efforts currently underway:

Identify, with key management, relevant training needs and recommend or organize trainings on specific topics that supports the ongoing digitisation process;
Develop training materials on electronic bill payments and build internal capacity for continuous learning and training;
Conduct a workshop/seminar/training session on the electronic payments Consumer Policy.

Deliverable: Digital payments training needs assessment report and at least 2 training sessions/seminars organized for relevant customer service and back-office staff as well as key management team involved in digitising bill payments.

The key result expected is the successful implementation and attainment of targets of the project. The consultant will support the following key results of the programme:

Increase the number of clients paying digitally by 30%;
Customer complaints turnaround time of 24hours;
Number of staff and agents trained on e-payments consumer protection policy.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates ethics and integrity;
Demonstrates political acumen and calculated risk taking;
Builds own competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
Creates and promotes open communication;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Conducts fair and transparent decision making;
Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
Shows strong corporate commitment.

Functional Competencies:
Professional

Ensures the full implementation of a project and the financial resources to obtain results;
Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources;
Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
Makes effective use of UNCDF’s and other Alliance member resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships;
Creates networks and promotes initiatives with partner organizations;
Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;

Technical:

Working knowledge of current developments in payment technologies and platforms, including innovative payment methods (e.g., mobile financial services, pre-paid/reloadable/other cards, etc.);
Working knowledge of developing digital payment policies and processes, as well as digital risk management
Solid skills in data analysis and data management (spreadsheets, data visualization tools like Tableau, etc.)
Understanding of key issues and international good practice relating to financial inclusion, and digital financial services consumer protection issues.
Excellent presentation and representation skills in multicultural contexts;
Ability to translate complex technical ideas to a non-technical audience in both verbally and in writing.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s degree in economics, public/business administration, ICT, social sciences, or related discipline or the equivalent experience;
Additional training related to digital financial services is highly desirable.

Experience:

A minimum of five (5) years dedicated experience in digital finance, payment systems or electronic payments is required;
A minimum of two (2) years working experience in the Ghana payments ecosystem sector;
Experience in the formulation of strategies, policies and procedures in the area of digital payments at public or private sector level;
Working knowledge of utility bill payments and current developments including innovative payment methods (e.g., mobile financial services, pre-paid cards, etc.) essential;
Detailed knowledgeable about the Ghana payments landscape, including topical issues and digital payments regulatory environment;
Understanding of issues related to financial inclusion.

Languages:

Excellent oral and written English communication skills;
Knowledge of one the local languages (added advantage).

Evaluation Process

Consultants will be evaluated based on UNDP’s cumulative analysis method. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract shall be made to the consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial (30%) criteria.

The Better Than Cash Alliance will conduct a review of a profile (technical evaluation) that matches applicants experience and expertise to the key tasks outlined in the consultancy. These are detailed under each of the following Key work areas noted above:

Programme Development and Management (40 points);
Programme Support (35 points);
Policy and Regulatory Efforts (10 points);
Stakeholder and Partner Consultation (15 points).

Only the top candidates obtaining a minimum of 80 points in the review of profile will be considered for Technical Interviews. Technical interviews will explore the same key work areas, in greater depth, with the same weighting.

Technical proposal = Review of a profile (30%) + Technical Interview (40%).

Contract Award

The contract shall be awarded to the applicant whose offer have been evaluated and determined as Responsive/compliant/acceptable and having received the highest combined weight (technical proposal & Interview) 70% + financial 30%= 100%.

Payment

Payments will be made as specified in the actual contract upon confirmation of UNCDF on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

This contract will be based on agreed Deliverables. Payments will be made to the consultant based on the successful completion of defined deliverables;
The payment is all inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the period of the contract, including professional fees, insurance, risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions, and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract;
There are no additional living allowances included;
Payments will be based on timesheets and invoices approved by the supervisor;

Travel:

If there is any approved travel, UNCDF will pay separately travel expenses (economy airfare, terminal expenses and per diems which include hotel and food expenses) according to standard UN rates based on evidence of approved and actual travel.

Application Guidelines

Interested candidate should submit the following information as part of the application package:

When applying for this consultancy position, please apply with your official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification;
Detailed updated CV including past experience in similar projects or P11 link: http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc;
Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Confirmation of availability to take up assignments for the whole period;
Three professional references including name, affiliation and email addresses;
Financial proposals will be requested only from the shortlisted candidates.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org

References

UNDP’s Individual Consultant’s General Terms and Conditions are provided here:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf

Note: this is a re-advertisement for those who already applied do not need to apply (applications will be kept for review).