Background

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 49 least developed countries. 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.
UNCDF also has expertise in forming partnerships to spur innovation and convening stakeholders to coordinate activities, exchange insights, and scale impact. UNCDF has built expertise in Inclusive Finance programs, reaching unbanked populations, particularly women, as well as building financial capabilities through innovative delivery channels.

UNCDF is developing several financial inclusion interventions in Tanzania as part of the UN Kigoma Joint Programme: 1) Targeting smallholder farmers involved in the maize and cassava value chains, UNCDF will partner with a financial service provider to develop a post-harvest loss financial product, 2) Ensuring that women are prioritized and there is an increase in uptake and usage by women of financial services through enhanced service delivery and capability training,  3) Piloting a programme to accelerate refugee’s access to finance through savings groups in Nyarugusu Camp, with long-term goals of expanding to additional camps in Tanzania as well as the wider community in Kigoma District.

1)    Access to Finance for Smallholder Farmers:  The major objective of the agriculture theme will be to increase farm income of small holder farmers in the Kigoma region leading to agriculture development in the region. By offering a value chain centric approach, the program will focus on addressing the various bottle necks in maize and cassava value chains to increase the investment from smallholder farmers in agriculture, while lowering the risk of investments and increasing the private sector engagement. Increasing access to finance for smallholder farmers is one of the 4 programme outcomes.  

2)    Economic Empowerment for Women and Girls: Access to finance has a clear and direct impact on livelihoods, economic growth, and inclusive social and economic development. When women, in particular, are financially included, they are more empowered, more resilient, and better prepared to respond to economic shocks.  While financial inclusion in Tanzania has increased by 26% from 2013 to 2015, the gender gap persists standing at 9% in 2015. Improving financial inclusion for women is key for their economic empowerment. After conducting a country assessment in Tanzania to understand the country-specific constraints that women and young girls face, UNCDF has developed a global strategy to improve the financial inclusion gender gap and drive women’s economic empowerment by addressing issues related to access, usage, and agency. UNCDF will combine financial and digital literacy with technical support to financial service providers and partner institutions in Tanzania under its gender-focused strategy.

3)    Access to Finance & Digital Literacy for Refugees in Nyarugusu Camp: UNCDF is piloting a program that will expand access to finance through savings groups, which will also serve as an entry point for digital and financial literacy. Over the long-term, UNCDF will expand the program activities to the host community; engage in policy advocacy to create a more enabling environment for refugees’ financial inclusion; and work to accelerate refugees’ linkage to the formal financial sector.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNCDF Tanzania seeks the services of a consultant with demonstrated expertise in the design and implementation of research assessing financial behaviour, access to finance and financial ecosystems to act as a technical resource and support the implementation of UNCDF Tanzania’s programming activities for a duration of two years (April 2018 – March 2020). Initial research as detailed below will take place from April – June 2018, with specific objectives to be agreed upon with the UNCDF Programme Specialist in Dar es Salaam prior to start.

Research Objectives

• Map out the financial landscape and digital ecosystem of rural areas in which UNCDF will be programming. The research would be from the perspective of smallholder farmers and would help identify existing structures and resources in the community which could be leveraged to deliver financial products and services;
• Understand the presence and role of commodity middle-men in rural areas for different value chains and their relationship to smallholder farmers;
• Map out the differences if any, in access and use of financial services by women (informal vs formal) and understand the role of women in small holder farmer activities;
• Overview of land ownership and contracting of land for farming (public vs private farm lands, youth and women’s access to land).
• Understand market access for smallholder farmers (i.e. village markets; refugee camp common markets; middlemen/brokers; trading centre markets such as Kasulu, Kibondo, Kigoma) and the logics and financial incentives for where individuals buy and sell agricultural products;
• Understand and report key financial/economic differences between district of Kasulu, Kibondo, and Kakonko where refugee camps are located;
• Understand the role currently played by the local government authority (LGA) and its staff in providing support to smallholder farmers and how their efforts can complement UNCDF programming efforts. Specifically, LGA support to smallholder farmers through their community development workers providing agricultural extension services and financial education;
• Deepen understanding on the financial capability, behaviour, and financial access of UNCDF’s target populations: refugees, smallholder farmers, with an emphasis on women;
• Explore access and usage of digital tools (i.e. mobile phones) and digital literacy by UNCDF target segments, focusing on women’s literacy, access and usage of these tools for communication and financial activities. Emphasis should be placed on how these digital tools are used and shared within households and the power relationships/dynamic arising from access and ownership;
• Examine the underlying issues preventing smallholder farmers in the host community and refugees from working harmoniously and how those obstacles can be removed to enhance economic empowerment of both groups;
• Support the financial product specialist in understanding smallholder farmer needs with a focus on low uptake and usage of financial products and services in rural areas.

Research Activities

• Overview document of insights related financial behaviour from previous research conducted with refugees;
• Preparation or research protocol and tools and secondary research (home-based);
• Field-based research through individual interviews, focus groups discussions and household surveys;
• Data analysis, compilation, and report finalization;
• Presentation of recommendations and results to UNCDF and partners.

Deliverables/Results

1.    Set of two field-tested research tools (interview guides) with supporting protocol in English and Kiswahili;
2.    Written final research report detailing research objectives, activities, and findings, with specific emphasis on programmatic considerations and recommendations for UNCDF’s projects.  The report should clearly identify opportunities to increase access to financial services for smallholder farmers and women;
3. In-person presentation of recommendations and results (PowerPoint).

Duration and Travel

An estimated number of work days is approximately 100 over the indicated period above. This duration may be foreshortened or extended as UNDCF and the consultant may mutually agree. The first set of activities are expected to start in April 2018 and completed by June 2018. Some travel will be required to the UNCDF head office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with field work to be performed in the Kigoma region. The researcher will be expected to travel to Dar es Salaam a minimum of twice, and to the Kigoma region for field work for a minimum of two weeks.

UNCDF does not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Consultant wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

For any travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed at the rates that are consistent with UNCDF Policy.  A minimum of two weeks with a maximum of 4 weeks is expected for each field work assignment in Kigoma.  A maximum of 2 assignments are expected to complete contract.

Monitoring, Progress Control and Payment

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNCDF Tanzania Programme Specialist.
Monitoring of progress shall be measured both according to the activities of the contractor as well as the performance of the UNCDF partners.
For each research assignment, payment will be made according to the payment schedule outlined below:

20% - Upon signing of the contract;
20% - Upon approval of research protocol by UNCDF Programme Specialist;
40% - Upon completion of field work and written approval of initial notes by UNCDF Programme Specialist;
20% - Upon completion of recommendations, presentation and final report with written approval of these deliverables by the UNCDF Programme Specialist.

Competencies

• Understanding and/or background in financial inclusion, microfinance, or access to finance;
• Strong ability to communicate and function effectively in local/international/multicultural environment;
• Excellent networking with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain professional relationships;
• Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;
• Project management skills;
• Excellent Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel skills;
• Excellent research skills with experience using technological tools for data collection;
• Strong English writing skills;
• High level planning, organizational and time management skills, including flexibility, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to meet changing deadlines;
• Well-developed interpersonal skills, including the ability to liaise effectively at senior levels, including central banks;
• Analytical and problem-solving skills of a high order, including the ability to formulate recommendations and advice;
• Pro-active, constructive attitude, open to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant must provide evidence of the technical capacity to undertake this assignment. This includes capacity to deliver the results in the timeframe provided as well as indication of prior experience (relevant financial inclusion/capabilities and experience, training, programme development).

Education

• Master’s degree in Economics, Anthropology, Development Studies, Education or related fields;

Experience

• At least five years of demonstrated experience conducting field research and/or working with refugee/displaced populations, with experience in both qualitative and quantitative methods;
• Track record of successfully conducting field research with low-income populations;  
• Demonstrated experience managing field staff or incentive workers;
• Previous research experience on economic empowerment and/or financial and digital literacy; Exposure and/or experience using the financial diaries methodology;
• Familiarity working in refugee settlement camps, and with refugee/displaced populations;
• Previous work in rural Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Pervious work in Tanzania.

Languages

• Excellent analytical and writing skills demonstrating fluency in English;
• Demonstrated written and oral communication skills in English;
• Knowledge of Swahili will be an asset. Intermediate or fluent Swahili preferred.

Evaluation Process

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a responsive/compliant/acceptable.

Technical Criteria weight: [70%]
Financial Criteria weight:  [30%]
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical part will be considered for the financial evaluation.

Key criteria for selecting the consultant:

• Appropriateness and Responsiveness of the Applicant’s Profile and qualifications: 70%
• Financial proposal: 30%

Criteria and scores for Technical Evaluation – 70 points
Criteria 1: Extent of relevant previous experience – 30 points;
Criteria 2: Quality of research writing – 25 pts;
Criteria 3: Familiarity and experience with financial inclusion and appropriate research methodologies such as financial diaries, used to understand financial behavior– 10 points;
Criteria 4: Relevance of academic qualifications – 5 points.

The following formula will be used to evaluate Financial Proposal:
p = y (µ/z), where
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated: y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ=price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

The award of contract will be made to the individual consultant who receives the highest combined score out of the weighted technical and financial criteria as specified above.

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;
• A description of how the expert will approach the work;
• Brief 2-5 pages sample of research writing highlighting research findings.

Shortlisted applicants will be requested to fill out and submit a Confirmation of Availability and Submission of Financial Proposal In Accordance to UNCDF Template and requested tp provide a budget for each assignment (maximum 2 assignments under this contract).

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

Both individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply. Any individual employed by a company or institution who would like to submit an offer in response to a Procurement Notice for IC must do so in their individual capacity (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.

Please include all documents into one file while submitting your application.

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