UNCDF Jobs - 79399- Financial Inclusion Gender Policy and Advocacy Con

Financial Inclusion Gender Policy and Advocacy Consultant, Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (SHIFT) in ASEAN and SAARC

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

16-Jul-2018

Application Deadline :

26-Jun-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

150 working days intermittently

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 Year with potential for extension based on performance and funding up to 3 years

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

UN Capital Development Fund

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 47 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their small businesses by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital.

UNCDF provides seed capital – grants and loans – and technical support to help financial service providers 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 programmes help to empower women, and are designed to catalyse larger capital flows from the private sector, national governments and development partners, for maximum impact toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations (SHIFT) Programme ASEAN and SAARC

UNCDF has developed a regional programme titled SHIFT (Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations), aimed at facilitating the transition, by the year 2020, of low-income people, micro-entrepreneurs, and small and medium enterprises in the ASEAN and SAARC regions, from using informal financial mechanisms to formally regulated higher-value financial services.

Gender based policy and advocacy is a major component of the SHIFT ASEAN and SAARC programmes. SHIFT’s Policy and Advocacy work is generated based on data insights and stakeholder engagements, resulting in publications, guidelines, input to government’s National Financial Inclusion Strategies, south-south learnings and knowledge sharing, etc. SHIFT’s policy work aims to support and influence the regulatory and policy frameworks in SAARC and ASEAN, to ensure an inclusive financial system which is responsive to the needs of low-income individuals. In support of SHIFT’s policy work, the programme maintains a Data Hub, which undertakes big-data analysis, combined with supply and demand side sector analysis, which is used to inform SHIFT’s direction, market level changes and inform SHIFT stakeholders – specifically Central Banks and relevant Ministries.

The Consultant would be responsible for supporting SHIFT ASEAN and SAARCs policy and advocacy work, and would collaborate with the data analysis team to ensure data driven insights are captured and presented through SHIFT’s policy engagements.

UNCDF shall enter into a non-exclusive Framework Agreement (FA) with the selected consultant(s) and shall provide specific deliverables and time frames for each task, as and when required.

Prospective individuals are requested to take note of the following:

Framework Agreement is a mutual arrangement between UNCDF and an individual to provide the required services at prescribed prices or provisions over a period of 12 months, with potential extension for up to two years, depending on satisfactory performance and /or budget availability.

Under Framework Agreement, UNCDF does not warrant that any quantity of services shall be purchased during the term of this agreement. Where a request for services arises, UNCDF shall directly contract the consultant based on its need to carry out those activities. A specific Terms of Reference (TOR) outlining the outputs for each assignment shall be provided and a Purchase Order (PO) would be issued to the consultant, detailing the time frame.

Objectives of the Assignment

The focus of the assignment will be to bring about behaviour change to allow for incorporation of gender, low-income, small businesses based financial inclusion considerations into the regulatory and policy making process.

The policy and advocacy consultant will contribute to implement UNCDF’s advocacy approach which includes generation of evidence, taking evidence to use, building political commitments and mobilizing resources to commitments through coalitions building and engagement of political leaders. The specific objectives of this assignment are to (1) strengthen and support SHIFT’s ASEAN and SAARC policy engagement, (2) Support Financial Inclusion Roadmap development and implementation, (3) undertake policy research and synthesize information to communicate and advocate on topics related to financial inclusion, and (4) stakeholder and partner engagement.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The individual call-off will define the specific tasks and outputs to be delivered within a specific duration. The nature of the work under each call off shall fall under any of the following broad and general scope:

Strengthen and support SHIFT’s ASEAN and SAARC policy engagement

Refine SHIFT’s ASEAN and SAARC policy engagement approach/strategy, develop an operation plan under the strategy and lead the implementation of the operation plan jointly in collaboration with members of team, partners and donors.
Develop a pipeline of potential ASEAN and SAARC level partnerships and support UNCDF collaboration with ASEAN partners.
Support SHIFT’s engagement with the ASEAN Working Committee on Financial Inclusion through collaboration with Working Committee Chairs, preparation of UNCDF materials and presentations for meetings and by providing technical assistance as required to Working Committee members.
Expand UNCDF’s influence in other working groups such as digital financial services, payments and settlements, and MSME ASEAN level policy working groups.
Ensure SHIFT’s advocacy messaging is sensitized and well communicated through SHIFTs ASEAN engagements as well as through high level engagement with the ASEAN Secretariat.

Support Financial Inclusion Roadmap development and implementation

Provide strategic support and technical assistance to the National Bank of Cambodia to implement the National Financial Inclusion Roadmap.
Provide strategic support and technical assistance to the National Financial Inclusion Roadmaps development and implementation of Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam as required.
Support Central Banks and relevant Ministries in undertaking gender workforce diversity assessments.
Support the adoption of financial inclusion roadmaps, through supporting research, advocacy with government stakeholders and participation in working committees.

Undertake policy research and synthesize information to communicate and advocate on topics related to financial inclusion

Research, analyse and present information gathered from diverse sources, and support the development of publications related to financial inclusion.
Developing research, studies, background papers, policy briefs, blogs and other publications related to the financial inclusion of gender, youth and MSMEs, covering topics of financial inclusion, fintech, regtech, etc.
Undertake data aggregation, analysis and summarization to identify trends and undertake thematic research;
Undertake analysis that directly contributes to thematic cross-broader research, policy studies and longitudinal research on financial behaviour.
Assist in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends in the region.
Provide substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
Collaborate with communications specialist where relevant, to generate advocacy campaigns and messaging based on research findings.
Support stakeholder engagement with relevant associations in the region such as gender, enterprise and youth associations, to collaborate and partner in relevant policy and regulatory work.
Support in the organization of policy forums, events, workshops and thinkshops.

Stakeholder and partner engagement:

Facilitate regular dialogue and consultations involving and engaging stakeholders on inclusive financial service and the importance of digital and technology solutions including challenges and opportunities to enhance the relationship and influence for partnership and joint advocacy.
Support partnership and stakeholder management, ensuring outcomes stated in joint plans of actions and memorandums of understanding are implemented/undertaken in a timely manner.
Undertake joint research and coordination with UNCDF partners including AFI, ILO, UNDP, UNESCAP and others.
Provide support to donor relations, in the area of policy and advocacy as required.
Provide technical assistance to UNCDF partners as required, ensuring the UNCDF priorities including gender are integrated into partner support mechanisms.

Support the integration of gender considerations to partner’s work streams as appropriate.

Duration of Assignment, Duty Station and Expected Places to Travel

Contract duration: 1 year (with potential for extension based on performance and funding).
Number of working days: up to 150 working days, spread over the initial duration of 12 months. The call-offs will indicate the duration of the work specific to the assignment for each call-off.
Duty station: The duty station of this consultant is the Bangkok regional office for UNCDF, however a home-based assignment could also be possible, depending on the requirements of the specific call-off.
Travel: Travel will be required to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, ASEAN and SAARC member states. A separate ToR for the travel with clear deliverables, budget and timelines will be prepared and agreed prior to each mission. Air ticket(s) and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) will be provided to the consultant on reimbursable basis based on UNCDF rules. In general, UNCDF shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable 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 based on UNCDF travel policies.

Final Products

During any of the call-offs, the consultant will be required to deliver the following final products:

1. Strengthen and support SHIFT’s ASEAN policy engagement

ASEAN policy engagement strategy report;
Draft partnership agreements with relevant ASEAN partners;
Updated database of the partnerships pipeline;
Research documents and PPTs for the ASEAN Working Committee on Financial Inclusion and other working groups;
At least one advocacy campaign conducted / completed

2. Support Financial Inclusion Roadmap development and implementation

Gender workforce diversity survey report

3. Undertake policy research and synthesize information to communicate and advocate on topics related to financial inclusion

Policy and advocacy research
Published Thematic studies

4. Stakeholder and partner engagement

Support the organization of at least 1 high level event and develop an outcomes report
Joint policy and advocacy research

Payment

Payment shall be made upon submission of final output(s) to the satisfaction of the UNCDF supported by the Certificate of Payment. The valuation of the outputs and the tranches of payment per output shall also be defined in the specific TOR that will be issued during each of the call-off.

Monitoring and Progress Control

At any given time during each call off, the consultant will work under the direct supervision of the SHIFT Programme Manager based in Bangkok and in close collaboration with other relevant colleagues and any other expert or institution as designated by the Programme Manager.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards and acts in accordance with the Standards of Conduct for international civil servants;
Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNCDF;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies

Knowledge about the UNCDF programmes would be an advantage;
Strong analytical and writing skills and track record in producing relevant reports and other material.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

She/he will have a Masters in development, gender studies, finance, economics, international relations or similar studies.

Experience

The consultant shall have a minimum of five (5) years of experience in policy and advocacy
The consultant must have demonstrated expertise in financial inclusion as evidenced by 2 years of previous experience (please note that 2 years of experience are within the 5 years of overall experience required)
Expertise in gender analysis and/or gender mainstreaming is preferred
Preferred candidates would be familiar or have experience working within the UN system

Language

Fluency in English is required (written and oral).
Excellent interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment, with sensitivity to diverse opinion.

Evaluation of the Candidates

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology.

Cumulative analysis
The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant up on Cumulative Analysis/evaluation and determined as:

Responsive/compliant to the requirements of the TOR;
Offers the best value for money.

The above shall be determined by determining the offeror who will receive the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% mark in technical evaluation will be considered eligible for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks):

Level and relevance of Education obtained; (10 marks)
At least 5 years’ experience in climate change related project development under the Global environment facility, Least developed country fund, adaptation fund, green climate fund, etc. (20 marks)
Very good understanding of the NAP formulation process; (20 marks)
Proven experience (at least one assignment) in holding stakeholder consultations and evolving consensus on project issues; (20 marks)

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks):

All technical qualified proposals will be scored out 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals received points according to the following formula: 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.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit below mentioned documents will not be considered for further evaluation.

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;
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references; link to P11: http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc;
Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
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;
Three professional references including name, affiliation and email addresses.

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