Background

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

UNCDF’s financing models work through two channels: financial inclusion that expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small businesses to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; and by showing how localized investments — through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance — can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion and sustainable development.

By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. By identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a number of different SDGs.

UNCDF’s Energy Access Initiative: CleanStart Programme

UNCDF, through the CleanStart Programme (2012-2020), supports low-income consumers to transition to cleaner and more efficient energy. By 2020, CleanStart aims to have over 500,000 households and micro-entrepreneurs make the switch to clean energy, which translates into 2.5 million people benefitting altogether.

To this end, the CleanStart Programme promotes access to finance across the energy value chain from customer to enterprise by investing in early stage, innovative business ideas from SMEs that have the potential to make a step-change in improving the accessibility, affordability, and reliability of modern energy for people, especially those at the last-mile. Business ideas should have strong commercial-viability potential.
The initiative has four programme components. The (1) investment component as described above is complemented by three other components that centre around (2) providing technical advisory services to get concepts and business plans investment-ready by CleanStart, as well as general advice and linkages to non-financial resources such as experts and business development opportunities during the life of the partnership; (3) knowledge and learning through customer insights research and Thinkshops to discuss trending market topics; and (4) advocacy and partnerships with strategic partners to jointly support the improvement of the energy access market ecosystem so that business models can scale.

CleanStart global is supported by the Austrian Development Cooperation, the Government of Andorra, the Government of Liechtenstein, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and the Swedish International Development Agency.

UNCDF CleanStart in Uganda

UNCDF’s initial investments in Uganda has leveraged in-country funding from the Embassy of Sweden in Uganda to co-invest in business model innovations in the solar power and clean cooking markets (Renewable Energy Challenge Fund, RECF), and the Department for International Development of the UK to Uganda to promote industry-led off-grid solar market development in collaboration with the Uganda Solar Energy Association (USEA).  

UNCDF is supporting USEA to build up its governance and management structure, improve communications as well as incubate member services such as sales data collection, business development services, and Big Data customer research to improve financial sustainability.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives

The selected consultants will work closely with the UNCDF team to build on ongoing fundraising activities and improve the fundraising capacity of the Uganda Solar Energy Association and actually raise funds. The National consultant will be supported by the international consultant. The goal is to have USEA on the path to becoming viable beyond the support of UNCDF (which ends in March 2019). To this end, the consultant will:  
1.    Assess fundraising landscape and develop an actionable strategy and plan;
2.    Execute the Resource Mobilization Action Plan to support in mobilising financial resources to sustain the operations of the association.

Scope of Work

1. Assess fundraising landscape and develop an actionable strategy and plan.

• Review USEA’s Action Plan for USEA fundraising and revenue generation:  including fundraising targets and revenue generation model to sustain USEA for the immediate and long-term future, types of sources of revenue and pricing for revenue-generating activities (i.e. membership fees structure, member services), and responsible parties and capacity needed to execute the Action Plan.
• Assess trends in fundraising landscape for association-related activities, including from donors, corporate social responsibility, and sponsorship amongst the companies in Uganda. The scope of funders to explore is both domestic and international.
• Develop a fundraising budget including income and expenses and return on investment.
• Develop a database of prospective partners and sponsors including details on thematic funding areas and funding cycles. Identify a list of fundraising events and activities.

2. Execute the Resource Mobilization Action Plan to support in mobilising financial resources to sustain the operations of the association.

• Develop fundraising materials (fundraising pack) that USEA can share with funders at any given time. Host fundraising capacity-building workshop to orient USEA Secretariat with the Action Plan and fundraising tools;
• Plan, coordinate and support implementation of one pilot fundraising event or activity;
• Build and manage a pipeline of strategic partnerships in collaboration with key stakeholders;
• Prepare concept notes, proposals and contracts;
• Attend meetings or prepare USEA to attend meetings with fundraising prospects and with key partners and submit meeting minutes;
• Support the CEO to develop and nurture high level relationships with partners, corporate sponsor and donors to maximise benefits to the association.

Deliverables

Monitoring and Progress Control

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the CleanStart Programme Analyst, and in close collaboration with other consultants and the Uganda Solar Energy Association.

Consultancy fees will be paid upon (i) submission of invoice and Certificate of Payment form (ii) review, approval and acceptance of outputs for each deliverable by CleanStart Programme Analyst (iii) authorization of payment disbursement from the direct supervisor.

Payments are based upon delivery of the outputs and/or services specified above, and written acceptance and certification of satisfactory completion by the CleanStart Programme Analyst.

Competencies

Functional Competencies

• Understanding of how industry associations operate, especially related to financial resources and how to price and structure member services highly desirable;
• Experience working in the energy access space highly desirable;
• Strong strategy development and writing skills;
• Strong relationship building skills;
• Excellent project management skills;
• Good interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multi-cultural environment, with sensitivity to diverse opinion;
• Fully competent with Microsoft Office and PowerPoint.

Corporate Competencies

• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNCDF;
• Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.
   

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Bachelors level qualifications in business, finance, marketing, economics, accounting, sustainable energy, engineering, mass communications, or related fields;

Experience

• At least 4 years’ hands-on experience in industry association development, business development, and/or fundraising;
• At least 3 years’ experience in resource mobilization such as writing funding proposals, pitching and building relationships with funders.

Language

• Fluency in English is required;

Evaluation

Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions.  The following selection method will be used:  Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals.  The weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial.  
 
Step I: Screening/Longlisting

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting.

• Bachelors level qualifications in business, finance, marketing, economics, accounting, sustainable energy, engineering, mass communications, or related fields;
• At least 4 years’ hands-on experience in  industry association development, business development, and/or fundraising;

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates by evaluating the following criteria with the corresponding points (100 points)

• At least 4 years’ hands-on experience in industry association development, business development, and/or fundraising (50 points);
• At least 3 years’ experience in resource mobilization such as writing funding proposals, pitching and building relationships with funders (50 points).

As applicable, only the first top 3 ranked applicants achieving 70% of the points will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step III: Financial Evaluation

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:
Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Application Process

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;
• 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 interest and Financial proposal: https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx&action=default
• Earliest Availability

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