Background

A.    Background 

The  United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 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 three channels: inclusive digital economies, connecting individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy, and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; local development finance, that capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and investment finance, that provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization. By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to Sustainable Development Goal-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 broad diversity of SDGs.

Hosted by  UNCDF, the Better Than Cash Alliance’s mission is to catalyze a global movement from cash to digital payments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Specific benefits include efficiency, transparency, women’s economic participation and financial inclusion, helping build economies that are digital and inclusive. 

The Alliance has 75 members, including national governments from Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, companies and international organizations which have committed to digitizing payments. 

The Secretariat works with the Alliance members on their journey to digitize payments by: 

• Providing advisory services based on member priorities.
• Sharing action-oriented research and fostering peer learning. 
• Conducting advocacy at national, regional and global level.

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. The problems with these cash payments include a lack of transparency, accountability and security, as well as inefficiency. Individuals who receive cash payments are often part of the 1.7 billion excluded from the formal financial sector, the majority of whom are women. 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 Team’s Core Values are the following:

• Achieving together
• Striving for excellence
• Service oriented
• Results oriented 

The Better Than Cash Alliance is looking to hire one (1) Digital Payments Technical Expert – Asia Pacific.  For more information about the Better Than Cash Alliance, please visit our website: www.betterthancash.org. 

Duties and Responsibilities

B.    Scope of Services

Under the supervision and direction of the Asia Pacific Regional Lead, in collaboration with the Private Sector Lead and the South-East Asia Lead, this assignment will ensure the technical and coordination support to the implementation of the overall strategy for the Better Than Cash Alliance in the Asia Pacific region. Key responsibilities are as follows:

1. Provide high quality technical assistance and coordination support for overall execution of Alliance advisory services to members in Asia Pacific Region as part of the yearly country strategies and in accordance with member priorities 

• Provide technical support for the delivery of the Alliance services to members including:
  • Project management support for Regional, Country and Private Sector leads to help Alliance government and corporate members increase the uptake of digital payments in key countries and business value chains based on government and corporate priorites.
  • Research support to capture digital payments learnings/experiences of Alliance members to share across membrs and countries, in the region and globally
  • Organize peer learning exchanges and facilitate bilateral relationships to increase digital payments capabilities of Asia Pacific members as follows:
  • State level government – Building on the successes and lessons learnt from the inter-state government exchanges, organize peer exchanges within countries to help states/provinces address their digital payments ecosystem development
  • National level - Support the organization of international peer exchanges of various Better Than Cash Alliance government members to learn from each other. 
  • Private sector members – organize relevant capability building workshops with members as part of the global or country learning strategy. 
• Support the periodical tracking/reporting of Alliance activities with members, to ensure documenting of information and on-time implementation of agreed workplans
• Provide project management support alongside 3rd party consultants / consultancy firms contracted by BTCA to deliver services to members as part of country strategy

2.     Support for in-country government and corporate advisory in the Asia Pacific Region:

• Mission support to BTCA Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, Asia Pacific Regional Lead, South East Asia Regional Lead, Corporate Lead, and other members of the BTCA Secretariat
• Support with background notes for missions, meetings and/or presentations for conferences and workshops on the digitization of payments in support of the Asia Pacific Lead, Private Sector Lead and South East Aia Lead. 
• Draft project concept notes and seek input from relevant team members and experts, as needed;
• Track progress of in-country initiatives and ensure liaison with management and procurement teams to ensure delivery of project milestones;
• Monitor key indicators in support of the Asia Pacific and M&E teams to track activities to feed into donor and internal reports;

3. Provide an up-to-date analysis of digital payments ecosystem development across the Asia Pacific Region through desktop research and stakeholder discussions, and providing these inputs into Alliance work on the overall country strategy and portfolio for the Region. 

• Prepare detailed analysis, including background research on Alliance members, funders and other various organizations’ work on the digitization of payments and digital financial inclusion 
• Conduct in-depth research on topics related to digital payments, digital financial services and financial inclusion in specific markets to inform the regional strategy and the drafting of concept notes for in-country initiatives
• Conduct thorough background research on the whole sector in a country (other stakeholders, donors) work on the digitization of payments and digital financial inclusion in focus countries and focus corporate sectors to ensure Alliance USP in all activities;
• Help identify partnerships with key national/regional platforms and initiatives for BTCA to work with to scale up the digital payments agenda 
• Work closely with the Asia Pacific Regional Lead to prepare quarterly portfolio reporting; mid-year and annual progress report and others as directed by the Managing Director.

4.     Undertake Advocacy role: 

• Working closely with the Asia Pacific team, monitor and identify advocacy opportunities for the Alliance, including potential targets, conferences, UN, regional and corporate events in the Asia Pacific Region 

5.     Coordinate communications and organizing of events: 

• Collaborate closely with the Asia Pacific team and the advocacy, media and communications teams for the organization of events, conferences and specialized workshops;
• Share news and stories from Alliance member countries for social media and other communications channels, as needed;
• Other activities, as requested

C.    Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Better Than Cash Alliance’s ASIA PAC Regional Lead, working closely awith other key colleagues across the globe, with supervision support from the Private Sector Lead on corporate initiatives.

D.    Duration of the Work

The assignment will have an initial duration of up to 220 days within twelve (12) months period. An extension of another one (1) year is possible depending on performance, continued need for the services and availability of funds. The performance control/monitoring mechanism will be applied from the start date. 

Any delay in the completion of the outputs, if not attributed to the performance of the consultant, shall be addressed through a no-cost time extension.

E.    Duty Station

• The duty station/location for the contract duration will Islamabad, Pakistan. 
• Travel to the field and other relevant locations may be required and will be compensated on reimbursable basis and following the UNDP/UNCDF rules and regulations which states that consultants shall only be paid the most direct and most economical ticket, as will be quoted by the official UN travel agency.  Any amount in excess of the said quotation, such as class and airline preference of the consultant, shall be borne by the consultant and the daily living allowance will be paid in amounts not exceeding the UN established Rate.
• Please note that UNCDF cannot guarantee residence permits or visas for consultants. Consultants are responsible for securing their work documentation. In the case of national consultants, applicants that are not nationals of the duty station requested will have to prove their residence status. 
• Please note that consultants residing in the duty station will not be compensated for living expenses.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates ethics and integrity;
• Demonstrates political acumen and calculated risk taking;
• Impeccable diplomatic skills and knowledge of protocol; essential 
• Demonstrated excellent writing, editing and communications skills to an international standard including correspondence, reports, talking points and briefing material; essential
• 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

• Project management lifecycle
• Ensures the full implementation of a project 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 BTCA 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, including innovative payment methods (e.g., digital government, mobile financial services, pre-paid/reloadable/other cards, etc.);
• Impeccable diplomatic skills, particularly in working with governments of emerging economies in the Asia Pacific
• Solid skills in market assessments, business case/strategy development and data analysis/management (spreadsheets, data visualization tools like Tableau, etc.)
• Understanding of key issues and international good practice relating to financial inclusion and digital payments 
• 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

F.    Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s level) in public/business administration, finance, engineering, economics, international affairs, development, political science, or other relevant fields.
• Bachelor’s degree in combination with at least nine additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimumum 7 years of professional experience in digital payments, financial services, financial inclusion, ICT4D, economic development or digital government is required
• Minimum 7 years of experience in effectively supporting the provision of services to a very diverse group of clients or members and maintaining positive relationships with peers is essential
• Minimum 7 years of experience in dealing with high level governments officials and senior level management in companies, particularly in emerging economies is essential;
• Expert knowledge of current developments in digital financial services including innovative payment methods (e.g., mobile financial services, pre-paid cards, etc.) is essential;
• Expert knowledge of policy, legal and regulatory issues related to inclusive payment technologies and digital government is desirable;
• Minimum 7 years of experience in organization of high-level meetings with senior government officials and senior business leaders is desirable;

Languages:

• Fluency in English, both oral and written, is required and fluency in regional languages is desired;
• Working proficiency in other languages is highly desirable.

G.   Provision of Monitoring, Progress Controls & Payments 

• The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Asia PAC Regional Lead, who would set the quarterly deliverables at the beginning of every quarter and will hold a weekly communication either in person, or via e-mail and/or skype for coordination and guidance purposes, ensuring consultants’ output quality and targets.
• Payments will be made based on the percentage of contract price, in line with the payment schedule below, and upon confirmation of UNCDF that the individual has delivered on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner based on the completed deliverables stated under the Section B above.  

• Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

The payment schedule will be as follows:    

The following supporting documents will serve as conditions for disbursement: 

• submission of an invoice and Certificate of Payment (COP). 
• review, approval and written acceptance of each deliverable by the UNCDF ASIA Pacific Regional Lead and/or his designate. 
• submission of a workplan / progress report with relevant supporting documentation; and,
• an authorization of payment disbursement from a direct supervisor.

H.   Recommended Presentation of Offer

Interested individuals must submit the following as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications: (NOTE: the system does not allow multiple uploads of document. Applicants must make sure to upload all documents in one PDF file).

The following documents are requested:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability;
2. 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 the names of at least three (3) professional references (e-mail addresses, telephone numbers);
3. 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. 
4. Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive daily fee.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNCDF under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNCDF.  Please use the form available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916

I.     Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

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 overall combined score will be 100 points, where weight distribution shall be 70% technical (30% desk review + 40% interview) and 30% financial.

Step I: Screening:

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria (listed under education and experience) will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s level) in public/business administration, finance, engineering, economics, international affairs, development, political science, or other relevant fields.

OR

• Bachelor’s degree in combination with at least nine additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in digital payments, financial services, financial inclusion, ICT4D, economic development or digital government 

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review (100 points)

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 as per the following criteria: 

Education: (30 points)

• Advanced university degree (Master’s level) in public/business administration, finance, engineering, economics, international affairs, development, political science, or other relevant fields.

OR

• Bachelor’s degree in combination with at least nine additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in digital payments, financial services, financial inclusion, ICT4D, economic development or digital government (35 points)
• Expert knowledge of current developments in digital financial services including innovative payment methods (e.g., mobile financial services, pre-paid cards, etc.) (35 points)

As applicable, only the first top 3 ranked applicants achieving minimum 70 points shall be invited for an interview.

Step III : Technical interviews 

A competency-based Interview shall be conducted with the top three candidates who score the highest in Step II (minimum of 70 points). Candidates will be tested on the same key work areas, in greater depth, with the same weighting, namely:

•           Relevant experience

•           Sector Knowledge  

•           Programme Development and Management

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Step II: Desk Review and Step III: Interview will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

Step IV: Financial Evaluation:

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Step V: Award Criteria:

The contact shall be awarded to the applicant whose offer have been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable vis-à-vis the requirements of the TOR and the project operating environment; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial (30%) criteria.

Both individual consultants and individual 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.