Background

Better Than Cash Alliance (UNCDF)

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. Established by the General Assembly in 1966 and with headquarters in New York, UNCDF is an autonomous UN organization affiliated with UNDP.

Based in UNCDF, the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) is a partnership of 70 governments, companies and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. by:

• Advocating for the transition from cash to digital payments in a way that advances financial inclusion and promotes responsible digital finance.
• 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; and
• Conducting research and sharing the knowledge and experiences of our members to inform strategies for making the transition.

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. Individuals who receive cash payments are often part of the 1.7 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 Team’s Core Values are the following:

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

For more information on BTCA, please visit the website: http://www.betterthancash.org/

Project Description: Implementation of Ethiopia’s National Digital Payment Strategy

In an effort to further  transform the Ethiopian payments ecosystem, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), with support from the Better Than Cash Alliance has developed a National Digital Payments Strategy (NDPS). The development of the strategy included an in-depth review of the current payments landscape in Ethiopia, broad stakeholder engagement with key players in the ecosystem, and identification of opportunities for priority wins for the development of an inclusive and sustainable digital payments ecosystem. It also included an evaluation and review of the existing regulatory payment guidelines and governance systems to ensure alignment to support the overall transformation of the sector. Through the extensive consultation with all key government ministries, departments and agencies, ensuring their views, and expectations were captured, this strategy provides NBE with an opportunity to rally the ecosystem behind an all-inclusive, whole of government strategy that has the potential to re-shape the future of payments in Ethiopia.

The progression from the development of the National Digital Payment Strategy (NDPS) to its implementation presents a delicate transition that needs to be strategically managed to ensure all the various initiatives envisioned in the Strategy are brought to fruition. The development of  the Strategy has underscored the importance of effective coordination among different payments ecosystem players and appropriate governance structures to operationalize the strategy and stimulate development of the financial sector as a whole.

The Better Than Cash Alliance is looking to hire a Digital Payments Technical Advisor, to be based in country or is willing to travel and commit to spending significant amount of time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to work with the NBE, providing technical and advisory support to the implementation of the National Digital Payments Strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Better Than Cash Alliance is looking at hiring an experienced Digital Payments Technical Advisor to advise the NBE’s Program Management and Development Unit (PMDU) in implementing the country’s National Digital Payments Strategy (NDPS). The PMDU is an entity to be hosted within the Payment Systems and Services Directorate (PSSD) at the NBE, tasked with coordinating the implementation of the NDPS. Working closely with the  PSSD directorate, and in collaboration with the Program Management Advisor, ,  the consultant is expected to advise the PMDU team on the implementation of the NDPS, focusing on   (i) implementation of specific digitisation of payments Initiatives and (ii) stakeholder engagement, partnership and collaboration on implementation of the NDPS, with key private sector stakeholders and development partners and (iii) building PMDU’s technical knowledge of digitising identified payment streams/use cases.  The consultant will work very closely with the PSSD senior management to achieve on these key result areas

Advise the NBE and Ministries on digitisation of payments initiatives in line with responsible digital payments practices. -this involves guiding the NBE and key government ministries to identify and digitise  prioritised payment initiatives and activities ensuring the implementation is in line with the the Alliance’s responsible digital payments guidelines and is gender intentional. This will be in collaboration with key stakeholders and other technical development partners working with NBE and as guided by the NDPS implementation framework:

1. Liaising with the PSSD, as well as other key stakeholders including Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Innovation & Technology (MiNT),

• Develop a use case prioritisation matrix, focusing on among other things the most feasible, impactful and scaleable and initiatives,
• Using the prioritisation matrix, lead in identifying and prioritising specific use cases (government payments, humanitarian and a value chain) for digitisation in line with the NDPS implementation framework.
• Develop a private sector and development partners engagement plan with a focus on identifying strategic companies and organisations that will champion digital payments in the country as per the NDPS. The immediate priority will be on partners that will be critical to implementation of high priority use cases identified by the prioritisation matrix.

           2. Advise the PMDU in the process of  mapping key enabling components, potential barriers and recommend implementable solutions to accelerate digitisation of payments of  identified use cases.

          3. Working with each action team and in line with their strategic scope, advise on  developing implementation parameters for digitising their most impactful initiatives as per the NDPS, This includes;

• Providing  technical leadership on developing specific pilot protocols for at least three identified priorities.
• Working with action teams, provide technical leadership in rolling out pilots for the identified use cases.
• Advise on roll out plans and developing scale for the piloted of payments initiatives.

Working with the PSSD and other NBE technical advisors, provide technical advice , in the implementation of quick win initiatives as per the NDPS that includes

1. Developing a mechanism to capture gender-disaggregated data to inform responsible (in line with the Alliance’s Responsible Digital Payments Practices ) and gender intentional decision-making.
2. The participation of non-bank financial institutions in electronic money services as per the new Payment Instrument Issuers Directive.
3. The ongoing establishment of the  ACH for electronic funds transfers and,
4. The implementation of the new Use of Agents Directive, and new KYC clauses.

Working with the PSSD senior management, and based on identified digital payment knowledge gaps, provide input and participate in  capacity building initiatives to address the gaps

1. Review and provide input to the digital payments knowledge gap assessment process.
2. Facilitate in at least three knowledge sessions on relevant technical aspects of digital payments targeting relevant NBE,  ministries and agencies’ staff championing specific initiatives of the NDPS.

Document lessons learnt

Prepare a final project assessment report that will include:

• Summary of support provided in the implementation of the NDPS, including but not limited to details of technical leadership provided in mapping key enabling components, potential barriers and implementable solutions to accelerate piloting, scaling and rolling out  identified digital payment use cases.
• Key results based on the tracked KPIs and lessons learnt. 
• Recommendations on key next steps in the implementation of the NDPS and critical factors for ensuring sustainability of the implementation effort beyond the consultancy period.

Deliverables

1. Use Case Prioritisation matrix tool signed off by the NBE and the Alliance
2. High level private sector and international organisation engagement plan (max 10 pages PDF) signed off by the NBE and the Alliance
3. Pilot frameworks(including roll out and scale up plans) for at least three digital payments use cases, (government, humanitarian payments and a value chain) mapped and begin to be implemented.
4. A gender-disaggregated data dashboard adopted and used for collecting data for different initiatives being implemented by the NBE
5. Facilitated in at least 3 knowledge workshops/webinars/in person sessions on relevant technical aspects of digital payments for at least 75% of the key NBE’s  PSSD and PMDU staff  during the period of this consultancy.
6. Final project assessment report (PDF) and presentation (PPT) signed off by the NBE and the Alliance.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

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.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will be hired by UNCDF Better Than Cash Alliance and will be based in the Payment Systems and Services Directorate (PSSD) at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). The consultant will be supervised by the Alliance’s Africa Regional Lead in close consultation with the NBE.

A Project Steering Committee will convene regularly (monthly or more if needed) to review project progress, address any issues, and provide feedback and clearance on deliverables or when necessary. The project steering committee will be constituted by members of the Better Than Cash Alliance and NBE.

Duration of the Work

This assignment has a duration of 100 days over a one year period. However, the performance control/ monitoring mechanism will be applied from the start date.

Duty Station

The duty station/location for the contract duration is home based; qualifying candidate should be prepared to spend some time in Addis subject to arrangements with the NBE and Better Than Cash Alliance from the kick off date.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates ethics and integrity;
• Demonstrates political acumen and calculated risk taking;
• 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 Better Than Cash 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:

• Solid skills in strategy development, digital transformation, stakeholder engagement and management.
• 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

Education:

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

Experience:

• A minimum of seven (10) years dedicated experience in digital finance, payment systems or electronic payments is required
• Wide and practical experience in formulating and implementing national payments strategies with a focus on  digital payments in  the public sector.
• Practical experience in co-ordinating and bringing together public and private sector stakeholders and development partners towards implementation and achievement of national payments initiatives.
• In-depth knowledge of current developments including innovative payment frontier issues (e.g. mobile financial services, cards, QR Codes, digital currency, sandboxes, regtech etc.) critical.
• Knowledge of Ethiopia’s payments landscape, including ongoing sector reforms and digital payments regulatory environment essential,
• At least five (5) years’ experience of working with central banks, government ministries and private sector players preferably in emerging markets.
• In depth understanding of international practices related to digital financial inclusion and digital transformation.

Languages:

Wrietten and spoken fluency in English

Application process:

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

All applications must contain the following information:

• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies and motivation rationalizing how the applicant meets the qualifications and can deliver the requirements of the Terms of Reference (TOR);
• Earliest availability for the consultancy;
• Complete and signed P11, Personal History Form with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc)
• Signed financial proposal for the assignment outlining: all-inclusive fee (including professional fees and other professional expenses, such as insurance, taxes, etc.). Template for this is available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916).

Incomplete applications maynot be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. 

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Preliminary Evaluation - Step I: Screening & Longlisting
• Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% x (Step II: 30 Points + Step III: 70 Points = 100 Points);
• Financial Evaluation Weight - 30% = Step IV.

Step I: Screening & Longlisting 

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

• A Master’s degree in economics, public/business administration, social sciences, or related discipline or the equivalent experience
• A minimum of seven (10) years dedicated experience in digital finance, payment systems or electronic payments is required
• At least five (5) years’ experience of working with central banks, government ministries and private sector players preferably in emerging markets
• Fluency in English

Step II: Shortlisting by Desk Review – 30 Points

• UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates and technically evaluate the candidates. Only candidates that obtained 70% of the points at this stage shall be invited for the next step.

Shortlisting scoring:

• 20% - Education/ Qualification
• 50% - Mandatory Functional and Technical Experience
• 30% - Preferred Functional and Technical Experience

Step III: Interview – 70 Points

As applicable, only applicants scoring 70% or more in the shortlist scoring shall be considered for an interview.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Steps II (30 points) + III (70 points) will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for the 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%.

Award Criteria

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 scores) 70% + financial 30%= 100%.

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.

/ma