Historique

Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) is a global thematic initiative to address the opportunities and challenges of implementing branchless banking and mobile money in challenging markets in Africa and Asia.  MM4P’s long-term mission is to help low income and rural households in LDCs increase their financial security through appropriate, affordable and secure means to receive, manage and save money through these “digital financial services” (DFS).  UNCDF is currently implementing this in eight countries (Benin, Laos, Nepal, Liberia, Malawi Senegal, Uganda and Zambia). 

MM4P launched in Nepal in 2013 and works closely with A2F - UNNATI, providing both funding and technical oversight of DFS in Nepal.

MM4P Program Framework references four phases in the roll-out of mobile financial services: Inception, Start-Up, Expansion and Consolidation.  Nepal is currently juxtaposed in the early stages of the Start-Up Phase with some indicators which lead it towards the mid stage of Start-up Phase. The vision for Nepal is to have a BB and MFS ecosystem that operates through multiple providers.  The ecosystem will be supported by more certain and enabling guidelines and regulations characterized by proportional KYC, flexible agent requirements, clearly–stated consumer protections and supported by public-private efforts to educate customers. 

The objective of MM4P’s engagement in Nepal is to move from the inception phase firmly into the early expansion phase. The high level outreach targets of this strategy The outcome of this strategy through 2019 will be for 10% of the adult population actively using financial service via digital technologies.

IME Ltd is setting up a new venture IME Digital to propose new mobile money products, namely the mobile wallet that will be offered through the existing remittance agent network of IME Ltd as well as new agents.

It is proposed to start the mobile wallet operations by November 2016 in smaller concentrated corridor and expand the geographical coverage to the whole country within the next five years. Leveraging its brand value, IME is expected to build a strong customer base of 1.3 million mobile wallet users in a span of five years.

The mobile wallet will offer multiple banking and payment services like - fund transfer, saving deposits, utility bill payments and ticketing etc.. The wallet product would be offered as an over the counter offering through the agency channel. These products have been structured as mass market products. The product pilot will be divided into 2 phases, one limited pilot and a second scaled-up pilot. In both phases IME will test different assumptions and go in a controlled fashion before a full scale launch. Each phase will target specific customers’ segments and geographic areas and will propose specific targeted offerings as outlined below. The proposed products/transaction bundling with wallet are based on certain assumption of needs of customer and would be refined along the pilot.

MM4P is seeking a full-time Mobile Money Technology Platform Expert to  provide support to IME Ltd develop the payment platform for the launch of its wallet offerings in a phased manner. The technology expert will work in close collaboration with IME’s IT team.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The short term objectives that the consultant will to achieve with these pilots are the following:

• Test  the technology system to deliver services at scale and the front end interface for better customer experience;
• Test the value proposition within the existing remittance agent network of IME Ltd, to deliver wallet based services in addition to OTC transactions;
• Test the creation of agent network outside of IME Ltd agents to offer and service wallet based accounts;
• Test new partnership arrangements.

In the first phase, IME has developed the basic platform architecture and in the next phase as the platform is stable, IME plans to add on more products on the platform. As IME moves towards full scale launch, it requires services of a technical advisor who can play role of Project Mentor and support team of project manager and developers build the additional functionalities and test them. The technical advisor will work in close collaboration with CTO and IME’s IT team. The platform development project will be led by CTO of the IME. The technical advisor will report to a DFS Expert who will oversee the project and also provide business inputs on the products and services.

Timeline of assignment:

The consultant will work for up to 60 working days spread across 3 months (December 2016 – March 2017), with possibility of spill over to 4th month. The consultant will finalize the work plan in consultation with UNCDF and IME project team.

Locations:   Nepal, Kathmandu and offsite.

Budget: The budget for this assignment is USD 30,000 (including all expenses).

Provision of quality, monitoring and progress controls:

Monitoring of progress shall be measured both according to the activities of the contractor as well as the performance of the UNCDF partners.

1. The contractor/consultant must secure approval from UNCDF´s in-country Country Technical Specialist prior to deployment of staff and trips.
2. The contractor/consultant will conduct briefings to the MM4P team upon request of UNCDF. 
3. The contractor/consultant shall solicit client feedback surveys from IME Ltd Nepal which shall be submitted to UNCDF at the end of the project.
4. The contractor/consultant will organize monthly progress call with MM4P and the partner.

The contractor/consultant will get all the deliverables quality checked and signed off from IME Project Manager, only after which UNCDF will accept the same.

Compétences

Professional:

• Takes on innovation and new approaches and fosters innovation in others;
• Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
• Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources.

Management/Client Orientation:

• Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
• Ability to interact and adapt communication with various management level with partners.
• Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities, and resolve problems;
• Focus on impact and results for clients and stakeholders;
• Builds trust in interactions with others, facilitates partnerships; excellent networking capabilities to link people/businesses from diverse horizons;
• Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude and responds positively to feedback;
• Committed to team work, working with other stakeholders.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Post graduate/Bachelor degree in Engineering (Information Technology), Computer Science or related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in software development is mandatory;
• A minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience of developing mobile based payment platform for banks, non-banking financial institutions or mobile network operators is mandatory;
• Experience in network penetration, software testing and audit to identify bugs in the platform;
• A thorough understanding of management and architecture of payment platforms including mobile or prepaid cards based platforms;
• Experience in full-stack project administration and software design/development in the domains: Java, Android, Perl, Python, Django, Polymer, Solr Lucene, Node.JS, web design/development, scripting, automation etc.;

Android:

• Fluent in Android SDK, Java and Android IDEs including Android Studio or Eclipse;
• Strong OO design and programming skills in Java (J2EE/ J2ME);
• Knowledge of SQLite, MySQL or similar database management system.

iOS:

• Fluent in  iOS SDK (UIKit, Cocoa Touch, Core Data, Core Location, Core Animation, Core Graphics) and have used Swift;
• Strong OO design and programming skills in Objective-C;
• Proficient in API’s using JSON and XML.

Common:

• Deep understanding of designing for scalability, performance, and reliability of client-server software systems;
• Exposure to industry-standard approaches in designing mobile performance and security in mobile apps;
• Experience on web service integration (SOAP, REST, JSON, XML);
• Experience using social media APIs ;
• Using version control (e.g. SVN) Experience of version and revision control practices, procedures and tools (e.g. SVN, Git).
• Previous experience of working on certification testing projects (ISO Certification) is a plus.

Work-Style and Responsibility:

• Responsible for providing technical input and defining, developing, and evolving software in a fast paced and agile development environment using the latest software development technologies and infrastructure;
• Strategize, prepare, implement and monitor the technology roadmap that addresses the company’s business needs related to payment channels;
• Managing technology execution that includes:

-Mentoring the application delivery and release process;

-Work closely with architect teams, network, data center for resolution of issues; provide inputs on system architecture and codes; quality control;

-Ensure system stability and scalability;

-Practice Test driven development;

-Participate in continual innovation and improvement.

• Drive increased efficiency across the teams, eliminating duplication, leveraging product and technology reuse;
• Apply principles of and methodologies like Lean/Agile/XP, CI, Software and Product Security, Scalability, Documentation Practices, refactoring and Testing Techniques
• Understand performance parameters and assess application performance;
• Work with key stakeholders and articulate technical concepts in a customer friendly and understandable way;
• Proactively share information across the team, to the right audience with the appropriate level of detail and timeliness.
• Guide team members in the aspect of mobile development best practices, scalability.

Language:

• An excellent command of English is mandatory.

Travel:

• Consultants will quote travel in the financial proposal (1 travel to and from the duty station, Kathmandu, Nepal);
• For 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;
• Please note that UNCDF cannot guarantee residence permits or visa´s 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. 

Provision of Monitoring, Progress Controls & Payments:

• Provision of monitoring:

The primary contact for reporting for this TOR shall be the MM4P shall be UNCDF´s in-country Country Technical Specialist: Jaspreet Singh (Jaspreet.singh@uncdf.org);

Secondary contact for reporting for this TOR shall be the MM4P shall be UNCDF´s in-country DFS Expert: Abhay Pareek (abhay.pareek@uncdf.org).

• Payment will be made on periodical basis in accordance with number of days worked and upon satisfactorily achieved deliverables. All payments are subject to the clearance and approval of the direct supervisor.
• Final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

Application:

Interested individuals/companies 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).

All applications must contain the following information:

• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies in relation to the TOR;
• Earliest availability and proposed schedule for consultancy;
• Curriculum Vitae;
• Fully completed 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 full assignment outlining the total professional fee (including professional fees, per diem in Kathmandu, Nepal) other professional expenses (such as insurance, taxes, etc.), duty travel (1 return ticket from country of origin to Kathmandu, Nepal). Applicants will propose how many days are to be worked onsite and offsite and quote per diem accordingly. Available at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916).

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Step I: Screening;

Step II Technical Evaluation Weight - 70% x (Step 1: 20 Points + Step 2: 80 Points = 100 Points);

Step III Financial Evaluation Weight - 30%.

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:

Step II: Technical Evaluation

1. Shortlisting (20 points)

UNCDF will produce a shortlist of candidates and technically evaluate candidates as per experience requirements in the Terms of Reference. As applicable, only the first top 4 ranked applicants achieving 70% of the points at this stage shall be considered at the next step, the desk review.

2. Desk Review (80 points)

A desk review shall be conducted for the top 4 shortlisted candidates.

The financial evaluation of those candidates who have reached 70% of the Technical Evaluation will take place.

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%.

Award Criteria

The contact 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.