Historique

Who Are We?

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 Sustainable Development Goal # 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.

Why Myanmar?

Myanmar society is experiencing unprecedented transition from nearly 60 years of past conflict towards a peaceful, dynamic market-oriented economy. Due to a weak infrastructure in financial sector, the inclusion of the regulated financial services is limited to a very small group of people. Most of the citizen, small and medium sized businesses find it difficult to get access to low cost capital and efficient financing. Here in Myanmar, you would be standing with us to help achieve financial inclusion and sustainable development in Myanmar.

What We Are Doing?

UNCDF in collaboration with UNDP is currently running several projects to improve financial inclusion in Myanmar.

According to the MAP Finscope survey, access to formal financial services in Myanmar stands at a moderate 30% of the adult population, however a majority are thinly served having access to only one product that often only partially meets household needs. The Myanmar Financial Inclusion Roadmap 2014 – 2020 was as a result developed by stakeholders and adopted by the government, in order to help increase the level and quality of access to and use of financial services. UNCDF has been a critical actor in the development of the Roadmap, in partnership with others having funded and implemented the Making Access Possible (MAP) diagnostic that provided the evidence base to develop the Financial Inclusion Roadmap.

UNCDF in partnership with other stakeholders, is now proposing a new project framework to further support the Roadmap process, Expanding Financial Access (EFA) programme through direct and concrete support to the Roadmap implementation process, and by deploying resources in the Roadmap priority areas where UNCDF capabilities and resources are aligned. The primary focus of the programme is to support the Myanmar government in creating an environment that promotes an accelerated market development for financial inclusion, contributing to sustainable financing for development. The EFA programme aims at strengthening the financial sector by 2020, enabling it to better support financial inclusion, with formal inclusion in Myanmar increasing from 30% to 40%, percent of adults with more than one product increasing from 6% to 15%, and a full range of affordable, quality, effective and responsible financial services being available to the target clients (MSME, small-scale farmers, women-led enterprises, youth, poor and low income individuals) by getting all stakeholders to work together in an integrated manner.

The importance of microfinance in Myanmar is widely recognized with a particular need for developing deposit mobilization from poor families and small and micro enterprises. Additionally, savings-based microfinance institutions that fund themselves primarily through local deposits are better positioned to weather periods of financial downturns and local funding is generally more stable and carries no foreign-currency risk. Recognizing (i) the importance of ‘market leaders’ to drive sector development and (ii) the demand for safe, convenient savings products by low income populations, in 2008 UNCDF launched, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the LDC Fund to Develop Savings-led Market Leaders (MicroLead). In 2011 and 2012, the Expansion of MicroLead was funded by The MasterCard Foundation and LIFT Myanmar. Microlead aims at providing deposit services to low-income rural people who are currently un- or under-banked in order to enhance their capacities to weather shocks, smooth income streams, and save for the future. The programme is running in Myanmar since 2013, and UNCDF supports 3 grantees, namely ASA, Alliance and ACCU, thanks to the funds received by LIFT.

Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation in the ASEAN region (SHIFT) is a regional programme, which partners with EFA in Myanmar. The regional program also works in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, where only a quarter of the overall population has access to formal financial services.  This programme aims at transitioning at least six million low-income people, owners of small and medium enterprises and micro entrepreneurs from using informal financial services to formal, well-regulated and low-cost financial services by 2020.  To achieve this goal, SHIFT uses a challenge fund with thematic windows. The first window, Access to Energy resulted in funding for 3 projects in Myanmar. The second window is focused on fostering innovative business models for women’s financial inclusion.

Devoirs et responsabilités

How Will You Contribute?

As an Intern, you will be working alongside with the country coordinator, specialists, consultants, the local programme officers and associates, to provide a range of responsibilities:

• Conduct research support to issues related to financial inclusion of Myanmar (such as women’s economic empowerment, digital financial services, savings mobilization or other relevant issues);
• Writing of case studies;
• Provide support to the current projects undergoing in Myanmar;
• Support UNCDF Myanmar with administrative, promotional or communicational duties;
• Ensure communications and visibility activities for UNCDF’s programmes (i.e. writing and dissemination of case studies, success stories, lessons learned etc.) contributing to UNCDF knowledge management, and ensuring a timely implementations of activities;
• Provide support to other ad-hoc assignments directed by the supervisor.

Compétences

Core Competencies:

• Commitment to UNCDFs vision, mission, and strategic goals;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty;
• Strong organizational, communication and interpersonal skills with ability to work under pressure within an international setting;
• Able to work effectively in a team and in an international environment.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrable skills in research, analytical thinking, and communication;
• Excellent writing and editing skills in English;
• Proven ability to manage diverse and complex tasks, with tight deadlines;
• Able to take initiative and work independently, with minimum supervision;
• Interest in the UN system and general knowledge of development issues is a plus;
• Ability to perform a variety of administrative and logistic tasks.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Enrolled in master’s degree programme in finance, economics, business or recently graduated within the past 12-month.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience, part or full-time, paid or volunteer, in economics, policy related work, finance, inclusive finance or related fields;
• Demonstrated research and analytical capacity;
• Basic understanding of the modalities of international cooperation, through internship and/or studies;
• Excellent organizational, inter-personal, communication and administrative skills;
• Proven ability to manage diverse and complex tasks, with tight deadlines;
• Able to take initiative and work independently, with minimum supervision;
• Excellent computer capabilities.

Language:

• Strong writing and speaking abilities in English.

Duration of Assignment:

Please note that this is an open call for applications, please indicate your availability from February to December 2017.  

Conditions:

Interns are not financially remunerated by UNCDF. The costs associated with the latter must be borne by the nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or by the student, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence and make his/her own arrangements for travel, accommodation, etc. Proof of medical and life/accident insurance valid for the location in which the internship will be carried out (i.e. Yangon, Myanmar).

Work Arrangements:

It is desired that the intern will work full-time during usual business hours.  If that is not possible due to coursework or other outstanding commitments, part-time work may be agreed with supervisor.  The intern will work in the UNCDF office as possible or telecommute as agreed with her/his supervisor.  In the office, work space and an email address will be provided.  The intern will be responsible for using her/his own computer.

Further Career Opportunities:

The purpose of the Internship Programme is not to lead to further employment with UNCDF but to complement an intern’s studies; therefore, there should be no expectation of employment at the end of an internship.

Please submit your Resume/CV and an application using the UNCDF Internship Application form: http://www.uncdf.org/sites/default/files/internship.doc 

Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.