Historique

UN Capital Development Fund

UNCDF makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world's 47 least developed countries. 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. First, Financial inclusion expands the opportunities for participants to participate in the local economy, providing them with the tools they need to climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives.  Second, 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. UNCDF contributes to several SDGs by identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have a transformational impact. The transformational impact comes through helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access.

UNCDF has been supporting digital finance with significant success leading UNCDF to make digital finance the most substantial part of its inclusive finance portfolio. UNCDF hosts the Secretariat of the Better than Cash Alliance (BTCA), a partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. UNCDF also serves as the secretariat for the UN Secretary-General's Task Force on Digital Financing of the SDGs, which consider the next wave of digitalization of finance and how the systemic changes to the financial ecosystem due to digital technologies affects financing for the SDGs. For several years UNCDF's work in digital finance has led it to support new digital solutions linked to finance, to further drive financial inclusion and to achieve the SDGs.

UNCDF is one of the leading development agencies in digital finance with a mission and expertise to reach the poorest and most vulnerable populations in some of the world's most difficult markets. It has 60 professionals across the globe with digital finance experience and with close to several hundred projects in digital completed or on-going. UNCDF's digital team and resources across several programs and UNCDF are consolidating its financial and technical resources to create a diverse team of experts in various domains to drive the new strategy "Leaving no one behind in the digital era."  The Global Digital Manager's task is to drive the consolidation of these various programs under one strategy.

Based on over a decade of experience applying a market development approach in digital finance in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, UNCDF started in 2017 to expand the scope of its programmatic agenda to go beyond digital finance . Through the “Leaving no one behind in the digital era” strategy, UNCDF shifts from focusing only on digital finance to developing inclusive digital economies. The strategy recognizes that reaching the full potential of digital financial inclusion to support the SDGs aligns with the vision of promoting digital economies because:

•    The value of Digital Financial Services (DFS) becomes apparent, especially to poor and vulnerable populations, when it links to their ability to respond to the specific constraints and needs they face to participate in agriculture and access education, health, energy and other primary services key to overcoming poverty.
•    New innovative services should be developed to address these unmet needs. Innovation would evolve from traditional providers but mainly from a range of new players (entrepreneurs, start-ups in various sectors, and platforms like Facebook, Grab, WeChat).

The ‘Leaving no one behind in the digital era’ strategy, to move from DF to digital economies builds upon and constitutes a logical integration of UNCDF interventions in financial inclusion and digital, developed over many years. The legacy of UNCDF intervention programmes evolved through a range of country/regional programmes and global thematic initiatives, which has established a solid reputation for UNCDF vis-à-vis donors and peers.  

Country Context

UNCDF is implementing multiple projects in Bangladesh, which includes - Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations in SAARC (SHIFT SAARC), Women MSME FinTech Innovation Fund, Women’s Bond, Digital Supervision Platform for DFS.  

SHIFT SAARC programme is UNCDF's response to the persisting exclusion of low-income people, especially women, in the SAARC region that can limit the potential of individuals and businesses to contribute to and benefit from economic growth. SHIFT SAARC programme focuses on linking real economy and financial markets to enable low-income people, especially women and small and growing businesses to access and use financial services and leverage them to access employment, entrepreneurship and investment opportunities to improve their livelihoods and reduce poverty. UNCDF started the implementation of SHIFT SAARC programme in Bangladesh since mid-2016 to accelerate the uptake of various digital financial services by low-income groups including women and micro-businesses and provided technical support to regulators for developing an enabling ecosystem.

Critical strategic interventions under SHIFT SAARC programme in Bangladesh is contributing to:

• Generate data on digital financial services to improve evidence and knowledge around DFS in Bangladesh (Data and Evidence).

The data collection and research activities on DFS regulatory landscape assessment and generated nationally representative data on Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) retail merchants in the country. UNCDF is also supporting the capacity strengthening of regulators, financial service providers, and local research and policy think tanks in generating data and utilizing evidence for informed policy-making and product innovation.

• Strengthen technical knowledge through training and technical assistance, to support knowledge and practice on DFS

UNCDF is supporting the capacity enhancement of regulators, financial service providers, meso level organizations, women entrepreneurs, retail merchants, and national associations in the adoption of DFS and digital innovations. The efforts would continue in various dimensions to build an enabling ecosystem where multiple actors have improved competencies to participate and contribute to the acceleration of digital financial inclusion for the last mile.

• Policy advocacy and stakeholder engagement

UNCDF is facilitating stakeholder consultations on DFS policies and regulations through various initiatives. UNCDF hosts ‘Digital Financial Consultative Group (DFCG)', a public-private sector DFS knowledge-sharing platform in Bangladesh. UNCDF is facilitating technical support to regulators in adopting required policy changes and promoting neutral platforms where private sector actors can provide feedback and engage with policymakers on ecosystem issues.

• Inform opinion shapers, DFS providers, meso level organizations and small businesses about DFS through communication campaigns

UNCDF is hosting both national and community level campaigns in multiple phases targeting policymakers, national and local associations, women entrepreneurs, small and micro businesses, and broader customers on evolving DFS issues.

• Private sector-led digital innovations in the FMCG supply chain for retail micro-merchants

UNCDF is promoting digital innovations in FMCG supply chain payments, and women-led MSME targeted FinTech innovations in the country. UNCDF is piloting innovative business models to promote adoption of digital platforms and payments in the FMCG retail supply chain in partnership with financial service providers, digital technology innovators, FMCG companies, e-commerce platforms, and other stakeholders.

Significant activities of ongoing SHIFT SAARC programme implementation in Bangladesh is around Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations- Merchants Development Driving Rural Markets (SHIFT-MDDRM) component, supported by the European Union. This is a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector-oriented intervention targeting retail micro-merchants in four northern districts of Bangladesh (i.e. Sherpur, Jamalpur, Tangail and Sirajganj) to develop capacities of the merchants and pilot market based solutions to expand financial inclusion and access to FMCG goods and services through retail merchants, particularly in rural areas in the selected districts. UNCDF is implementing this component in partnership with Dnet, Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (BDMS).

UNCDF has launched Women's MSME Fintech Innovation Fund in 2019, a regional initiative across 07 countries in Asia which aims to increase access to finance through digital solutions for women-owned, managed or led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The first round of innovation fund is supporting two innovations from Bangladesh. Bangladesh country team is providing technical assistance and monitoring support to these projects in coordination with the UNCDF regional team based in Bangkok, Thailand. The innovation fund is a cross-regional initiative implemented in coordination with UN ESCAP, Government of Canada, and other partners.

Also, UNCDF is designing a Women's bond to facilitate financing support for women-led enterprises and initiatives benefitting women. UNCDF has conceptualized to co-design, develop and implement a DFS Supervision platform to enable regulators and private sector to monitor DFS market activity in real-time, streamline measurement indicators for market development, and enhance the capacity of concerned regulatory departments in supervising the overall DFS ecosystem. Regulators are now reviewing the intervention plan for final approval and launching implementation.

To support Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and knowledge management activities linked to ongoing and upcoming inclusive and digital finance initiatives in Bangladesh, UNCDF is looking to hire a National Consultant- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Knowledge Management for its ongoing and new interventions covering private, public sector and donor partnerships.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Objective

The objective of the assignment is to support implementation M&E and knowledge management activities of UNCDF’s ongoing projects in the country level. As part of the assignment, the candidate will directly support ongoing M&E and knowledge management activities of SHIFT-MDDRM project in coordination with consortium partners and private sector innovation pilot implementers. Also, the candidate will support M&E and knowledge management activities of UNCDF’s regional initiatives in Bangladesh such as Women's MSME Fintech Innovation Fund, upcoming Women’s bond and DFS regulatory supervision platform implementation in coordination with country team in Bangladesh and regional team based in Thailand.

Scope of Work

• Support overall M&E, reporting and knowledge management activities of SHIFT-MDDRM component of SHIFT SAARC programme in Bangladesh as per the implementation plan and M&E strategy;
• Support country level M&E and knowledge management activities of ongoing projects in Bangladesh for Women's MSME Fintech Innovation Fund in coordination with UNCDF regional team;
• Support design and implementation of M&E strategy and activities for upcoming initiatives including Women’s bond and DFS regulatory supervision platform in Bangladesh;
• Support showcasing of results in local, regional and global level through contributing to development of communication materials based on knowledge and lessons learnt from ongoing interventions;
• Support UNCDF team in resource mobilization through synthesizing knowledge and outcomes of prior interventions in the country level.

Duties and Responsibilities

M&E:

• Support in regularly updating the M&E dashboard and reporting frameworks for ongoing projects, tracking the project progress as per the annual work plan and ensure reporting on project activities according to the M&E indicators;
• Support UNCDF team to capture, document, analyze and report M&E data and indicators in a results-based approach and on time;
• Work closely with the project team in the country and M&E colleagues in the regional office in ensuring high-quality monitoring and evaluation of ongoing projects in Bangladesh;
• Contribute to developing regional and global reports/ periodic updates based on country-level progress reports and data as required;
• Ensure all reports, documents and data of ongoing projects are periodically and annually captured, from consortium partners and business innovation pilot implementers;
• Coordinate and support in periodic follow-up with implementing partners on reporting requirements as designed in Performance-Based Agreements (PBAs);
• Support in developing, tracking and updating M&E processes and indicators for private sector-led business innovation model implementation;
• Directly monitor progress as per indicators and coordinate with private sector implementing partners of innovative business models to collect periodic data and reports;
• Assist in developing all required systems, tools, reports and indicators, required for efficient, adequate reporting of SHIFT SAARC in Bangladesh;
• Support in ensuring timely and accurate submission of monitoring reports and annual donor reports (narrative and financial).

Knowledge Management

• Capture interim results and support development of knowledge materials and communication products based on learning of ongoing interventions;
• Support in development and dissemination of knowledge products produced by the projects with wider stakeholders both in a local and global level through various platforms and channels;
• Maintain and update a knowledge management depository regularly aligned with M&E plan of projects.

Duration of Assignment, Duty Station adn Expcted places of Travel

Duration: The assignment duration is for a maximum of 205 working days over 12 month. The contract is expected to start from mid-October 2019.

Duty Station and likely places of travel: The consultant is expected to work with the SHIFT SAARC in Bangladesh team based in UNCDF office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The assignment may require travel to project districts outside Dhaka where UNCDF's ongoing projects are on implementation.

Travel and Daily Subsistence Allowance

No DSA is payable at the duty station in Dhaka. The individual contractor shall receive a Living Allowance not to exceed the United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate while conducting field visits beyond Dhaka whenever required. Travel requirement would be determined occasionally based on the need of the projects and agreed between UNCDF and the consultant. Travel related arrangements and costs such as air ticket, vehicle, daily subsistence allowance (DSA) will be provided by UNCDF for approved field visits as per requirement. Candidates are not required to quote for travel and daily allowance costs in the financial proposal, quotation of only daily fees is recommended.

Monitoring and Progress Control

Supervision and Performance Evaluation:

The Country Project Coordinator reviews the performance and approves   the deliverables of the Consultant. Based on approval of deliverables by the Country Project Coordinator, Programme Manager, SHIFT SAARC programme will approve the payment.

Consultancy fees are payable upon satisfactory completion of services after submission of timesheets as per the payment schedule.

Final Deliverbles and Tentiative Schedule of Payment

Compétences

• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
• Openness to change and the ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
• Displays a positive and constructive attitude to work;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
•  Strong knowledge of governance and national human rights mechanism is essential.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education

Master's in Economics / Development Studies / Business Administration/ Public Policy or similar studies.

Experience

• Minimum 03 years of experience with a background in development projects, financial inclusion, M&E and knowledge management;
• Strong background and working experience on M&E, quantitative and qualitative research methods, knowledge management and dissemination channels and techniques;
• Affiliation and interest in the fields of digital financial inclusion innovation;
• Excellent presentation skills (including working with for example PPT, Prezi, webinar software);
• Proven functional skills in analytical writing and producing high-quality reports;
• High level of communication and interpersonal skills and experience in working effectively in a multicultural environment.

Languages

• Fluency in English (written and oral);
• Bengali is preferred.

Technical Evaluation (70 marks) Criteria

Step I: Shortlisting by Desk Review: (100 Points)

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates and technically evaluate candidates as follows: top 3 applicants scoring the highest in the desk review and achieving minimum 70 % shall be invited for an interview.

Step II: Interview

Shortlisted candidates  will be invited for interview session in person at the UNCDF office in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A competency-based interview shall be conducted with the top three shortlisted candidates.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of both Step I. Desk Review (20 points) + Step II. Interview (80 points) will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

• Sector Knowledge;
• Communication Skills;
• Demonstrated ability to use data to drive financial inclusion practice and policies.

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)

All technically qualified proposals get scored out 30 based on the formula below.

The lowest financial proposal gets the maximum points (30). All other proposals received points according to the following formula:

• p = y (µ/z)
• Where:
• p = points for the financial proposal;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest-priced proposal;
•  z = price of the proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Offer  

Interested individual consultants must submit these documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit below-mentioned documents would be considered ineligible.

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, and the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references; P11 is available from the link below: http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/operations/jobs/
• The candidate must submit at least one report related to M&E/ knowledge product from prior engagement
• Financial Proposal: Financial Proposal submission is through a standard interest and availability template which can is available from the link below:

http://www.bd.undp.org/content/dam/bangladesh/docs/Jobs/Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal-Template%20for%20Confirmation.docx

Contract Award

The top candidate that achieved the highest cumulative score will be recommended for a contract award.

UNCDF reserves the right to increase or decrease this number depending on the quality of the applications that will be received.  
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.

Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

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

Copyright

All products and reports related to the mission will be provided to UNCDF and be subject to associated copyrights. The contractor will not use, without prior permission of UNCDF, any the materials or data produced during the mission for any other purpose than furnishing UNCDF with a project delivery. Any use or reference to the information contained within the presented mission documents must be prior clarified and approved by UNCDF and clearly reference UNCDF as the source.