Historique
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the global development network of the United Nations system that is on the ground in 177 countries, with its Headquarters in New York, USA. In support of UNDP’s Strategic Plan and in response to emerging interest from programme countries for support in designing, combining and sequencing financial instruments to achieve development objectives, UNDP is broadening its offering of financial instruments[1]. This reflects an evolving development finance landscape, including an increased emphasis on blending public and private finance to improve development outcomes.
As part of Office of Financial Resources Management’s (OFRM) Financial Business Partnering Division (Innovations and Solutions Team) in BMS, and reporting to the Deputy CFO, the Finance Expert will provide guidance and support to the formulation and piloting of new and complex innovative financial instruments. The Finance Expert will:
Formulate UNDP’s internal processes, procedures and financial models for its decision-making processes to enter into guarantees and other financial instruments, covering qualitative and quantitative aspects, modelling of subsidies, value added and risk/return assessment
Formulate and refine due diligence and transaction documentation requirements to support these processes, including providing advice on terms and conditions
Support UNDP in establishing its structures to implement its business processes to assess and approve financing transactions
Formulate and provide training on financial instruments, to build capacity and support their effective deployment
Provide transactional technical and financial advice and assistance to country offices and bureaux to deploy financing instruments during the pilot implementation period, including thorough financial analysis and support to transaction negotiations where appropriate.
The Finance Expert will work with country offices, regional bureaux, global programme teams and various headquarters units to support their piloting use of these instruments and help adjust UNDP’s policies and procedures based upon lessons learned. This support includes financial modelling, structuring and design of their development interventions using the instruments, ensuring robust financial analysis, clear financial terms (including payment and/or reflow triggers, etc.), and ongoing monitoring to determine long term financial impact and viability. Specific to guarantees, the incumbent will support the origination, appraisal, structuring, analysis, and execution of guarantee transactions.
[1] The term ‘financial instrument’ refers to a product involved in the outflow of funds from UNDP to a recipient in the pursuit of development objectives. This includes credit guarantees for development, pay for results schemes etc.
Devoirs et responsabilités
1. Building on the existing policy framework, formulates proposed internal processes, procedures and financial models for UNDP’s decision-making process to enter into guarantees and other financial instruments:
Formulates UNDP’s financial instruments assessment and approval processes and procedures, to enable an early stage evaluation of the quality of potential projects and their chance of success.
Formulates financial instrument appraisal processes, to evaluate feasibility, project and financial risks, modelling of subsidies, value added and risk/return assessment, covering qualitative and quantitative aspects
Formulates and refines due diligence and transaction documentation requirements to support these processes, including providing advice on terms and conditions
Supports and guides UNDP in establishing its governance and appraisal structures and functions to implement its business processes to assess and approve NFI transactions
Collects and synthesizes lessons learned on their implementation to identify risks for the organization, share learning and inform OFRM management decision-making on required revisions to policies, procedures, structures and financial models.
2. Supports pipeline development (including with private sector partners) across UNDP, including coordinating with other internal and external units, where required:
Reviews projects’ impact and assesses their financial viability, scalability and replicability potential in discussion with country offices, bureaux and sector/thematic experts.
Appraises projects to evaluate feasibility, project and financial risks, modelling of subsidies, value added and risk/return assessment, covering qualitative and quantitative aspects
Reviews due diligence and transaction documentation, including providing advice on terms and conditions
Assists with negotiations and instrument finalization (where required) with relevant development and funding partners.
Ensures lessons learned are captured, consolidated and disseminated across UNDP, and drafts refinements to policies, processes and financing agreements, where relevant.
3. Ensures ongoing financing-related capacity building among country office/bureau staff, through advocacy, knowledge management and formulation of prescriptive content, in the use of financial instruments.
- Develops related training content and delivers UNDP-wide training sessions.
Formulates new prescriptive content and guidance, updates policies and procedures, and provides support to implement new innovations and related services
- Contributes to the development and execution of knowledge management processes, and actively mentors’ staff
Compétences
Strategic Thinking: Ability to think strategically and analytically on complex and high priority subjects; Ability to identify strategic issues, opportunities and risks, and recommend decisions that align with strategy, vision, and mission
- Innovation: Exceptional ability to innovate and make new and useful ideas work
Financial Analysis: Ability to evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful manner; Ability to assess financial risks and correctly analyze the likelihood of them occurring
Formulation of Finance Strategies and Policies: Ability to formulate resource and finance strategies and policies that contribute to the operationalization of UNDP's goals, and advise on complex and important financial issues
Financial Management Advisory: Ability to coordinate and manage the delivery of financial services that meet customer needs and comply with financial management standards at the highest level of performance and accountability
Strong financial management and accounting skills. Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules
- Partnerships: Engage with other development stakeholders and forge productive working relationships
- Project Management: Plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
Sound negotiation skills
Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks and financial instruments
Firm understanding of ERP systems, preferably of PeopleSoft
Communication: Good presentational skills and ability to communicate technical issues effectively to “non-technical” personnel
Qualifications et expériences requises
Academic qualifications:
- Master's degree in Finance, Economics, Corporate Finance, Business Administration, CFA or a professional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy is required.
CFA or professionally qualified accountants from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage.
Experience:
- Minimum 10 years relevant experience in areas of transaction advisory, investment operations, investment banking, M&A, project finance is required, ideally with a focus on development
- Demonstrated experience designing and/or operationalizing financial instruments: e.g. credit instruments (e.g. guarantees), bonds is required.
- Experience with loan and investment documentation, accounting and financial statement analysis is required;
- Commercial interest in development issues and strengthening sustainable development;
- Knowledge of current development financing landscape is required, including blended finance and/or impact investment.
- Relevant experience in policy and procedures formulation and interpretation roles for large organizations is required; demonstrated success in developing new and improved policies, ensuring implementation and compliance.
Language:
Fluency in written and spoken Englishis required;
Application Procedure
The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):
A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offeror considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.
Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.
- The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7 hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health
and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
- In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
If the 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 UNDP under a 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 UNDP.
The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.
Evaluation process
Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below. Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
- Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
- Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.
Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):
- Criteria 1. Experience designing and/or operationalizing financial instruments: e.g. credit instruments (e.g. guarantees), bonds Weight = 30%; Maximum Points: 21;
- Criteria 2. Experience formulating loan and investment documentation Weight = 30 %; Maximum Points: 21;
- Criteria 3. Experience working with innovative financial instruments in the development sector and/or emerging markets Weight = 20 %; Maximum Points: 14; and
- Criteria 4. Experience in policy and procedures formulation and interpretation roles for large organizations Weight = 20 %; Maximum Points: 14.
Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.
Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)
The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:
p = y (µ/z), where
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated
Framework Agreement
UNDP plans to enter into the Long-Term Agreement (LTA) with the TOP ranked successful Individual Contractors to assure resources availability at the required time fame and/or increased demand for services requested. The service of who will be used on an intermittent and repetitive basis when needed and based on the fixed unit price. Other prospective applicants that are not contracted, at the UNDP’s discretion, may be placed in the roster of consultants to be used based on an on-call basis for similar services.
Please note that the LTA does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the LTA contract is signed, and that such an agreement is non-exclusive. When a specific need arises, the successful Individual Contractor/s will be approached and be provided with a specific TOR and deliverables (and time frame) but still within the scope of the responsibilities stated in the LTA. The successful Individual Contractor(s) is expected to provide Confirmation of Interest on the specific services required at the agreed LTA Daily Rate Consultancy Fee. Financial commitments will only be established each time a Purchase Order for the specific services/TOR for Individual Contractor is committed.
This LTA has a cumulative ceiling amount that may accrue to the individual contractor during the life of the LTA, but said amount shall remain as an upper limit, and must not and cannot be interpreted nor understood as neither a financial commitment nor guarantee of business volume.
Contract Award
Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.
Institutional arrangement
The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of Deputy Chief Finance Officer and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.
The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop.
Payment modality
Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
The work week will be based on 14 hours, i.e. on a 7 hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.
Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):
Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs
Annex 2 - IC Contract Template
Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions
Annex 4 – RLA Template