Background

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 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. UNCDF financing models are applied in thematic areas where addressing barriers to finance at the local level can have a transformational effect for poor and excluded people and communities.

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. 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 28 of 169 SDGs targets.

Leaving no one Behind in the Digital Era

UNCDF has formulated its strategy ‘Leaving no one behind in the digital era ’ based on over a decade of experience in digital finance in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. UNCDF recognizes that reaching the full potential of digital financial inclusion in support of the Sustainable Development Goals aligns with the vision of promoting and financing digital economies that leave no one behind. The vision of UNCDF is to empower millions of people by 2024 to use services daily that leverage innovation and technology and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Inclusion is at the heart of UNCDF strategy to promote digital economies that leave no one behind, which can only be achieved if the digital economies are developed at the national level and if there is a focus on making them inclusive—without any new form of exclusion.  We place particular importance on youth, women, migrants, refugees, and MSMEs, customer segments that are often marginalized and deprived of digital innovation and technology due to social norms, societal status, and limited revenue and capacity. We place the empowerment of these customer segments at the center of UNCDF initiatives to develop innovative services in various sectors.

Our approach focuses on accelerating the development and financing of inclusive digital economies at the country level with the government, the private sector and academia, with specific attention given to the development and financing of the right services to reduce the digital divide and to empower key customer segments.

Underpinning all these efforts is an acknowledgement that digital financial services are foundational, in that they enable local entrants to innovate in markets, provide sustainability to new services, and create marketplaces for a wide range of products and services—both digital and non-digital. We have seen, for example, the central role mobile money plays in facilitating new energy markets via products such as M-KOPA Solar and in forging new ride and delivery infrastructure via transport companies like Bolt and GO-JEK.

UNCDF in Rwanda

Over the next five years, UNCDF will work to directly enable at least 500,000 rural people in Rwanda to be economically included, financially resilient, and face reduced inequality, by expanding access to and usage of digital services (including finance) that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  UNCDF will also work to ensure that policy makers and regulators have increased capacity to create an enabling environment that proactively supports Rwanda’s aspiration to achieve a cashless economy by 2024. Through an iterative testing approach, a range of service providers will test and implement financial-services, digital and non-digital, that are accessible, affordable and relevant to Rwandan customers.  

Implementation of the Rwanda Country Strategy focus on building upon UNCDF’s strengths in the following work streams: empowered customers, inclusive innovation, and enabling policy and regulation.

UNCDF works at the demand and supply side of the market to assist in a manner that is effective, accountable and ensures resilience especially for financially excluded populations. Affordable access to financial services can help people cope with negative shocks, reduce exposure to risk and stimulate economic activity at community levels.   UNCDF also supports the Rwandan Fintech ecosystem to understand better the policy and regulatory regime governing innovation and the FinTech sector and coming up with digital solutions that addresses the market needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNCDF is seeking an experienced communication consultant to support the communication activities and knowledge sharing of UNCDF’s work on financial inclusion and innovation in Rwanda.

The communication consultant will be in charge of developing the communication strategy for the agency, support with content development, social media and web management; with an overall goal of communicating to internal and external stakeholders UNCDF’s work and increase its visibility/ presence.

UNCDF is looking for someone who has a flair for creativity and innovation with the ability to push the boundaries and try new things.

This includes developing/ creating communication content and supporting their publication through various channels such as reports, Twitter, blogs, YouTube video. The overall goal of this consultancy is to communicate about UNCDF’s projects and increase its visibility within and outside the country.

Activities and Deliverables

Reporting to the Programme Specialist, the communication consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

Duration of Assignment, Duty Station and Expected Places of Travel  

Contract duration: The assignment, is expected to have a duration of one year with the possibility of extension for one (1) more year, based on the satisfactory performance of an individual consultant, project needs and funding availability.

Number of working days:  up to 60 working days per year

Duty station: The consultant is expected to be home based.

Travel: Travel costs (such as transport and/or lodging, when requested to travel to areas outside of Kigali) associated with the assignment will covered by UNCDF.  The amount should not exceed official UN per diem rates.

Competencies

• Knowledge of and interest in development issues, in particular financial inclusion issues and digital finance;
• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas;
• Capacity to develop and organize content in such a way that it is accessible to a broad audience of experts and non-experts;
• High-level planning, organizational and time management skills, including flexibility, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to meet changing deadlines;
• Pro-active, constructive attitude, open to feedback.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure;
• Strong project management kills for communication projects such as capacity to oversee the production of videos and of documents and report (for print and electronic publishing);
• Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications; web design and/or maintenance;
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Interacts with others in a professional, respectful, and friendly manner;
• Communicates clearly and convincingly.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant must provide evidence of their technical capacity to undertake this assignment. This includes the ability to deliver the results in the timeframe provided as well as an indication of prior experience (communications/journalism, expertise in DFS, gender and knowledge of Rwandan context).

Education:

A Master’s Degree in Communications, Journalism, International Relations or related discipline or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• At least 3 years of experience in the field of communication for non-profit organizations or development agencies with a focus on financial inclusion and/ or digital services is desired.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in writing and editing outstanding reports, Newsletters,  social media content particularly Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs and media products is mandatory;
• Proven track record in developing media relations and strategic partnerships;
• Demonstrable skills and experience in using new media (social media) to cause mindset change
• Professional experience inRwanda and in the region is preferred but not mandatory;
• Experience working in a multi-cultural environment is desired.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Good verbal communications skills in Kinyarwanda is desired and French is an asset.

Provision of Monitoring and Progress Control  

The consultant will work under direct supervision of the UNCDF Programme Specialist and/or her designate, and in close collaboration with the in-country team.

The consultant will have regular communication with the Programme Coordinator for guidance purposes, ensuring quality of outputs and achievement of targets.

The consultant is responsible for providing his/her own laptop during the course of his/her engagement with UNCDF.

Payment to the consultant will be made based on the deliverable schedule and upon certification of satisfactory performance, and acceptance of the output by the UNCDF Programme Specialist and/or her designate.

The following supporting documents will serve as conditions for disbursement: (i) submission of an invoice and Certificate of Payment (COP); (ii) review, approval and written acceptance of each deliverable by the UNCDF Programme Specialist and/or his designate; (iii) submission of a time-sheet and expenses with relevant supporting documentation; and (iv) an authorization of payment disbursement from a direct supervisor. 

Application Process   

Individual consultants and individuals employed by a company or institution are welcome to apply and must submit the following documents 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
• Three brief samples of publications/posts/communication work and samples demonstrating experience in capturing quality pictures.
• Earliest availability and proposed schedule and approach for consultancy
• CV or P11 Personal History Form with names and current contacts of 3 referees (available from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc )
• Financial proposal for the full assignment outlining: Total professional fee and other professional expenses (such as insurance, taxes, etc.) Please use the form available at: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916 )

Failure to submit all the above-mentioned documents may result in the rejection of the application. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.  

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Applications will be rated on both technical and financial submissions. The following selection method will be used: Highest rated proposal using the combined scoring method, which assigns the weight distribution between the technical and financial proposals. The overall combined score will be 100 points, where weight distribution shall be 70% technical and 30% financial.

Step I: Screening

Applications will be screened and only applicants meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• A Master’s Degree in Communications, Journalism, International Relations or or related discipline or the equivalent experience

• At least 5 years of professional experience in writing and editing outstanding reports, Newsletters,  social media content particularly Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs and media products is mandatory;

Step II: Shortlisting criteria by Desk Review  (100  Points x 20%):

UNCDF will conduct a desk review to produce a shortlist of candidates and technically evaluate candidates as follows:

Step III: Technical interviews (100 points x 50%)

A competency-based Interview shall be conducted with the top candidates who score the highest in Step II (minimum of 70 points). Candidates will be tested on the same key work areas, in greater depth, with the same weighting. 

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% on the total of Step II: Desk Review and Step III: Interview will be considered as technically qualified and will be reviewed further for financial evaluation.

 Step IV: Financial Evaluation – 30%:

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: Lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated x 30%.

Contract Award:

The top candidate that achieved the highest cumulative score will be recommended for a contract award. Individual consultants, individuals employed by a company or institution and companies 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.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

If you are experiencing difficulties with online job applications, please contact uncdf.procurement@uncdf.org.