United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

Position: Community Organizer Consultant – UNCDF Policy Accelerator

Job Time: Full-Time

Job Type: Contract

Place of Work: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Posted date: 2 hours ago

Application Deadline: Mar, 28/2022 (18 days left)

Background

The United Nations 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.

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 a transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to several different SDGs.

Inclusive digital economies

UNCDF manages initiatives to develop inclusive digital finance ecosystems which offer a wide range of financial services, especially for low-income vulnerable communities. Specifically, UNCDF provides a mix of policy, technical and financial support to a range of government and private sector actors in each country, as well as invests in research and other public goods to benefit all market actors. By supporting the development of the digital finance ecosystem in these countries, UNCDF aims to increase the financial security of low-income and rural households through access to appropriate, affordable, and secure means to receive, manage and save money.

Recently, 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 aligns with the vision of promoting 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 SDGs. UNCDF will apply a market development approach and continuously seek to address underlying market dysfunctions.

For more information, please see: https://www.uncdf.org/article/4567/uncdf-launches-digital-economy-strategy-leaving-no-one-behind-in-the-digital-era

Policy Accelerator

UNCDF has been working with national governments to improve access to financial services for over 25 years. In the last decade, we have focused specifically on the role that digital technologies play in accelerating the usage of financial services by low-income people. In our role as a technical assistance provider and neutral broker, UNCDF works closely with global and national partners to build capacity and support governments to engage with industry to facilitate solutions to key market constraints at the local and regional levels.

For more information, please see: https://policyaccelerator.uncdf.org/

Duties and Responsibilities

UNCDF is looking for a Community Organiser to support our work on digital financial services (DFS) with a particular focus on Ethiopia and women’s digital and financial inclusion. The Community Organiser will need to have significant experience in stakeholder engagement, media relations, campaign management, and events coordination. He/she will support UNCDF’s advocacy work, proactively engaging with multiple internal and external stakeholders, influencing decision-makers, and delivering a communications campaign that is relevant to the country context.

Scope of Work

Build strategic relations and engage the local community

• Identify and proactively develop relationships and partnerships with policymakers, private sector representatives, academia, members, and other stakeholders with expertise in gender.
• Network, develop, and sustain a positive relationship with a range of people from different backgrounds, including community leaders and local organizations.
• Develop and deliver a strategy to increase networking and mutual learning among UNCDF’s partners in Ethiopia and Eastern and Southern Africa.
• Support the team to understand the needs of local communities by helping to build trust and ensure that UNCDF projects are effectively implemented.

Managing communications and media relations

• Build and maintain relationships with local media outlets and journalists to advocate, increase the visibility of, and disseminate information on UNCDF’s work.
• Support the development of a local communications strategy and act as a key focal point for engagements with the media in Ethiopia.
• Maintain up-to-date records of contacts/organizations/collaborations in CRM and identify communications, engagement, and outreach opportunities based on these inputs.
• Support marketing activities across various platforms to ensure key messaging reach a wide range of audiences.

Coordinate strategic events

• Plan, assist in procurement and coordinate the organization of conferences, workshops, technical working groups, and webinars, and participate as necessary.

Expected outputs and deliverables

Activities Deliverables/ Outputs Timeline Payment in % of the total contract priceOrganize advocacy convening with key local stakeholders in close coordination with country team and local media1 advocacy event is organized in Ethiopia to launch a new country coalition15 May 202215%Prepare work plan for local coalition engagements, including calendar of key local and regional events, list of potential stakeholders to partner with, and action plan to seize partnerships and windows of opportunity for advocacy in 2022Workplan for local coalition meetings and events is drafted, shared for input, and finalized31 May 2022

10%

Design action plan and coordinate engagement with local and regional media, including mapping relevant outlets, platforms, and journalists; as well as coordinating their support of the local partnership through external communications Action plan for media engagement is organized and five engagements are coordinated, such as press releases, op-eds, interviews in print or broadcast media, etc.30 Jun 202230%Design and coordinate 5 advocacy events and capacity building workshops, including coordination of logistics and speakers – for national and regional audiences on topics related to women’s digital and financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment5 advocacy and capacity-building events are organized and completed, including the budget for logistics and collateral, a list of attendees/trainees, agenda, presentations, and social media assets.30 Oct 202230%advocacy report with progress assessment, including lessons learned and recommendations and next steps for 2023An advocacy progress report is drafted and submitted.28 Feb 202315%

Competencies

Provision of Monitoring, Progress Controls, and Payments

• The consultant will work under the primary supervision of the Gender Country Lead in Ethiopia. S/he will work in close collaboration with the Policy Accelerator team and the Country, Regional, and Communications teams.
• Weekly calls will be held with the Gender Country Lead and the Gender Lead for the Policy Accelerator to discuss progress towards deliverables and operational challenges. The consultant will also be expected to join the Ethiopian country calls and participate in the Policy Accelerator’s monthly objectives meeting where priorities will be discussed and agreed.
• The following supporting documents will serve as conditions for payments to an Individual Contractor(s): (i) submission of Certificate of Payment (COP); (ii) submission of all deliverables / Workplan / progress report with the relevant supporting documentation; and (iii) review, approval and written acceptance of each deliverable by the Gender Lead of the Policy Accelerator.
• Disbursement of the final payment shall require a signed performance evaluation of the consultant.

Institutional Arrangement

Duration of work

• The work shall be undertaken over 12 months with the possibility to extend for another six months.

Duty station

• This is a national consultancy, and the Community Organizer Consultant will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. S/he is expected to report to the Gender Country Lead on a mutually agreed schedule.
• Travel, as deemed relevant by UNCDF, will be approved and arranged by UNCDF, following UNDP/UNCDF Travel Policy.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, international development, public policy, gender studies, or related discipline, or a bachelor’s degree in the above areas with two additional years of relevant experience is mandatory

Work experience:

• Minimum of three years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in communications or advocacy is mandatory
• Experience in working with government ministries and private sector players, preferably in Ethiopia is mandatory
• Knowledge of Ethiopia’s payments landscape, including ongoing sector reforms and digital payments regulatory environment and financial inclusion initiatives, is preferable
• Experience working on key issues and international good practices relating to women’s digital and financial inclusion is preferable.

Language:

• Fluent command of written and spoken English and Amharic is mandatory.

Application process and evaluation

Interested individuals must submit the documents mentioned below as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications. (NOTE: The system does not allow multiple uploads of documents. Applicants must make sure to upload all documents in one PDF file.)

All applications must contain the following information:

• Signed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=29916
• Cover letter with a summary statement of competencies and a portfolio or samples of work
• Personal CV or completed and signed P11 – Personal History Form, indicating past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references
• Financial proposal: The financial proposal shall specify a lump sum amount that is inclusive of professional fees and other incidentals that the consultant expects to incur during the performance of the work. For this purpose, please complete and submit the Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability (Please click here for the document), please send it separately to the email address financial.proposal@uncdf.orgwith the subject line: Community Organizer Consultant - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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

Note: If unforeseen travel outside the Duty Station not required by the Terms of Reference is requested by UNCDF, and upon prior written agreement, such travel shall be at UNCDF’s expense and the Individual Contractor shall receive a per diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance rate in such other location(s).

How to Apply

CLICK HERE

Evaluation process:

Step 1: Screening:

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

• A master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, international development, public policy, gender studies, or related discipline, or a bachelor’s degree in the above areas with two additional years of relevant experience is mandatory
• Minimum of three years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in communications or advocacy is mandatory
• Experience in working with government ministries and private sector players, preferably in Ethiopia is mandatory

Step 2: Shortlisting by desk review (50% of technical assessment)

A desk review will be conducted to produce a shortlist of applicants according to the criteria listed below. Only applicants who obtain over 70% in this stage shall be invited for the next step.

• A master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, international development, public policy, gender studies or related discipline, or a bachelor’s degree in the above areas with two additional years of relevant experience is mandatory: 20 points
• Minimum of three years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in communications or advocacy is mandatory: 20 points
• Experience of working with government ministries and private sector players, preferably in Ethiopia is mandatory: 20 points
• Knowledge of Ethiopia’s payments landscape, including ongoing sector reforms and digital payments regulatory environment and financial inclusion initiatives, is preferable: 15 points
• Experience working on key issues and international good practice relating to women’s digital and financial inclusion is preferable: 10 points
• Excellent speaking and writing skills in English and Amharic is mandatory: 15 points

Step 3: Interview (50% of technical assessment)

• Applicants who obtain over 70% in the shortlisting stage will be invited to participate in an interview.

Step 4: Financial Evaluation (30%)

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who attain over 70% in the technical assessment will be considered and evaluated.
• The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposals: lowest priced proposal/price of the proposal being evaluated × 30%.

Award Criteria

The contract shall be awarded to the applicant whose offer has 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 individuals 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.