Digital Payments Specialist Consultant
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and
encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, color, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information,
gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, physical or mental disability.
Job Title: Digital Payment Specialist Consultant
Type of Contract: Consultancy
Division: Cash-Based Transfers Division (CBT)
Duty Station (City, Country): Rome HQ, Italy
Duration: 11 months
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
WFP is the largest agency delivering humanitarian cash. In 2021, we transferred a record-high US$2.3 billion of purchasing power to 42 million people in 69 countries – up from US$10 million in 10 countries in 2009. Developments over the past few years can help WFP maximize the impact of its cash operations for the people we serve. Notwithstanding unequal access, digital solutions provide enormous potential for people to access financial products and services, enabling them to enter the digital economy and by doing so, to improve their lives.
A key aspiration of the Cash-Based Transfers (CBT) division is to give the people it serves, and especially women, the ability to choose on which account to receive their cash transfers, selecting the payment solutions that work best for them from various financial institutions and mobile money companies. Choice is part of WFP’s broader vision to ensure that cash transfers, and where possible also government payment programmes, contribute to the economic empowerment and digital financial inclusion of the most vulnerable.
Within WFP, several initiatives and partnerships to encourage the adoption of inclusive payment solutions and services are ongoing, and a model so that country offices and regional bureaux can access a wide range of payment solutions and instruments is being defined. To this end, the CBT Division is recruiting a Digital Payments Specialist to engage with relevant counterparts, including WFP’s stakeholders and offices, financial service providers and regulatory authorities to:
1. Guide or support WFP country offices in the design and implementation of inclusive payment solutions and services, specifically to a) identify and leverage the appropriate payment solutions for financial inclusion of beneficiaries, especially women; b) identify and leverage financial service providers that can provide these payment solutions and c) identify the most efficient means of obtaining these services, through solutions’ roll outs, contracting and working with multiple providers.
2. Contribute to the design of a support / service model to enable WFP country offices and governments, to obtain financial and payment services and solutions.
ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:
At Consultancy Level 2:
1. Assess local context and programme objectives to advise WFP country offices on the most appropriate digital, inclusive payment services and solutions. Assessments will consider regulatory frameworks, local and global, traditional and fintech, private-sector, public-sector or WFP proprietary solutions, interoperability in digital financial services and cross-border payments elements.
2. Working with all relevant stakeholders, match available services and solutions with WFP’s programmatic goals, so that beneficiaries, and especially women, obtain cash through a payment instrument that enables their digital financial inclusion.
3. Contribute to an advisory or service model for WFP country offices to support governments’ inclusive payment services and solutions, in coordination with G2P teams and other stakeholders.
4. Assist WFP country offices in obtaining the inclusive payment services and solutions, specifically proposing services and solutions on how a multi-provider contract can be put in place or other alternatives. This may require drafting / reviewing the full documentation in compliance with WFP’s financial service providers’ contracting procedures and providing technical guidance on the process.
5. Identify and escalate challenges faced by country offices and cross-functional teams during the process of obtaining inclusive payment services and solutions and propose viable options for resolutions, as needed.
6. Develop or support the development of global or local standard operating procedures for payment services and solutions for WFP country offices or, with them, for government counterparts.
7. Support the building of local capacity in WFP on inclusive payment solutions and services.
8. Contribute to new or existing CBT projects, services and tools to enable financially inclusive payments to beneficiaries, from design to monitoring.
9. Include a gender perspective in all areas of work.
10. Provide other programmatic support as requested.
At Consultancy Level 1:
1. Contribute to assessing local context and programme objectives to advise WFP country offices on the most appropriate digital, inclusive payment services and solutions. Assessments will consider regulatory frameworks, local and global, traditional and fintech, private-sector, public-sector or WFP proprietary solutions, interoperability in digital financial services and cross-border payments elements.
2. Working with all relevant stakeholders, provide inputs on how to match available services and solutions with WFP’s programmatic goals, so that beneficiaries, and especially women, obtain cash through a payment instrument that enables their digital financial inclusion.
3. Assist WFP country offices in obtaining the inclusive payment services and solutions, specifically proposing services and solutions on how a multi-provider contract can be put in place or other alternatives. This may require drafting / reviewing the full documentation in compliance with WFP’s financial service providers’ contracting procedures, and providing technical guidance on the process.
4. Escalate challenges faced by country offices and cross-functional teams during the process of obtaining inclusive payment services and solutions and propose viable options for resolutions, as needed.
5. Support the development of global or local standard operating procedures for payment services and solutions for WFP country offices or, with them, for government counterparts.
6. Support the building of local capacity in WFP on inclusive payment solutions and services.
7. Include a gender perspective in all areas of work.
8. Provide other programmatic support as requested.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
1. Identification (or support to identification for Consultancy level 1) of financial service providers that can cater to digital payments for WFP operations, and recommendations on how they can be accessed, is provided, based on assessments of country context, digital payments solutions and services, to enable people’s digital financial inclusion.
2. Missions to WFP country offices to provide recommendations and roll out the identified solutions, as needed.
3. All documentation prepared in a timely and professional manner, including standard operating procedures, recommendations and advisory and assessments (with minimum need for review, for Consultancy level 1).
4. Technical assistance, support and training provided to WFP and external stakeholders (or contribution to technical assistance, support and training, for Consultancy level 1), as needed in a timely manner, and seeking customer delight.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education: Advanced University Degree in Business Administration, Finance/Accounting or related field. Specialised courses in inclusive payment systems and technologies.
Experience in relationship-building in the public and private sector is an advantage.
Exposure to the United Nations, international organizations or other public sector/government entities is preferable.
Knowledge & Skills: Ability to work independently and manage projects.
Strong verbal, written and visual communication skills in English.
Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Data Analysis skills.
Languages: Fluency (level C) in English with intermediate knowledge of French.
Terms and Conditions
WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.
Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.
http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.
Deadline for applications: 29 September 2022
Ref.: VA No. 173300
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing
an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority.
Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ),
International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar
bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
