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International Consultant on Financial Sector Development for Marawi Area

Manila

  • Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
  • Location: Manila
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Operations and Administrations
    • Development Cooperation and Sustainable Development Goals
    • Banking and Finance
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

The armed conflict in Marawi City and other parts of Lanao del Sur, which is ranked as the poorest province in the Philippines, has resulted in more than 350,000 people being internally displaced, caused substantial damage and loss to public and private assets and severely disrupted businesses and other sources of employment and livelihood. An estimated 95% of internally displaced people (IDPs) are staying with host families or in other temporary shelters, with the remaining 17,000 IDPs staying in 79 evacuation centers spread across the nearby towns of Lanao del Sur, Lanao de Norte, and Misamis Oriental.

Until recently, economic activity had almost completely ceased, placing an even heavier socio-economic burden on communities (both host and displaced) already facing personal and social challenges. After more than three months of displacement, there are reports that local markets are beginning to operate again in areas near Marawi City. Within and around evacuation centers, commerce has emerged, and some IDPs have started to sell wares and sundry items inside evacuation centers.

To accelerate and support socioeconomic recovery, substantial assistance over a sustained period will be required for IDPs to ensure access to appropriate financial resources for restarting business and livelihood activities—and making these more resilient to future shocks—and avoid engaging in negative coping mechanisms, such as taking on unsustainable debt from unverified sources. Expanding business and economic opportunities will require a range of innovative and culturally appropriate methods, products and services.

To respond to this significant challenge, and as part of Marawi recovery efforts, UNDP is planning to implement a four-year program on financial inclusion—the Financial Inclusion for Recovery of Marawi (FIRM) Program—that would provide support for micro, small and medium enterprises for women and men IDPs affected by the conflict and other businesswomen and men lacking access for formal financial services. The program is expected to contribute to the creation of alternative economic opportunities that give people a stake in the local economy and reduce the attraction of joining extremist groups, and close a critical service delivery gap that hinders inclusive development in one of the poorest parts of the country.

The program seeks to build a sustainable financial system that offers both immediate assistance and effective and appropriate financial services and products, including those based on Islamic financial principles, to develop the capacity of IDPs affected by the Marawi conflict to manage their personal and business finances effectively and make businesses more resilient to future shocks.

Purpose

A Financial Sector Development Consultant, working closely with the Islamic Finance Consultant, is required to analyze and identify opportunities for improving access to financial products and services (credit, savings, insurance, risk management, business advisory services) that would support and accelerate business development for women and men internally displaced by the Marawi armed conflict. The consultant will apply detailed knowledge and analysis of the broad landscape for financial products and services in the Philippines to the conflict context in the Marawi area.

Institutional Arrangements

The consultants will report to the Senior Advisor and Team Leader of the Resilience and Peace Building Unit of UNDP Philippines.

The deliverables listed above will be reviewed and approved by the Senior Advisor and Team Leader of the Resilience and Peace Building Unit. The final deliverable will be approved by the Country Director. 

Duration of the Work

The work shall entail not more than 70 days.

Duty Station

The consultants will not be required to report regularly or be present at the Country Office.  

Travel to areas where IDPs are located will be required and will be arranged by UNDP; costs will be covered by project resources. Limited logistical support to arrange meetings and local travel will be provided by UNDP Philippines.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The consultant must send a financial proposal based on a lump sum amount

The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fees, living allowance, and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the consultant in completing the assignment. The contract price will be a fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Travel, as deemed relevant by UNDP, will be arranged by UNDP, following UNDP Financial Rules and Regulations.

Payments will be done upon satisfactory completion of the deliverables/outputs by target due dates and as per below percentages:

  • First Tranche  20% - Upon submission and acceptance of the Draft inception report covering the approach detailing plans for stakeholder engagement, data collection and resource requirements;
  • Second Tranche 40% - Upon submission and acceptance of the First draft of report with initial analysis, key findings and recommendations;
  • Third Tranche 40% - Upon submission and acceptance of the Integrated final report with the Islamic Finance report that incorporates comments from reviewers of 30-40 pages, plus a 2-3 page executive summary and technical annexes as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be required to work closely with the UNDP Philippines Country Office, national and local governments, the private sector and CSOs—including but not limited to Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas; the National Economic and Development Authority-Regional Development Staff; Department of Trade and Industry; Development Bank of the Philippines;  Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank; CARD Bank and other microfinance institutions active in the Marawi area; local chambers of commerce and industry; PayMaya, Visa and other digital payment providers; NGOs, especially Oxfam; bilateral and multilateral development partners; local academic institutions with an interest in supporting business development for IDPs, and corporations interested in supporting business development in the Marawi area.

Working in close coordination with Islamic Finance Consultant, the financial sector development consultant will be responsible for the following:

  • Conduct an initial desk review of available documentation to identify current trends, opportunities and challenges in providing financial services in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) drawing also from experience in other lagging areas in the Philippines. The review would cover both formal and informal service providers.

  • Develop a working typology of IDPs to consider their different financing needs e.g. (i) poorer IDPs currently located in evacuation centers; (ii) IDPs living with friends or family who previously owned and ran businesses in Marawi; (iii) IDPs living with friends or family who previously did not own or run businesses in Marawi but who have established or are interested in establishing a business; (iv) other non-IDPs with unmet financing needs.< > consultations with Manila-based stakeholders to identify major issues for follow up during subsequent analytical work and to inform plans for field trips to IDP areas around Marawi.

    Organize and carry out two (2) field trips to areas where IDPs are located, lasting a maximum of ten (10) day each. Prepare two (2) TORs for each mission subject for clearance and approval of the Team Leader of the Resilience and Peace Building Unit of UNDP Philippines. Hold consultations with IDPs, the business community, financial service providers, government agencies and other stakeholders. Prepare a back-to-office report following each mission detailing meetings held, major findings and recommendations within five (5) days after completion of mission.

  • Deliver a report that will:

    • Analyze supply-side considerations from the perspective of potential providers of financial products and services, considering issues such as availability of capital, the risk profile of potential clients, the range of potential products and services that may be offered, likely rates of interest on credit and savings;

    • Analyze demand-side considerations from the perspective of potential clients who may access an expanded range of financial products and services, taking into account credit-worthiness, size of loans and financing terms, level of financial literacy, type of savings facility, potential for using digital payment systems for clearing transactions;

    • Identify partners that are interested to play a role in expanding access to financial services, including formal banking corporations—both public and private, microfinance providers, and digital payment providers;

    • Assess the specific roles that types of Islamic Finance could play in expanding access to financial services. Given that Muslims would make up the majority of clients accessing expanded financial services, determine the importance potential clients pace on having access to products and services based on the principles of Islamic finance relative to non-Islamic finance.

    • Identify possible providers of financial literacy and business advisory services that could support local business development;

    • Review the current policy and regulatory environment as it relates to providing financial services in ARMM. Identify any specific constraints or opportunities that potential service providers, both traditional banks and non-traditional digital payment providers, in expanding services; and

    • Use the analysis and findings from consultations with stakeholders and present recommendations for options to expand inclusive financing to support business development focusing on women and men IDPs affected by the Marawi conflict, but also including other non-IDPs interested in business development.

  • Working together with the Islamic Finance Consultant, produce and present a draft integrated report on the major findings to a meeting of key stakeholders.

  • Based on feedback from the presentation and other written comments that may be submitted, revise and submit a final version of the report and summary PowerPoint presentation.

Competencies

CORPORATE COMPETENCIES

  • Commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision, values and ethical standards
  • Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age differences
  • Treat all stakeholders fairly and without prejudice
  • Maintains objectivity and impartiality in handling evaluation processes

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

  • Experience in project development, implementation and evaluation--particularly in directly managing results-based monitoring and evaluation methodologies
  • Demonstrated experience in conducting evaluation of multi-year and multi-component programmes and projects
  • Familiarity with the norms and issues in early recovery and rehabilitation work in disaster-affected areas
  • Ability to process large amounts and diverse set of data and documents related to infrastructure development, livelihood, resettlement, disaster risk reduction and management, and governance

  • Demonstrated strong coordination and facilitation skills

  • Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to initiate discussions with national/local governmental officials, peoples organizations and communities

  • Demonstrated ability to function in a team environment and to deal with complex multi-stakeholder environment

  • Demonstrated ability to prepare and present comprehensive reports

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree in economics, finance, business development or a similar field

Experience:

  • at least 5 years or a bachelor’s degree 
  • at least 10 years of relevant, progressive work experience.

Skills:

  • Demonstrated knowledge and work experience in the field of business finance for disadvantaged communities;
  • Demonstrated knowledge and work experience of financial sector issues in the Philippines, preferably through work with an international financial institution, such as the World Bank Group or ADB

Language:

  • Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English

Criteria for Selection of Best Offer

The offer will evaluated based on the Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications will be weighted a max. of 70%  and combined with the financial offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Application requirements:

  • Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
  • Personal CV or P11, indicating all 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.

Application requirements should be emailed to procurement.ph@undp.org and registry.ph@undp.org on or before  21 November 2017.

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.

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.
This vacancy is now closed.
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