Digital Financial Inclusion Policy Individual Contractor

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

H (no hardship)

Family

CONTR Local Professional Level

2024-10-22

October 10, 2024

UNHCR and partners are seeking to strengthen the self-reliance of forcibly displaced people and the host community through enhanced financial inclusion, focusing on digital financial services through a new project titled ‘Promotion of Financial and Digital Inclusion for Forcibly Displaced Persons and Host Communities in the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region’. This project aims to create an inclusive policy and regulatory environment for financial and digital financial inclusion of FDPs and provide access to financial and digital financial services, using innovative approaches and methods. The project expands on UNHCR’s prior and ongoing efforts to ensure safe, equitable access to financial services. It will be a key component of the newly launched Connectivity for Refugees (CfR) initiative, which aims to provide refugee-hosting areas with the connectivity necessary to access essential amenities, including digital financial services. 
Currently, many forcibly displaced people (FDPs) in EHAGL and beyond face significant regulatory and legal barriers that limit access to financial services, including strict Know-Your-Customer (KYC) regulations, and lack of legal access to SIM cards due to regulations requiring specific identification documentation that FDPs may be less likely to possess. Efforts by refugees and asylum-seekers to access financial services by proxy through friends/family with SIM card access have exposed these communities to fraud and exploitation. These legal and regulatory barriers have been previously explored by UNHCR through the Displaced and Disconnected research series.  
Addressing these barriers through policies and regulation that remove or lower these access impediments is likely to enable the provision and access of digital financial services of forcibly displaced persons. However, regulators and authorities can be reluctant to undertake the far-reaching changes necessary without appropriate levels of technical guidance and testing, as well as assurances about risk mitigation.  
With this in mind, the project is seeking a consultant to lead on engagement with policymakers and regulators on leveraging regulatory sandboxes – i.e. frameworks that facilitate small-scale testing of innovations in a controlled environment under a regulator’s supervision — as a way of testing new policy approaches to further digital financial inclusion. The activity will be undertaken with support from the multi-stakeholder Connectivity for Refugees initiative and will leverage various strategies including providing guidance and advocating with regulators. 
Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:

Phase 1 (to be completed by 31 December 2024)

-Update UNHCR Displaced and Disconnected policy reports and underlying data.
-Prepare 5 case studies on SIM card access by FDPs in the region to discuss with regulators and feed into policy platform.  
-Undertake research to explore opportunities for regulatory sandboxes relating to digital financial services for FDP communities in EHAGL.  
-Conduct multi-stakeholder consultations with Connectivity for Refugees partners and regulatory and policy stakeholders in target countries. 

Phase 2 (To be completed in 2025)

-Oversee creation of interactive policy platform based on the reports and data.
-Complete multi-stakeholder consultations with Connectivity for Refugees partners and regulatory and policy stakeholders in target countries. 
-Collaborate with key partners to design and implement appropriate guidance and support mechanisms for establishing regulatory sandboxes focused on digital financial services in target countries. 
-Contribute to regional study on the status of financial inclusion of forcibly displaced people in EHAGL. 
-Contribute to the development of a harmonized financial inclusion framework for FDPs in EHAGL, with a focus on digital financial inclusion.  
-Support in relevant workshops and multi-stakeholder meetings related to the project. 
-Support with monitoring and evaluation requirements and creation of communications outputs where necessary. 

Required level, qualifications and work experience:
Mid-Level Support

Qualifications

Possess University level qualifications Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in relevant areas. 

Job Experience 

Minimum of 7 years work experience relevant to the function. 

Demonstrated experience in undertaking projects similar in nature and level of complexity. 

Experience working for a UN agency or international humanitarian organization (desired)

Language 

Fluency in English (required) 

Knowledge of another language (desirable) 

Required Competencies: 

Technical 

Demonstrates minimum 7 years experience in understanding legal and regulatory systems.

Specific experience with either refugee and/or digital financial inclusion issues desirable.  

Previous experience in working with regulators and policymakers on financial inclusion issues desirable. 

Previous experience working with governments and regulators in East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region on refugee and/or digital financial inclusion related issues desirable. 

General 

Excellent research and drafting skills, demonstrating high levels of attention to detail. 

Works well in a multicultural team and has a strong work ethic: strives to deliver high-quality, error-free deliverables potentially targeting different types of stakeholders e.g. governments, development partners, regulatory actors. 

The Position is Home Based and part time (50%)

Total budgetary amount allocated for individual contract (incl. travel and DSA etc.):

Payment schedule: IICA-2 (Home-based)

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Drafting Documents, Drafting Reports, Policy Administration, Policy Analysis, Policy Guidance, Policy Procedures, Policy Research, Policy Reviews

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

Home-Based

Yes