The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). 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 leverages digital finance in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve the vision of promoting inclusive digital economies. On that basis, the Inclusive Digital Economies Division of UNCDF adopted the strategy of ‘Leaving no one behind in the digital era’, which is based on over a decade of experience in digital finance in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The goal of UNCDF is to empower millions of people by 2024 to use digital services, which improve their quality of life and accelerate our progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs). To achieve this, UNCDF provides capital and technical support through Inclusive Digital Economy programmes to ensure that more households and small businesses gain access to services that expand opportunities and reduce vulnerabilities. The ability of UNCDF to provide risk capital directly to the private sector is helping bring new products and services to under-served and hard to reach markets and spurring innovations. Through flexible grant and loan instruments UNCDF supports a wide range of products and services in various sectors ranging from finance to agriculture, education, health and transportation. This entails working with the public and the private sector to ensure that the services match in particular the needs of key segments such as youth, women, migrants, refugees, and micro[1]small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

UNCDF requires “Digital Finance Specialist” to manage UNCDF Portfolio in Madagascar. The Digital Finance Specialist will play a critical role in coordinating all UNCDF activities in Madagascar. He / She will manage key functions such as Coordination, Project management, Partnership and Resources Mobilization. The Digital Finance Specialist will work closely with the support team in Dakar as well as FMS to ensure effective implementation of IDE strategies and partnerships in the country.

II. Position Purpose

Summary of key functions:

• Lead IDE’s programme management and coherence in the country.
• Develop the necessary pipeline in close consultation and coordination with the government, donors,
• partners and UNCT.
• Provision of top-quality policy advice services to the Government and facilitation of knowledge building and management.

1. Lead IDE’s programme management and coherence in the country focusing on achievement of the 

following results:

• Manage and coordinate the implementation of projects in accordance with the objectives, work plan and timely budget, efficiently and effectively in accordance with the project document and work plan;
• Ensure that the various documents (multi-year, annual, quarterly, operational work plans, journals, reports) required for the proper functioning of the project are prepared on time according to the required quality standards and updated;
• Coordinate project activities with relevant government activities and initiatives, UNCDF strategy, CPD and UNSDCF;
• Maintain close working relationships with all relevant stakeholders and partners to ensure adequate information flow and cooperation among the project’s participating institutions, in particular, with the Project Committee members;
• Manage and monitor day-to-day budgetary and financial operations to facilitate project audits to ensure accurate and reliable financial reporting;
• Manage financial resources on the basis of value for money and cost effectiveness principles;
• Ensure compliance with administrative and financial procedures in the implementation of the program.

2. Develop the necessary pipeline in close consultation and coordination with the government, donors, partners and UNCT focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Represent UNCDF in various meetings with donors and national parties (UN Country Team, Program Management Team, Steering Committee, Investment Committee…) Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country and preparation of substantive inputs to CCA, UNSDCF, and other documents.
• Explore and develop partnerships with potential donors (both traditional and newly established) seeking to encourage their commitment to UNCDF;
• Explore new funding mechanisms through traditional donors, the UN, donor special programs, and private sector and foundations;
• Analyze specific funding trends and patterns which can assist in predicting donor interest in UNCDF programs;
• Explore strategic partnerships that do not involve funding but rather collaboration in other forms (joint advocacy, social mobilization, etc.) around goals and objectives central to UNCDF’s mandate;
• Collaborate with the Regional Office team on positioning and advocating for goals and objectives central to UNCDF’s mandate, raising the visibility and promoting results from country programs and other relevant programming modalities relevant in the region;
• Manage networks of partners in the region, and create mechanisms for interaction among partners to further UNCDF’s mandate.

3. Ensures provision of top-quality advisory services and facilitation of knowledge building and management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Maintain the quality assurance and the validation of the relevant data (indicators, targets, results) in the established information management system for measuring the qualitative and quantitative impact, and report on the progress;
• In addition to regular reporting to UNCDF Regional Office, regularly contribute to donors’ reporting and briefings;
• Facilitate and document human interest stories of beneficiaries and develop various communication materials linked to the socio-economic recovery;
• Identify and formule lessons learned and recommendations to be integrated into broader
• CO knowledge management efforts;
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 1 Programme Analyst.

IV.     Expected Demonstration of Competencies

Core

Achieve Results

LEVEL 3: Prioritize team workflow, mobilize resources, drive scalable results/strategic impact.

Think Innovatively

LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.

Learn Continuously

LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility

LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.

Act with Determination

LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner

LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

People Management Competencies:

Managerial Courage: 

• Face up to organizational and people problems.
• Not be afraid to take decision and action when and as needed.
• Not hold back anything that needs to be said, respectfully and diplomatically.
• Address conflict in a timely manner, not allow conflicts in teams linger.
• Help others through emotional or tense situations, tactfully bringing disagreements into the open and finding solutions all can endorse.

Demonstrate Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: 

• Genuinely care about people; demonstrate empathy with joys and pains of others.
• Enable the wellbeing of the team(s).
• Read a group’s emotional currents and power relationships, identifying influencers, networks, and
• organizational dynamics; adapt leadership styles at the appropriate times.
• See the positive in people, situations, and events.

Motivate and Direct:

• Create and communicate a compelling vision and purpose.
• Align people and resources with organizational vision, strategy, objectives.
• Understand and proactively builds the team/organization culture.

Build an Enabling Workplace:

• Create a working environment where people are engaged and want to do their best; empower and enables team members to perform and have a positive workplace experience.
• Promote honestly, openness, trust and psychological safety and create opportunities to innovate and learn.
• Recruit and promotes individuals based upon objective measures and meritocracy; acknowledge and utilise the talent of others Encourage collective action and integration.

Build Capability:

• Identify and develop talent in individuals, providing positive support to enable them to achieve their potential.
• Foster learning or development of others by giving feedback, guidance, and support; support career
• development of others.
• Have willingness and ability to delegate to help people learn, including from failure.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Thematic Area Name Definition

Business Direction and Strategy – Strategic Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNCDF’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions
• Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends.

Business Management –  Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment.

Partnership management

 Relationship management

• Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen orking relations, trust and mutual understanding.

Resource mobilization

• Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements.

2030 Agenda: Partnerships

SDG Finance Financial Inclusion:

• Ability to identify entry points and design interventions that target individuals and businesses to have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs in a responsible and sustainable way.

2030 Agenda: Prosperity

Inclusive Growth

• Economic Diversification: ability to identify and structure strategies that contribute to the efforts of enhancing positive economic growth and development.

V. Keywords

Programming, SDG financing, resource mobilization, programme management, innovative finance, inclusive growth.