Senior Cash Transfer Specialist

CONSULTANCY – TERMS OF REFERENCE

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5.5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. Currently, 526,000 girls and boys attend UNRWA’s 711 schools in the Middle East. More than nine million patient visits had been recorded at UNRWA’s 150 clinics last year. Moreover, nearly two million extremely vulnerable refugees receive emergency food and cash assistance. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

Consultant – Senior Cash Transfer Specialist

BACKGROUND

One major programme component of UNRWA’s Relief and Social Services Department (RSSD) is to provide direct relief and social services to the most economically deprived refugees. To this end, RSSD operates the Social Safety Net Programme (SSNP). The objective of the SSNP is to assist eligible recipients in bridging the abject poverty gap. Through the SSNP, UNRWA supports and assists almost 300,000 Palestine refugees with social transfers, in-kind food assistance and cash transfers (e-card modality) across the five fields of operation including in where acute and protracted crisis exists.

In April 2016, the SSNP transitioned from providing an in-kind food basket and modest cash subsidy to providing a cash-based transfer (CBT) using e-cards in Jordan, Lebanon and the West Bank. The cash transfer has a value that ranges from USD 115 to USD 130 per person per year depending on the country. UNRWA has partnered with the CBT platform of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Jordan, and the West Bank, while in Lebanon it manages operations directly with the banking system. More recently, the agreement with WFP in the West Bank has ended and a new partnership with the Bank of Palestine has been established. In Jordan the programme uses the e-card to deliver a combination of cash and an electronic voucher, while in the West Bank and Lebanon the programme provides only unconditional cash. The shift to CBT intended to offer recipients greater freedom of choice and access to a wider range of healthy food options while also reducing administration and distribution costs. The targeting approach used for determining inclusion and exclusion from the SSNP is based on a proxy-means testing formula applied in regular household visits.

In Gaza, UNRWA maintains the food distribution modality given limitations of market functionalities and associated risks. In Syria, UNRWA manages large-scale cash distributions alongside a more limited food distribution operation. Due to the emergency situations in Gaza and Syria, UNRWA currently covers social transfers for 1.4 million persons in these two fields of operations.

PURPOSE

UNRWA seeks the services of a Senior Cash Transfer Specialist to strengthen UNRWA’s programmes and staffing skills on CBT programming. The function is expected to support the Agency in institutionalizing CBTs including through harmonizing standards and processes across fields and integrating these into policies and practices.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the auspices of the Relief and Social Services Programme, the consultant will work with RSSD staff on setting up a post-distribution monitoring system, writing technical instructions, capacity building, establishing partnerships, and advise management on the overall implementation of the CBT.

Specific tasks related to this objective are:

· Provide technical and operational support to all CBT programming across five UNRWA fields of operations including design, assessment and implementation elements;

· Integrate CBT approaches, standards and processes into wider policies and practices of the Relief and Social Services Programme;

· Strengthen/build post-distribution monitoring systems across all five fields of UNRWA operations, including integration of tools for a regular socio-economic assessment;

· Examine current partnerships and financial institutions engaged in the UNRWA CBT programming and identify efficiency gains as applicable through process optimisation;

· Revisit the technical instructions for the SSNP in view of CBT programming;

· Provide training and support to field office staff on the CBT and lobby for a common understanding of the objectives;

· Any other related tasks.

minimum QuAlifications and Experience

· Advanced university degree from an accredited educational institution in a relevant field;

· At least eight years of relevant experience including at least three years in a senior capacity related to research, analysis, programme design preferably related to CBT programming;

COMPETENCIES

· Significant experience in the design and delivery of high quality CBT;

· Experience in training and capacity building;

· Strong analytical and communication skills;

· Proven track record of working on CBT programming;

· Ability to compile, validate and analyze statistics;

· Advance analytical skills and ability to conduct independent research;

· Proven writing and analytical skills;

· Excellent command of spoken and written English;

· The consultant must be able to travel to UNRWA fields of operations.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

· The expected start date is 1st November 2018; end date is 31^st March, 2019;

· The duration of the assignment is five months;

· The Consultant will work under the overall supervision and guidance of the Director of Relief and Social Services (DRSS).

· Pertinent to the assessed qualifications of the consultant, remuneration levels will be set at P-4/5 level.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should submit an up to date resume and cover letter that clearly indicates how their experience and qualifications meet the requirements above, via [email protected], indicating the title of this consultancy “Senior Cash Transfer Specialist” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 14 October 2018. Late applications will not be considered and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women. Only those applicants shortlisted for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment