[Hiring] Cash Based Assistance Consultant @AGORA

Role Description

Provide selected UNICEF country offices in Asia with technical and operational support on the use of cash-based assistance modalities in fragile and humanitarian contexts.

The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNICEF Chief of the Global Cash Hub, based in Nairobi, and in close collaboration with staff of the multi-division Global Cash Hub. The indicative countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam; this list may be updated by the supervisor during the assignment. Up to 30 per cent of the assignment is expected to support the Myanmar Country Office.

• Support the global HOPE rollout and its regular use at country-office level, in close collaboration with the HOPE Team Lead and beneficiary data management colleagues.
• Support rollout of UNICEF's global capacity-building strategy for cash-based assistance for UNICEF staff and partners, including governments.
• Conduct in-country field-support missions of up to four weeks and provide remote support to strengthen country-office readiness to use cash-based modalities. This includes:
  • Technical and operational assessments
  • Preparedness
  • Design of cross-sectoral cash programmes
  • Risk matrices
  • Quality assurance
  • Standard operating procedures for payment processes
  • Monitoring support
• Advise country offices on the choice of delivery system, including national systems and direct delivery, and liaise with the Poverty Centre of Excellence's Shock-Responsive Social Protection focal points.
• Support country offices to establish robust monitoring and verification systems for cash-based assistance.
• Support capacity-building activities; gather and analyse data; and document good practices and lessons to inform global and regional evidence and advocacy.
• Contribute to global coordination of cash-based assistance by participating regularly in Global Cash Hub meetings and collaborating with Asia-based sectoral Centre of Excellence colleagues.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Economics, social science, database management, data analytics, or a related field. A bachelor's degree, complemented by relevant industry certifications and two additional years of work experience, may be accepted in lieu of a master's degree.

Requirements

• At least eight years of professional experience at national and international levels supporting humanitarian response, including at least five years dedicated to cash-based assistance in diverse humanitarian settings.
• Fluency in English.
• Experience providing direct technical assistance on humanitarian cash transfers to UN agencies, NGOs, and governments.
• Experience planning, implementing, reporting, monitoring, and evaluating humanitarian cash-transfer programmes.
• Experience collaborating across functions and with operational subject-matter experts and technical resources.
• Experience coordinating programmes or projects with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence varied audiences in a multicultural environment.

Benefits

• UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does.
• UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence.
• Reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities is offered throughout the recruitment process.