Ministry of Community Development and Social Services
REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL SERVICES
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – (INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT) PAYMENT SPECIALIST
COUNTRY: ZAMBIA
NAME OF PROJECT. GIRLS EDUCATION AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND LIVELIHOODS (GEWEL) – SUPPORTING WOMEN’S LIVELIHOOD (SWL) CONSULTING SERVICES – (INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT)
Credit No. 5658.
Project ID No. P151451
Duration of Contract – Two (02) years renewable on satisfactory performance
1. The Government of the Republic of Zambia with financial support from the World Bank is implementing the Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood (GEWEL) Project. The development project objective is to increase access to livelihood support for women and access to secondary education for disadvantaged girls in extremely poor households in selected districts.
2. The Project supports the expansion and potential reform of ongoing Government interventions through the following components:
- Component 1 – Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL): Launch a new initiative that builds on the Government’s existing structures and programs supporting livelihood productivity and economic empowerment;
- Component 2a – Keeping Girls in School (KGS): Provide support to girls in households benefitting from the Social Cash Transfer Scheme (SCTS) to attend secondary school;
- Component 2b — Social Cash Transfer (SC T): Extend support to the KGS by providing cash incentives to cover costs not included in KGS, which is school and boarding fees, but affect the learning progress of girls; and
- Component 3 — Institutional Strengthening: Provide institutional support to improve capacity for policy management, program coordination, systems building for effective and efficient implementation and on women’s and social protection programming.
3. The Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL) component is being implemented by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) to support poor women’s livelihood productivity and economic empowerment. It finances a comprehensive package of activities for beneficiaries, including context-specific training, mentoring, follow-up support and mentoring, provision of productivity grants, and facilitation of savings groups. These are detailed in the TOR.
4. The SWI- through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services is now seeking to engage a qualified individual with the necessary experience for the position of Payment Specialist. The aim is to strengthen the payment systems of the SWL and its social protection system more broadly, with the ultimate objective of using it as a delivery mechanism for emergency assistance, as part of a disaster risk financing strategy for a shock-responsive safety net. Thus, the proposed position aims to support the World Bank to provide high quality advisory services to the Government to further develop an innovative choice-based payment system for the social protection system. This will include:
(i) technical support to the ongoing payment system within SWL to assist the Government to respond to issues as these arise;
(ii) advice on options for reforming the payment system of the SCT by drawing on lessons from the SWL payment system, and;
(iii) enhancing the system such that it will be able to cope with and disburse surge resources in the event of a shock which necessitates emergency assistance to be delivered to the poor.
5. The objective of this position will be to provide technical assistance to the SWL Manager and Financial Management Specialist in order to help to manage payments and enhance the Innovative GEWEL Payment Platform for the Social Protection System projects in Zambia.
6. The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services now invites eligible Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the services of the Payment Specialist. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services prescribed above (Detailed Curriculum Vitae, academic certificates and Cover Letter).
PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
The consultant Shall have the following minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy, Business and Finance, Information Technology or equivalent,
- Full Grade 12 Certificate,
- Specialist training in digital financial services,
- 5 – 10 years expertise in digital financial services in Zambia, preferably in Mobile Money and Agency banking,
- Working knowledge of basic project management methodologies,
- Experience in electronic Government to person (G2P) payments would be an added advantage,
- Proficient in data analysis and reporting, and
- Excellent numerical and computational skills.
Other Skills/Attributes
- Great team work,
- Innovative,
- Analytical,
- Integrity,
- Confidentiality,
- Computer Literate,
- Resourceful and trustworthy; and
- Data management and communication skills.
7. A consultant will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the World Banks Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers (“Consultant Guidelines”) (Current Edition).
Interested consultants may obtain further information including the full Terms of References for the consultancy either via email or in person at the address below:
The Procurement Specialist,
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS),
GEWEL Project – Supporting Women’s Livelihoods (SWL),
Sadzu Road, Community House, SWL Project Office,
LUSAKA
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +260 977 769246
08:00 hours – 16:00, Monday to Friday (except public holidays)
SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Expressions of interest must be delivered in a sealed envelope and clearly marked “Expression of
Interest – Payment Specialist – SWL’ to the address below in person by Friday, 9th October 2020 at 17:00 hours.
Tender Box
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services
Located on the Ground Floor, Community House, Sadzu Road
Next to the Ministerial Conference Room,
Lusaka
Tel: +260 977 709246/ 0974 377451