General Assembly Resolution 2186 (XXI) decided to “bring into operations the United Nations Capital Development Fund as an organ of the General Assembly which shall function as an autonomous organization of the United Nations. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) assists developing countries, especially least developing countries, in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants, loans, and guarantees. UNCDF’s vision is to help mobilize and catalyze an increase of capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States to address the most pressing development challenges facing vulnerable communities in these countries and thereby contribute to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity.

UNCDF utilizes its unique capability in the UN system to deploy grants, loans and guarantees to crowd-in finance for the scaling of development impact. UNCDF focuses on where the needs are greatest, a deliberate focus and capability rooted in UNCDF’s unique investment mandate to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realization of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031.

As per its Strategic Framework, UNCDF works to deploy its functions as a hybrid development organization and development finance institution. UNCDF responds to Member States requests for assistance by providing targeted technical and financial advisory services on investments for development outcomes, designing bespoke financial structuring solutions, undertaking financial derisking of investments, and enhancing investment readiness of SDG aligned projects in partnership with private sector, UNOs, International and Local Finance Institutions, Development Finance Institutions as well as Foundations and Philanthropy, among others. UNCDF works to develop local financial systems, new markets and mobilize and crowd in capital from public and private sources. UNCDF is driven by a partnership mindset which enables it to deploy its different capital capabilities in highly tailored and responsive ways in order to mobilize investments flows from other sources, in particular from the private sector. By structuring transactions which are highly impactful, but also recognize the need for multiplying the impact of its own capital, UNCDF seeks to position itself as a preferred partner for different stakeholders. UNCDF’s work is focused on six priority areas, including:

• Sub-national and local infrastructure financing
• Women-owned enterprise financing
• Nature and climate financing
• Energy and decarbonization finance
• Sustainable food systems financing
• Inclusive digital finance

Following a recent restructuring, UNCDF’s organizational set up includes an Investment and Implementation Division (IID), Investment and Finance Oversight Division (IFOD), Operations and Oversight Division (OOD) and a Directorate of the Executive Office. UNCDF staff and personnel are located in regional hubs based in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand) with sub-regional presence in a number of locations in the Caribbean and Pacific Regions. UNCDF is led by an Executive Secretary based out of New York, USA. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2321(XXII, para 1.a), the Administrator of the UNDP performs the function of the Managing Director of UNCDF. UNCDF is overseen by the Executive Board of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and performs the function of the Executive Board of UNCDF.

UNCDF is part of a joint UN PBF programme with UNDP to reduce conflict and promote social cohesion by empowering Okada Bike Riders as professional service providers and agents of peace. Addressing this community of riders’ vulnerabilities, strengthening their social contract with the state, and transforming violent masculinities will improve their reputation and behavior, and tap into riders’ potential to prevent conflict and violence, including SGBV. The conflict causes and drivers the project aims to address is mainly on the societal role and standing of Okada riders and their relationship with state authorities, notably the police, which often manifests in violence. The project will address their violent masculine identities and vulnerability to their mobilization by conflict actors, including around elections, times of social unrest, and for illegal activities.

UNDP and UNCDF will co-implement the project, in support of the Government of Sierra Leone, namely the Ministry of Youth Affairs (MoYA), the Sierra Leone Police, Local Councils in the seven targeted project districts, the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) and the Legal Aid Board. This project will be implemented in close collaboration with the Okada Riders Union(s) in the targeted districts of Western Urban, Western Rural, Kambia, Kenema, Makeni, and Bo. UNCDF’s intervention will be to protect and empower Okada riders in the targeted districts to be more resilient against manipulation through increased income and wellbeing. This will be achieved by building the resilience of the Okada riders through improved business skills, financial management and alternate livelihood interventions. The project outcome is also focused on economically empowering Okada riders through access to financial products and services developed to specifically meet their needs. In addition, Okada riders in the targeted districts will build their resilience through increased knowledge and improved access to credit through FinTech solutions and mobile money platforms.

In this context, UNCDF plans to hire the services of a Project Coordinator who will be part of the UNCDF country office team to provide the needed support to achieve the goals and objectives of the project. The Project Coordinator will be under the guidance and supervision of the UNCDF Country Lead and Technical Specialist.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries. 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’s financing models work through three channels: inclusive digital economies, connecting individuals, households, and small businesses with financial eco-systems that catalyze participation in the local economy and provide tools to climb out of poverty and manage financial lives; local development finance, that capacitates localities through fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance to drive local economic expansion and sustainable development; and investment finance, that provides catalytic financial structuring, de-risking, and capital deployment to drive SDG impact and domestic resource mobilization.

By strengthening how finance works for poor people at the household, small enterprise, and local infrastructure levels, UNCDF contributes to Sustainable Development Goal SDG 1 on eradicating poverty and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. In addition, by identifying those market segments where innovative financing models can have a transformational impact in helping to reach the last mile and address exclusion and inequalities of access, UNCDF contributes to a broad diversity of SDGs.

UNCDFs Interventions in Sierra Leone:

UNCDF launched its Financial Inclusion interventions in Sierra Leone in 2010, however its large-scale outreach was demonstrated at the height of the Ebola crisis in 2014-2015 to pay Ebola Response Workers (ERWs). Since then, UNCDF has been focused on creating an inclusive environment for inception and scale up of financial services. UNCDF has been supporting financial service providers, banks, and other stakeholders in the country to develop the eco-system.

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for providing technical assistance and coordination support towards activities in outcome 3 aimed at protecting and empowering of Okada riders in the targeted districts to be more resilient against manipulation through increased income and wellbeing. The Project Coordinator will be working closely with financial service providers (FSPs), government institutions, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, Fintechs and private sector players.

Below is a summary of essential functions:

• Coordinate research activities:
• Provide Technical Expertise to livelihood and empowerment programs:
• Provide Technical Expertise to financial products development:
• Lead Financial and digital literacy initiatives:
• Collaborate with other Project Team members (UNDP).

a. Coordinate research activities:

• Coordinate with the contracted firm on research that will be conducted with Okada bike riders to understand their economic vulnerabilities and financial behavior to inform interventions on livelihood improvement to build their resilience;
• Disseminate the findings and recommendations from the survey reports and provide guidance to FSPs and other partners in the use of the reports in the implementation.

b. Provide Technical Expertise to livelihood and empowerment programs:

• Work closely with implementing partners and provide technical input to the interventions around business development skills training and financial management;
• Provide technical expertise to training modules on alternative sources of livelihood (vocational trainings) and linking Okada riders to Government vocational training centers;
• Coordinate training on voluntary pensions contribution as social safety net for life after Okada riding.

c. Provide Technical Expertise to financial products development: 

• Work closely with selected Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in delivering suitable financial products and services suited to Okada Riders in targeted districts to make them more economically empowered;
• Work closely with the selected MFIs to design and pilot a motorbike asset finance product to meet the needs of youth bike riders in Sierra Leone;
• Work with implementing partners to undertake a survey to assess rider satisfaction with financial products and services.

d. Lead the Financial and digital literacy initiatives:

• Provide technical assistance and coordinate work of implementing partners for Okada Riders in targeted Districts to build resilience through increased knowledge and improved access to credit through FinTech solutions and mobile money platforms;
• Support to undertake a survey among the bike riders to assess the impact of the financial and digital literacy platform if it increased their access to financial services;
• Provide technical assistance to the enhancement of a digital credit product that will meet the needs of Okada riders using a human-centric design approach.

e. Collaborate with other Project Team members (UNDP)

• Work with the Project Manager, Communications Specialist and Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist on the project ensuring that the economic and livelihood component is in sync with other intervention areas of the project;
• Work alongside the project manager to draft the project Final report(s).

Institutional Arrangement

• The Project Coordinator will work with the UNCDF and UNDP teams on the project.
• The Project Coordinator will report to the UNCDF Country Lead and Technical Specialist, based in Freetown or his designate.
• The Project Coordinator be expected to spend significant amount of time in Sierra Leone with visit to the targeted districts as required.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements