Digital Financial Services (DFS) Policy Specialist – East and Southern Africa (ESA) (Part-Time 80%), IPSA11, Home-based, UNCDF [Open to internal and external applicants]

About the Role

The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Policy Specialist will play a pivotal role in ongoing engagement with financial authorities and regulators, aligning project goals with the national digital agenda of partner countries. The role works under the direct supervision of the Global Policy Lead, Public Policy and Investment Climate, ensuring alignment with UNCDF's strategic goals. This position does not have direct reports but requires close collaboration with various stakeholders across different levels of government and the financial sector.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth reviews of Digital Finance Services (DFS) legal and regulatory frameworks in the Policy Accelerator focus countries, with particular attention to financial inclusion, non-bank financial service providers, competition, gender considerations, and financial consumer protection
• Identify regulatory gaps and propose amendments, drawing on relevant international good practices and country examples, within the scope of workplans agreed between the project and the respective financial authorities
• Provide targeted DFS legal and regulatory advisory support in lieu of a full framework review where mutually agreed with UNCDF and the relevant authority
• Provide strategic and technical advice to UNCDF country and regional teams, including support to the development and review of aide-mémoires, action plans, implementation roadmaps, strategies, policies, regulations, and other regulatory deliverables
• Identify relevant partners and learning objectives for peer exchanges and capacity-building activities, and participate in technical discussions with regulators and other stakeholders across the five focus countries
• Jointly agree with the project team on the formats and structures of country reports, proposed regulatory amendments, and strategic deliverables, taking into account the specific needs and expectations of the respective financial authorities and government counterparts
• Support the design and implementation of Open Banking/Open Finance advisory interventions in up to three countries within the Policy Accelerator portfolio
• Integrate Open Banking/Open Finance considerations into competition and consumer protection activities
• Respond to requests from financial authorities to support the development of policy, regulatory, and implementation approaches that promote inclusion, innovation, and investment
• Participate in meetings and activities of the AFI Competition Exchange Working Group, review relevant outputs, and translate Working Group findings into actionable recommendations and advisory support for UNCDF country teams and counterparts
• Maintain close collaboration with country, regional, and global Policy Accelerator personnel, as well as other relevant stakeholders
• Undertake any other related activities, technical assistance, analytical work, capacity-building support, advisory services, or deliverables reasonably requested by UNCDF and aligned with the objectives of the Policy Accelerator programme and the Specialist's area of expertise

Core Competencies

• Achieve Results: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
• Think Innovatively: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
• Learn Continuously: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
• Act with Determination: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

• Relationship Management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding
• Advocacy Strategy and Implementation: Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies leading to impactful change
• Knowledge Generation: Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches
• Digital Thought Leadership: Ongoing research into emerging technologies and digital trends and the applications, risks, and opportunities associated with digital adoption, combined with the ability to communicate this synthesis with a broad audience
• Creative Direction and Copywriting: Ability to creatively communicate concepts in an engaging and simple way
• Systems Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
• Customer Satisfaction/Client Management: Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns

Education, Required Skills and Experience

An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Economics, Finance, or a related field.