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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as in 1977. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Over 70 per cent of the world's poorest people - 1.4 billion women, children and men - live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. IFAD's overarching development goal is to invest in rural people to enable them to overcome poverty and achieve food security through remunerative, sustainable and resilient livelihoods. To achieve this goal, IFAD pursues three closely interlinked strategic objectives: to increase poor rural people's productive capacities; increase poor rural people's benefits from market participation; and strengthen the environmental sustainability and climate resilience of poor rural people's economic activities.
The Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division (PMI) of the Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD), provides technical support to IFAD Country Programmes to ensure the proper application of corporate quality standards required for achieving development results and impact in key thematic areas, including food production systems (i.e. fisheries, livestock, and agronomy), land, natural resources management, water and rural infrastructure, financial services, rural markets and enterprises and rural institutions. It contributes to the generation of evidence and knowledge on these themes, and facilitates their use in IFAD projects and activities.
Hosted by IFAD since 2006, IFAD's multi-donor Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) maximizes the impact of remittances on development and promotes migrants' investment in their countries of origin. With almost 70 projects in over 50 countries, the FFR promotes innovative investments and transfer modalities, supports financially inclusive mechanisms, enhances competition, provides financial education and inclusion, and encourages migrant investment and entrepreneurship.
In 2019, IFAD's FFR and the European Union (EU) launched the Platform for Remittances, Investment and Migrants' Entrepreneurship in Africa (PRIME Africa). The initiative aims to reduce inequality and enhance financial inclusion in Africa through the reduction of remittance costs and the maximization of their impact through greater linkages with financial services, digital remittance business models and financial inclusion strategies.
PRIME Africa directly intervenes in key remittance corridors of seven selected African countries, namely: The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. Two additional countries, Cape Verde and Ethiopia, are also benefiting from in-depth remittance market diagnostics, aimed at identifying whether there is potential and entry points for future interventions. Given the need to intervene on both sides of the remittance corridors, the programme also intervenes in the main European sending countries, namely: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
PRIME Africa works on three main areas: market intelligence, policy dialogue and operations with strategic market stakeholders. For the latter, call for proposals were launched in 2020 and 2021 in order toย identify, support and scale up innovative solutions and models of intervention that will strengthen the remittance market, particularly in rural areas, by promoting lower transfer costs, digitization and formalization of flows, and provide remittance beneficiaries with more tools to access, use and invest these flows. As a result of this competitive process, PRIME Africa has selected and financed a portfolio of 15 projects across all 7 PRIME African countries, partnering with influential and pioneering remittance service providers. Each project involves a different model of intervention, yet they all respond to the main priorities identified under PRIME Africa:
1. Promote greater access and use of formal international remittance transfers
2. Accelerate the use of digital products and the digital payments ecosystem to support international remittances
3. Contribute to reducing international remittance transfer costs and increase access to and use of transparent and gender responsive low-cost services
4. Use international remittances as a conduit for increasing financial inclusion and resilience of remittance senders and recipients
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Job Role ย
The Senior Strategic Knowledge Management Specialist will contribute to the design and implementation of a knowledge management (KM) strategy of the FFR portfolio on remittances, digital finance and financial inclusion. In particular, the consultant will focus on the projects being implemented under the PRIME Africa programme, seeking their visibility, replication and scalability.
Key Functions and Results ย
In close collaboration with the FFR Manager and Senior Remittance experts, the Consultant will work in the following three areas:
1. Knowledge Management Strategy
The Consultant will review the current FFR PRIME Africa KM strategy and propose a roadmap for its application, including specific content creation and implementation. This area involves the following actions:
- Identify and describe best practices promoted by PRIME Africa projects through the following process:
- analysis of themes and topics covered by PRIME Africa projects and existing project documentation (monitoring data and reports);
- meetings with project implementing partners (grant recipients) and other relevant stakeholders linked to the portfolio of projects;
- meetings with FFR staff to clarify technical focus areas; and
- international travel to join the FFR team in the supervision of project implementation and meet with project beneficiaries. - Describe and analyse the impact and reach of actions implemented by PRIME Africa projects in the lives of remittance families, and also how these actions contribute to enhancing remittance markets at the national level.
- Draft and coordinate the finalization and dissemination of several knowledge products. The format of these products may be adjusted based on the strategy outcomes, and may include articles, blogs, cases studies, brochures, reports and presentations, among others identified as more suitable and relevant to reach the desired target audiences.
ย2. Communications Strategy
The Consultant will identify tactics, tools and platforms to support sharing, awareness raising and communication of PRIME Africa's learning agenda. This area involves the following actions:
- Identify channels to disseminate knowledge of FFR projects, assessing the FFRยฟs current channels (i.e. social media, newsletters and FFR-owned websites) and propose other relevant external platforms, including media.
- Share knowledge, best practices and lessons learned on PRIME Africa programme interventions.
- Raise awareness among remittance stakeholders in Africa on PRIME Africa programme innovations.
- Identify crosscutting themes, key messages and pain-points relevant across the portfolio of projects to guide the development of knowledge products.
- Set targets, with timelines and deadlines, alongside strong monitoring processes, to optimize the strategy and drive further engagement.
- Prepare communications models for different outlets and target groups.
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3. Lead and Manage the Communications Resources
In close collaboration with the FFR Manager and the FFR KM team, the Consultant will lead the communications consultants, external vendors such as the graphic design agency, the webmaster, technical editors, proof-readers, photographers, videographers, translators and printing companies involved in the production ofย knowledge products for PRIME Africa.ย
Working Relationships ย
The Senior KM consultant will be under the overall supervision of the FFR Manager, and work in close collaboration with the entire FFR team.
Job Profile Requirements ย
Competencies
Organizational
- Strategic thinking and organizational development: Personal influence
- Demonstrating leadership: Personal leadership and attitude to change
- Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating: Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge and innovates
- Focusing on clients: Focuses on clients
- Problem solving and decision making: Demonstrates sound problem-solving and decision-making ability
- Managing time, resources and information: Manages own time, information and resources effectively
- Team work: Contributes effectively to the team
- Communicating and negotiating: Communicates effectively: creates understanding between self and others
- Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains effective working relationships
Technical/Functional
- Results-oriented performer: ability to deliver high-quality outputs under pressure as part of a multicultural team
- Communicator: Ability to communicate effectively with international organizations, development agencies, and governments, including donors, working with others to meet mutual goals
- Planner and organizer: Ability to set clear priorities within a boundless and often challenging agenda with tight deadlines
- Team worker: Capacity to work in diverse, multidisciplinary team environment and to establish harmonious working relationships.
Model of integrity, trustworthy and confident: Highest standards of personal commitmentMinimum Recruitment Qualifications
EducationAdvanced university degree from an accredited institution in the field of communications, journalism, international relations, public policy, public relations or related field.
Experience- At least 7 years of relevant experience in an international setting in knowledge management, public and/or private communications or marketing, specifically working on international development, digital payments and/or digital financial services.
- Experience in designing and implementing knowledge management and communications strategies in financial services, ideally for private or public sector stakeholders in that industry is mandatory.
- Experience in drafting, writing and editing knowledge products, particularly on remittances, digital finance, rural finance, diaspora investments and/or international development.
- Strong analytical and writing skills and track record in producing relevant knowledge and communication materials for various target audiences including government counterparts, donors, UN organizations, the private sector and the general public.
Language requirements
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in French is desired
Job Profile Requirements ย
Other Information
It must be noted that Consultants are not Staff of IFAD, and that a Consultancy does not carry any expectation of employment with the Fund. Remuneration will be in line with the standards set for UN Consultants.
Applicants to this call for interest will undergo a first level screening and those candidates meeting the minimum requirements will undergo a more in-depth assessment.
In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are shortlisted for interview. The number of days in which services can be rendered in any 12-month period is limited to 240, and the number of days in which services can be rendered in any 60-month period is limited to 960.
IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation.
Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org