DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS6 June 2025-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.
ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the worldโs largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
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WHY JOIN WFP?
WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
JOB TITLE:
Digital Financial Inclusion Advisor
TYPE OF CONTRACT:
Consultant
UNIT/DIVISION:
Gender, Protection and Inclusion Service, PPGG
DUTY STATION (City, Country):
Rome, Italy (Remote)
DURATION:
until 31 December 2025
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
Money gives women and men greater freedom, choice, a sense of and dignity. Both humanitarian cash transfers provided directly by WFP as well as Government-to-Person (G2P) payment schemes increasingly supported by WFP, can provide first-time access toโand usage of formal financial services to unbanked and underserved populations and their businesses. When deliberately designed to do so, cash transfers can thereby contribute to longer-term objectives such as Digital Financial Inclusion (DFI) and Womenโs Economic Empowerment (WEE). Access to financial services such as payments, savings, credit and insuranceโ together with financial education and consumer protectionโhelp women and men better cope with shocks, including shocks related to climate change, build their financial resilience and invest in their futures and aspirations.
Anchored in WFPโs Cash Policy and WFPโs 2022 Gender policy, WFPโs commitment to womenโs digital financial inclusion and economic empowerment is driving changes in the way our operations deliver assistance. WFP envisions supporting 10 million women and their families through their own financial accounts by 2030. On these accounts women will be able to receive money from WFP, other humanitarian cash partners, or government-to-people payments technically assisted by WFP (65 governments in 2023).
WFP is seeking to recruit a Digital Financial Inclusion (DFI) Advisor, with strong private sector expertise, to support this vision. The DFI advisor will support WFP in capitalizing on Fintech and digital financial technologies to promote Womenโs Economic Empowerment and accelerate Digital Financial Inclusion, to strengthen Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) standards in WFPโs cash assistance, to put people at the center of everything we do, to give people flexibility and choice when they need it, and to support governments to build inclusive Government-to-Person (G2P) payment systems. S/he will monitor Fintech evidence base and accompany Regional Bureaus (RBs) and Country Offices (COs) to harness the power of Fintech and digital financial services to help people in crisis survive and thrive. S/he will work closely with other Services and Division to map other WFP financial inclusion- related initiatives, identify synergies and WFPโs financial inclusion value proposition.
The Advisor will work under supervision of the WFPโs Digital Financial Inclusion Team lead within the Gender Protection and Inclusion (GPI) Service, in close collaboration with other teams and Services. S/he will work with WFP employees, partners and financial service providers in selected operations. S/he will be home-based and will be required to travel to WFP countries of operations.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Global-level Actions:
The Digital Financial Inclusion advisor will support the implementation of elements of the new CBT Cash Policy related to accelerating Digital Financial Inclusion of women and men. S/he will be the go-to person for knowledge related to DFI, private sector partnership and climate finance. S/he will support the 3 COs selected for the new Gates Grant notably on ecosystem analysis for DFI S/he will liaise with other Services and Divisions to formalize WFPโs value proposition on financial inclusion S/he will liaise with other GPI teams to integrate DFI in relevant GPI tools and GPI-owned policies (Localisation). S/he will support portfolio of DFI & GPI investments, suggest new GPI partnership opportunities when relevant, and ensure timely, high quality execution of activities S/he will provide technical advice on DFI & WEE and accompany RBs and COs when they require support. She will create and share practical guidance and best practices related to DFI. S/he will coach and upskill colleagues on DFI matters, develop guidance to support new COs starting on their DFI journey. S/he will advise on DFI content formulation for workshop/training of national staff. S/he will consolidate lessons from implementations at CO level and build on the body of evidence on how to effectively digitize, design and implement women-centered digital financial inclusion interventions as a part of cash-based transfers and G2P. S/he will support WFPโs Global DFI Learning Agenda to increase understanding of cash transfers programs as a way to address barriers that disproportionately impact women such as limited access to ID and phones, physical distance to branches, gendered social norms, hindering regulations etc. S/he will ensure WFP is up-to-speed on DFI-related โhot topicsโ, such as financial health, digital payments in fragile contexts, climate finance and other areas to be discussed. S/he will lead the establishment or strengthen partnerships with leading advocates of DFI/WEE to support global, regional, and country level actions, and position WFP as a thought-leader during major DFI/Fintech events. S/he will contribute to WFPโs shift to a more user- and community-centered approach to implementing CBT through digital financial inclusion with a strong focus on disadvantage groups, including women, people with disability, indigenous populations etc.
Regional and Country-level Actions:
The Digital Financial Inclusion and Womenโs Economic Empowerment advisor will support some RBs and COs implement the DFI/WEE objectives of the cash policy. S/he will support RBs and or COs to :
Conduct scoping analyses to inform action-oriented, context-relevant DFI interventions, by:
On the demand-side: Supporting COs and RBsโ capacity to conduct participatory qualitative analyses, including focus group discussions, key informant interviews and user journey mapping, to better understand preferences and experiences of women (and men) for digital financial products, services and delivery channels. Help COs navigate through existing quantitative demand-side surveys (FINDEX, GSMA).
On the Supply-Side: Supporting COsโ and RBsโ to map relevant Digital Financial Services providers including Fintechs to build a strong business case relevant to their markets, to incentivize private sector consider the women WFP serve as a valid client base, for which they should have specific digital financial products and services.
On the enabling environment-side : Supporting COsโ and RBsโ capacity to build an understanding of the national and regional laws and regulations that enable and/or impede womenโs ability to access and use digital financial services as and build advocacy strategy to make changes, where needed.
Understanding possible entry points for DFI/WEE within existing programmes and incorporate DFI in regional strategies and Country Strategic Plans (CSP) Design, review and implement interventions to accelerate DFI/WEE, such as:
Connecting with public and private sector partners aimed at increasing mobile phone ownership for women at lower cost, or accelerating womenโs access to formal ID.
Designing digital financial capabilities strengthening programs for women to increase their confidence and understanding of digital financial products and services.
Identifying and digitizing channels that are used by women such as savings groups, to increase womenโs access and usage of digital financial products and services.
Increase the number of women working as mobile banking and mobile money agents, to increase womenโs income generation opportunities and encourage women in those communities to use financial services.
Identify, train and manage community champions (men, women and youth) to address the social norms barriers and change belief that impede women from using digital financial services.
Advise governments on the design of their Management Information Systems (MIS) and the integration of sex-disaggregated data to inform gender-smart policymaking.
Adjust systems to track DFI/WEE progress, by monitoring relevant M&E indicators (PDM or ad hoc surveys), to summarize learnings from the field and continuously inform COs programming. Exploring new partnership opportunities, with the private, public sector and donors, to elevate WFPโs thought leadership and advocacy profile on DFI matters in their country, for instance by : joining discussions with regulators, Financial Services Providers, Identification Offices and Social Protection Ministries, or by organizing capacity strengthening workshops with governments on DFI-WEE matters.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT
Global-level deliverables:
Ecosystem analysis for 3 COs for the Gates grant are conducted Proactive and timeline programme support to new COs and RBs working on the implementation of the Cash Policy DFI and WEE outcomes , including possible introductions to relevant private sector actors Financial Inclusion initiatives are mapped across WFP and a global workshop is organized with other Services and Division COs/RBs are supported when recruiting or training local DFI Focal Points. Blogs, reports or podcasts capturing lessons learnt. Learning and best practices are shared across multiple platforms internally and outside WFP, comforting WFPโs thought leadership in digital financial inclusion and womenโs economic empowerment. Technical guidance is provided as part of the new organization. The DFI Partnership strategy is updated to reflect evolution of the Fintech industry COs are supported when conducting User-journey workshops and UX-design research to inform decision-making and ensure CBT programmes are more conducive to DFI & WEE.
Regional and Country-level deliverables:
Technical advise is provided to RBs/COs when conducting demand-, supply and regulatory-side analyses to scope DFI opportunities and barriers and inform locally relevant actions. Tools and guidance enable COs to independently collect and analyze information through user-journeys, focus group discussions or surveys. Input is provided in the development of strategies and priorities at regional and country levels- including where relevant, in regional strategies and country strategic plans to ensure effective inclusion and integration of DFI as a pathway towards womenโs economic empowerment. Support is provided to RBs/COs when defining interventions to ensure CBT operations - and Government (G2P) responses supported by WFP - are increasingly designed with a gender transformative lens and integrate DFI and WEE. Support is provided to RBs and COs to independently track progresses toward DFI & WEE, including via GPIAR, and capture learnings from the ground. Knowledge generation for regional and country level discussions on digital financial inclusion for womenโs economic empowerment and the unique role provided by cash-based transfer programs in increasing womenโs access and usage of digital financial services. Support is provided to RBs and COs to expand partnership opportunities and WFPโs advocacy role in their region/country.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
- A postgraduate qualification (at least Masters or equivalent) with specialized education in finance or fintech-related fields.
Experience:
- 12 years of progressively responsible experience in the fields of digital and financial inclusion, fintech, womenโs economic empowerment, digital identity and data analytics, with experience from both the private and development/ humanitarian sectors.
- Experience engaging with a diversity of financial services providers - including commercial banks, microfinance institutions, mobile money operators, and fintech firms - on digital financial inclusion for women and girls and members of (visible or non-visible) socioeconomically discriminated minorities.
- Experience working across multiple countries and continents
- Experience designing, conducting, and supporting qualitative and quantitative research for digital financial inclusion. Previous publications highly desirable.
- Experience in advocacy for digital financial inclusion for underserved groups with NGOs, CSOs, development financial institutions, central banks and other government actors is highly desirable.
- Previous experience working in emergency and humanitarian settings and cash-based transfers is an asset.
Knowledge & Skills:
- Deep technical knowledge on Financial Inclusion and Fintechs.
- External partnership skills.
- Ability to think both strategically and operationally, with strong attention to details.
- Ability to challenge status quos. Proactive attitude, with initiative and a sense of accountability.
- Ability to provide technical advice that is actionable and can be understood by diverse stakeholders.
- Ability to develop user-friendly guidance.
- Team player.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and facilitation skills (written and oral).
- Ability to work productively and in an organized fashion.
Languages:
- English is required. Another WFP language - Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish - is a plus.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: global.inclusion@wfp.org
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
- English is required. Another WFP language - Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish - is a plus.
- A postgraduate qualification (at least Masters or equivalent) with specialized education in finance or fintech-related fields.