MINISTRY OF GENDER, YOUTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
PATHWAYS TO SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS PROJECT (PSLP)
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
(CONSULTING SERVICES- INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS SELECTION METHOD)
LOAN NO: P177814
CREDIT NO: IDA -71480 -LS
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: DIGITAL PAYMENTS COORDINATOR
REFERENCE NO: LS-MOSD-435163-CS-INDV
DURATION: TWELVE (12) MONTHS
OVERALL CONTEXT
Lesotho ranks highest amongst the countries which spend significant resources on social assistance programs in Africa. Lesotho’s social assistance programs tackle vulnerabilities throughout the life cycle from children to the elderly. The Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development (MGYSD) is administering four key social assistance programs, namely the Child Grant Program (CGP), the Public Assistance (PA), Disability Grant (DG), the Old Age Pensions (OAP) and the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Bursary program (OVC-Bursary, for secondary students). The CGP programs supports around 45,000 poor households with children under the age of 18 with a quarterly transfer. The PA program supports 15,000 poor and destitute adults with quarterly transfers. The DG program supports 2,500 destitute persons with disability with quarterly transfers as well. The OAP program pays a monthly social pension to approximately 82,000 elderly Basotho over the age of 70. OVC-Bursaries are transferred directly to schools to cover tuition and other expenses for over 24,000 vulnerable children. Several other social assistance programs also exist but the CGP, PA, DG and OAP program are the flagship cash transfer programs implemented by MGYSD and make up a large share of the Government to People (G2P) payments in Lesotho.
The current social assistance payment delivery mechanisms of the cash transfer programs — CGP, PA, DG and OAP — are largely through in-person cash delivery via a Cash-In-Transit agency or by social assistance payment officers directly. Beneficiaries gather and queue at hundreds of pay-points throughout the country quarterly or monthly to receive their cash payments (in pre-packed envelopes or lose cash bills) which is driven there by car or via other modes of transportation. This methodology is inefficient, risky, and expensive. And the information systems that are administering the payments and reconciliations are not fully automated allowing space for errors. Beneficiaries, many of which are elderly or vulnerable, who walk long distances and wait for a long time to receive their cash. Cash payments also do not contribute to financial inclusion and access to other banking or digital payment services such as savings and borrowing.
BACKGROUND
The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho through the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development (MoGYSD) has secured credit from the World Bank in the amount equivalent to US$26.5 million toward the implementation of Pathways to Sustainable Livelihood Project (PSLP) for a five (5) year period up to 2027. The Ministry intends to use a portion of the proceeds of this credit for an individual consultant to act as a Safeguard Specialist to serve as part of a Project Facilitation Unit (PFU) (to be recruited) in the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development.
The project (Pathways to Sustainable Livelihoods Project (PSLP) – P177184) funding is expected to help poor and vulnerable Basotho achieve some level of well-being and graduate out of poverty, as well as improving effectiveness and equity of its social assistance programs and delivery systems. The project is composed of the following components:
- Component 1 will support the introduction of an economic inclusion package designed to strengthen beneficiary livelihoods.
- Component 2 will pre-position contingent finance to enable the timely delivery of shock responsive cash transfers, using those same delivery systems, for more efficient shock responses.
- Component 3 will build on the main achievements of the previous Social Assistance Project (P151442) by continuing to strengthen core delivery systems in order to improve the efficiency and equity of the selected social assistance programs; and
- Component 4 includes project management and technical assistance and supports components 1-3.
In early 2021 the World Bank supported the Ministry with a scoping study and the development of a road map on how to go gradually move away from cash transfers to digital payments for its four main cash transfer programs (CGP, PA, DG and OAP), at least for beneficiaries in urban areas where connectivity and proximity to digital payment providers exist. Based on the scoping study findings and recommendations the MGYSD has embarked on a process of phasing in digital payments for CGP, PA, DG and OAP. The aim of the ongoing pilot is to progressively migrate cash transfers to digital payments using either mobile money (Mpesa & Ecocash) and through the other PSPs. The model used relies on customer choice so that beneficiaries choose the digital payment provider which is most convenient for them.
To date, the MGYSD, with the support of technical assistance from the World Bank and UNICEF has completed a roll out of mobile payments to 13,500 CGP beneficiaries and 13,000 OAP in the country, while the digital payments for the PA and DG programs has not yet started.
OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The objective of the PSLP related to digital payment roll out is to expand the share of social assistance transfers from the CGP, PA, DG and OAP – that are made through efficient and secure digital payments from the current small CGP pilot to 60% for each program in the next 1 year. To reach the objective of 60% digital payments, work is needed to strengthen the payment management and information systems (MISSA and GOLSABS), communication and awareness raising with beneficiaries, and building strong relationships and networks with
payment service providers.
Over the next 1 year the following activities will be carried out by the Ministry under the PSLP project:
a) updating and building out the digital payment features of the MISSA and GOLSABS MIS systems and constructing the modules necessary in a payment gateway to allow integrated program management (ISSN process); b) sensitizing, enrolling and onboarding more beneficiaries of the CGP, PA, DG and OAP programs to the payment provider chosen; c) contracting and working closely with Vodacom, Econet and other payment providers to establish their roles and responsibilities, link them to the payment gateway for payments; d) revise MGYSD business processes and manuals, train and re-organize staff duties and reporting arrangements to support the new digital payment modalities. The activities would be financed through the PSLP project, and as needed, possibly also through funding from the EU/UNICEF (TBD).
The digital project activities are carried out by a team inside and outside MGYSD, namely:
- Inside MGYSD: IT team, payments team, business teams of CGP, PA, DG and OAP programs, finance department, communications officers, auxiliary social workers, district officers, and MGYSD management.
- Outside MGYSD: Payment Service Providers (PSPs), vendors, WB technical expert consultants, other expert consultants.
To oversee all digital payments activities described above under component 3 of the PSLP, as well as to ensure coordination among all teams working in this area, the Project needs to hire a Digital Payments Coordinator (consultant) who will be responsible for all planning, implementation Coordination, monitoring and reporting functions for the digital payment scale up activities under the PSLP. He/she will report directly to the PFU Project Coordinator and work closely with the Director of Social Assistance, the Social Assistance Manager, the MIS
Manager and the Social Assistance Payments team of the MGYSD, as well as coordinate closely with the World Bank. The digital payment activities under the PSLP will also be supported by international payments system experts, recruited by the World Bank who will provide guidance and global solutions and help set up a project implementation plan.
DUTIES
The role of the Digital Payments Coordinator is to coordinate and lead the implementation of the roll-out of the digital payment’s activities. His/her responsibility is to lead the various MGYSD team members and other consultants to achieve the PSLP project’s objective to transition at least 60% of the beneficiaries of CGP, PA, DG and OAP to efficient and secure digital payments in 18 months. In this sense, the Digital Payments Coordinator serves as a rapid-results digital payment roll-out project manager.
The Digital Payments Coordinator will oversee a number of activities which have to be undertaken and coordinated jointly over time to contribute to the overall objective and annual milestones, that include:
a. Drive and oversee the implementation of the overall digital payment roll-out project for the PSLP towards its expected results:
- Develop with MGYSD a detailed implementation schedule including quarterly milestones and activities for a project implementation period of 12 months for the CGP, PA, DG and OAP program digitization process;
- Oversee and report on the timely execution of the digital payment roll-out project activities undertaken by consultants, vendors, and MGYSD own staff according to the agreed schedule;
- Manage for results: report on milestones, results, and achievements of the digital payments roll-out project;
- Guide team members and facilitate meetings and information sharing across the digital payment roll-out project larger team;
- Ensure day-to-day administrative, operations and financial activities are carried out in a smooth manner to support PSP technical delivery;
- Serve as liaison between the WB technical payments consultants and the social assistance programs implementors at the MGYSD;
- Organize and attend meetings of the Working Group/Technical Committee as needed and support the work of any Ministry-specific working groups that may be created;
- Contribute to discussions with stakeholders, building client capacity among key staff and organize working groups, defining the workplan details;
- Contribute to long-term implementation efforts of the MGYSD digital payments strategy implementation plan that involves the participation of identified stakeholders;
- Coordinate capacity building of digital payments implementation team and other stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainability of the project outcomes
b. Ensure digital information systems necessary for digital payments are improved to securely administer digital payments processes:
- Assist in identifying system level constraints (MISSA, GOLSABS, administrative systems, procurement, financial management etc.) to digital payments of social grants and identify solutions;
- Coordinate between WB technical experts, IT vendors and MGYSD team to implement agreed IT and system level solutions and actions in a timely manner;
- Coordinate between MGYSD IT team, business teams, and payments team to review and verify the digital registration data;
- Coordinate IT and system development activities necessary to make it possible for the PA and DG programs to be brought into the digital payments roll-out project.
c. Support MGYSD in the registration of pay-points, as well as planning and implementation of the roll out plan for data collection, awareness raising, and communication activities at pay-points being converted from cash to digital:
- Ensure that at least 60% pay-points have been registered digitally in 12 months.
- Support MGYSD on training and coordinating data collection agents, preparing training for data collectors and PSPs, plan the logistics for data collection and awareness events at pay points on a gradual manner;
- Manage communication and discussions with MGYSD districts officers and auxiliary social workers regarding strengthening of payments systems.
d. Communication and customer service with beneficiaries – onboarding, digital awareness:
- Ensure that sensitization amongst selected community councils have been thoroughly and properly communicated prior to mobile number registration;
- Work closely with MGYSD auxiliary social workers in all selected community councils to ensure that beneficiary gatherings, awareness session and registrations of phone numbers are implemented according to procedures and plans;
- Ensure that beneficiaries have adequate support in the use of mobile technology;
- Liaise with Social Assistance Payments team and Communications team in communicating actions to beneficiaries including leverage all communication channels, direct communication with beneficiaries and communicating the availability of cash withdrawal points;
- Contribute to the support of field teams with required logistics (transportation) and supplies as required;
- Identify and document community level constraints (beneficiary constraints, mobile phone and sim cards) and channel these to relevant stakeholders for action.
e. Business processes, functions, manuals and training
- Support MGYSD to identify changes in business processes and functions for program operations and staff assignments related to moving from cash to digital payments;
- Support MGYSD to update and revise manuals and process protocols and train staff on changes to be implemented in business operations;
- Support MGYSD to sustain required business process changes
f. Reporting and monitoring:
- Report monthly and annually on all digital payments’ activities progress, and as requested by PSLP PFU Coordinator, WB and MGYSD directors;
- Gather and share data and information regarding the current state of digital payment roll out and digital payment systems in MGYSD;
- Monitor digital payments budgets.
DELIVERABLES
The consultant will develop the following and be validated by the Project Coordinator and the Social Assistance
Director.
a) Implementation plan: it should include 3-months milestones and detailed activities for a project implementation period of 12 months for the CGP, PA, DG and OAP program digitization process with clear roles and responsibilities of each stakeholders involved.
Deadline: 1 month from contract signing.
b) Monthly progress reports: progress reports on key milestones and results reached, showing progress on the achievement of each objective as well as reporting on the overall objective of digitalization of at least 60% of payments. The report must be validated by the Project coordinator and Social Assistance Director.
c) The reports must explain challenges identified and technical solutions identified related to:
- IT recommendations made by the WB payment expert team.
- Progress on revision of manuals, protocols, or any other (physical/electronic) document/process required.
Deadline: 6 months starting at contract signing.
d) Final report on all digital payment scale-up activities conducted with evidence of objectives reached and status of digital payment delivery system updating.
Deadline: 11 months starting at contract signing.
QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum Master’s Degree in Economics, IT, International Development and Public Policy or related.
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience in project management, managing for results, coordinating
multidisciplinary team to delivery for results. - A minimum of 5 years of experience with the social grant payment system, pay point system organization,
communications with social grant beneficiaries, preferably in Lesotho. - Good understanding in digital payments systems, including payments IT infrastructure and applications,
services of digital payment service providers, and customer due diligence requirements. - Knowledge of budgeting, financial analysis, resource allocation, and service delivery channels.
- Ability to provide leadership to team and build bridges to other program teams.
- Negotiate and communications skills providing continued development of donor and partner relationship.
- Strong implementation, coordination and organizational skills, communications skills and ability to mobilize
different department units and decentralized stakeholders around digital payments and systems as well as
previous digital payments experience is highly preferable. - Fluency in English reading and writing, fluency in Lesotho local language is a additional advantage.
- Proven experience in working with different types of stakeholders, including public sector, private sector,
NGOs and/or development organizations.
DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The assignment will be done over a period of Twelve (12) Months.
SUBMISSION
A consultant will be selected in accordance with selection of Individual Consultants Method set out in Procurement Regulations. Expressions of interest accompanied by detailed CV must be delivered in a written form to the address below in person or by email by 16:00 hrs local time on the 3rd October 2024 clearly marked ‘’Expression of Interest for Consulting Services – Digital Payments Coordinator (LS-MOSD-444375-CS-INDV).
To: The Project Coordinator
1010 Building
Bust Stop, Opposite Pitso Ground
Pathways to Sustainable Livelihoods Project (PSLP)
Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development
P/Bag A222
Maseru 100 Lesotho.
Email: [email protected] with a copy to [email protected]
Qualified persons with disabilities and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications can be hand delivered or emailed and applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
