Connectivity Research Consultant East Africa (Legal and Regulatory) At UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Project Title: Understanding legal and regulatory barriers impacting the digital and financial inclusion of displaced populations in Somalia, Sudan & South Sudan
Organisation: UNHCR
Job Title: Connectivity Research Consultant East Africa (Legal and Regulatory)
Duty Station: Home Based Consultant
Duration: 1st September – 30th November 2021 (with possibility of extension)
Contract Type: Consultancy (Part-time)

Closing date: 24th August 2021

Background:

Led by UNHCR’s Innovation Service, the Digital Inclusion programme aims to ensure that refugees and the communities that host them have the right, and the choice, to be included in a connected society, and can have their voices heard in the design and implementation of humanitarian response. This programme brings together efforts of UNHCR’s Connectivity for Refugees initiative, which focuses primarily on access to digital channels and connectivity, and UNHCR’s Innovation Service’s work on Communicating with Communities. It also underpins efforts around inclusion of refugees in national frameworks and tackling barriers to equal connectivity access as outlined in the Global Compact on Refugees.

Through the Connectivity for Refugees initiative, UNHCR has made significant progress in understanding the legal and regulatory barriers that refugees and other displaced populations face to register SIM cards and personal devices under their names due to lack of required ID credentials. With the advances of the digitalisation of aid, ID-related barriers hampering access to recent flexible banking modalities by UNHCR’s persons of concern, such as mobile wallets, is also of interest to these research efforts. In this regard, UNHCR has published a series of reports, ¨Displaced and Disconnected¨, aiming at mapping the roadblocks to legal access to connectivity and financial services in 25 priority countries. This research strengthens our evidence-based approach to carry out targeted advocacy interventions with relevant national and international stakeholders aimed at digital and financial inclusion of the most vulnerable groups, such as displaced populations. One example of such advocacy interventions was in Uganda in 2019, where alongside the GSMA, UNHCR convened multiple stakeholders to explore the issue, resulting in the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) issuing a directive to greatly improve access to SIM cards for refugees in the country.

Throughout this research, UNHCR has developed a methodology involving desk research and literature reviews, interviews with experts in the humanitarian, development, and identification/registration policy domains, surveys of UNHCR country operations, and ongoing engagement with trade bodies such as GSMA as well as local regulators. This methodology can be adapted to best fit specific operational contexts.

Organizational context:

UNHCR’s Innovation Service is working together with relevant units within the organisation (i.e. Identity Management and Registration Service and Global Cash Operations) to map the legal and regulatory barriers that are impacting the digital and financial inclusion of refugees and other displaced populations. The scope of this project will comprise an analysis of the requirements to legally access and register SIM cards and/or personal devices and meet KYC/CDD requirements to access financial services, specifically mobile money, in countries with unfolding population movements and where UNHCR plans to scale up its Cash-Based Intervention (CBI) in the region. The ¨Displaced & Disconnected” research has focused on Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania in East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes (EHAGL). Aligned with regional operational plans, the Innovation Service would like to extend the research to include additional countries in EHAGL, specifically inter alia Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• To conduct desk research into legal and regulatory barriers to connectivity and digital financial services for forcibly displaced persons across Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.
• To review and if necessary update the research findings of the original EHAGL countries in the Displaced and Disconnected report.
• In this undertaking, to apply UNHCR’s ¨Displaced and Disconnected¨ methodology, utilising additional or alternative methods as appropriate, including other support tools provided by the Innovation Service.
• Liaise with relevant UNHCR staff members in the operations covered by this research to map known ‘real-world’ barriers to legal access to connectivity and financial services.
• Engage with civil society organizations, academics or other specialists in digital rights or related fields to enrich the knowledge of the local context and develop synergies with their work as applicable.
• As applicable, work with regulators and other government institutions to develop a thorough understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks governing SIM card and financial services access for refugees and other displaced populations in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.
• Together with UNHCR country teams, explore possible joint pathways with regulators and relevant institutions to enhance digital and financial inclusion of UNHCR´s persons of concern.
• Suggest ways forward/develop a roadmap to tackling and mitigate identified barriers in collaboration with local stakeholders and relevant organisations, such as the GSMA, to achieve a meaningful digital and financial inclusion of refugees and other displaced populations.
• Work with the Innovation Service design and communications staff on final products.
• As applicable, advocate with relevant international financial institutions to identify potential investment opportunities that can be used to advocate for favorable regulatory reforms and improved frameworks for financial inclusion

Core Deliverables:

• Public report with top level findings, regional and country by country, including high level recommendations to Governments, service providers and humanitarian organisations as applicable.
• List of stakeholders consulted during the research (incl. contact details), as well as all background information used during the desk review phase to produce the report, to liaise as required to carry out potential advocacy actions.
• Internal analysis matrix that UNHCR country operations can take forward to update on progress as the situation evolves country-by-country.

Qualifications and Professional Experience Required:

Education

• University level qualifications Bachelor’s (essential) or Master’s degree (desired) in a relevant area including but not limited to telecommunications law, ICT policy, refugee or humanitarian law,*Job Experience*
• Demonstrates minimum 5 years relevant experience in understanding legal and regulatory systems. Specific experience with either refugee and/or telecommunications issues desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in undertaking research projects similar in nature and level of complexity.
• Experience working for a UN agency or international organization, with a focus on aid and development issues an advantage.
• Knowledge of the humanitarian landscape in East and Horn of Africa, and exposure to the work done with refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced populations in the region is an advantage.
• Experience in analysing national legislation and policy frameworks. Understanding of IT / telecoms policy and regulation, or financial regulations is an advantage
• Previous experience with developing/being involved in advocacy platforms with high level national actors and relevant global institutions is an advantage.

Language
Fluency in English (required)

Competencies:

• Highly organized and autonomous, able to multitask and prioritize workload when necessary.
• Excellent writing and documentation skills, demonstrating high levels of attention to detail.
• Strong time management skills, including the ability to work quickly and to meet deadlines.
• Ability to work as a team, including remotely.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including across cultural contexts.
• Works well in a multicultural team and has a strong work ethic: strives to deliver high-quality, error-free deliverables potentially targeting different types of users e.g. senior management, fundraising specialists and database managers.

Location:
The consultant will be home based. S/he will have frequent interaction with UNHCR Innovation Service colleagues working under the Digital Inclusion programme, who are based at the UNHCR Regional Bureau in Nairobi.