Deadline for Applications
October 30, 2025
Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)
A (least hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate Type
CONS International
Target Start Date
2025-12-01

Terms of Reference
Under the supervision of the Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer based in Dakar the consultant will be responsible for developing a comprehensive roadmap that considers the diverse displacement situations in the region, including:

• Sahel +: This region, comprised of the central Sahel states of (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) as well as Algeria, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania, and Togo, is characterized by concerns around security and sovereignty that must be factored into the analysis of barriers and opportunities to advance financial inclusion for FDP.
• Central African Republic: considering the established target to repatriate 300,000 CAR refugees from the signatory countries of the Yaoundé Declaration (Cameroon, Chad, DRC, Congo, Sudan, and South Sudan), the roadmap should explore how financial inclusion can support sustainable and durable returns.
• Sudanese displacement to Chad: Since April 2023, nearly 800,000 Sudanese displaced persons have arrived in eastern Chad. It will be important to assess the necessary conditions and interventions to facilitate their financial inclusion.

The broad goal of the project is to support UNHCR Regional Bureau for West and Central Africa in identifying strategic opportunities to advance financial inclusion for forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), particularly in a context of increasingly limited in-country resources. The project should also contribute to increasing the knowledge and skills of UNHCR field staff and enhancing information sharing on best practices across country operations.
The consultant is expected to build upon previous work conducted both internally and externally by key stakeholders—such as the Alliance for Financial Inclusion—to provide a comprehensive overview of the financial inclusion landscape across the region. This includes identifying main challenges and opportunities, as well as key stakeholders and potential partnerships. To achieve this, the consultant will:


• Conduct an initial desk review, complemented by primary research in up to three countries.
Engage with key stakeholders, including development actors, financial institutions, UN agencies, and regional economic communities (e.g., ECOWAS and ECCAS), to gather insights and identify common pathways and actions to improve financial inclusion for FDPs.
• Develop a comprehensive regional financial inclusion roadmap for West and Central Africa, taking into account the specific contexts above mentioned. Where relevant, the roadmap should also consider the potential impact of an exit from ECOWAS on financial inclusion of FDP in affected countries.

For the selected countries, identify and analyze country-specific needs, opportunities, and financial service gaps for FDP. This analysis should consider both de facto and de jure barriers to inclusion and provide recommendations on how the Regional Bureau and country operations can best respond.

Required level, qualifications and work experience
• Advanced university degree in international development, economics, finance or a related field;
• Solid knowledge of the financial inclusion sector, demonstrated by at least 10 years of experience working with and leading dialogue with financial institutions and agencies to develop and implement financial inclusion strategies, policies and reforms for underserved populations;
• Significant technical experience in providing capacity support to development and humanitarian actors in the area of financial inclusion, through training, policy papers, data analysis and field research;
• Experience working with UNHCR or other United Nations agencies on issues related to access to financial services (desirable);
• A solid understanding of the financial and socio-economic inclusion needs of refugees;
• Strong research, analytical and writing skills and previous publications on financial inclusion;
• Effective communication and public presentation skills;
• Excellent writing skills in English and ability to write and communicate clearly in French.