The World Bank Unclaimed Assets Study Field Coordinator Job in Nairobi Kenya

The World Bank Africa Region Poverty Reduction and Economic Management
 

Africa Region Gender Practice Gender Innovation Lab
 

Terms of Reference: Field Coordinator for Unclaimed Assets Study in Kenya

Location: Nairobi, Kenya with some possible travel within Kenya
 

Application Deadline: January 25, 2014
 

Start Date: January 2014 or ASAP
 

Commitment Period: 6 months initially, extension likely and contingent on project and performance
 

Contract Type: Consultant

1. Summary: The World Bank’s Gender Innovation Lab seeks a Field Coordinator to work on the development of an impact evaluation with a Kenyan financial institution on financial assets inheritance, and with other Kenya partners on land inheritance. 

The Field Coordinator will work with a team of researchers at the World Bank in Washington DC and the partnering institutions on a variety of planning and project development tasks intended to build a viable and mutually agreed upon intervention and implementation plan for the study. 

The FC will then carry out the plan in close partnership with the financial institution.
 

2. Background: Often when Kenyans pass on, their loved ones lose both a family member as well as assets built by that person over his or her lifetime, leaving surviving spouses and children financially vulnerable. 

The existing process to claim a deceased person’s financial assets through the Kenyan court system is complex, costly, and slow. 

It may be years before spouse or dependents to gain access to lost accounts, and in some instances the cost of claiming the assets may exceed the assets’ value. 

And often, the surviving spouse/children don’t even know that the asset exists, and thus never even attempt to claim it. 

The Unclaimed Assets study partners with Kenyan private for profit and nonprofit institutions to pilot strategies to

(a) Increase retention or successful claiming of assets by intended beneficiaries following death of owner (and reduced risk that asset will be lost when its owner dies); 

(b) Reduce transaction costs associated with transfer/claiming/inheritance of assets; and 

(c) Increase sense of financial security, financial security, and economic wellbeing of asset owner’s household, during and after the life of the asset owner.
 

In particular, the study is looking at testing three different methods, or interventions, towards promoting these objectives: 

(1) Working with a financial institution to create a functioning designated beneficiary system for financial accounts; 

(2) Working with a financial institution to promote specialized joint accounts, where the secondary owner only has rights to the account upon the primary owner’s death; and 

(3) Providing information and legal aid to widows regarding law giving her right to stay in home & have it titled in her name.
 

3. Scope of work and tasks: 
 

The first months of the Field Coordinator (FC) position will involve planning and project development tasks, which will require the Field Coordinator to draw on his or her creativity, initiative and problem-solving skills constantly. 
 

The Field Coordinator will have primary responsibility for building strong relationships with potential partners and stakeholders, designing viable and appropriate interventions with the study partner, developing and launching an operations plan and providing day to day supervision and management of the fieldwork. 

Once the study design has been finalized, the FC will be responsible for making sure that every part of the study is carried out according to plan. 

This means that the FC must be organized and stay on top of various moving parts of the field study. 

Since the FC will be the only member of the research team who is based in the region where the study is taking place, he/she is expected to provide frequent feedback and observations on progress and potential challenges to the research team.
 

The FC’s scope of work and tasks will include: 
 

Partnership development and management

• Take initiative and care to build strong relationships with study partners at both the management and implementation/ client-facing level.
• Meet with representatives of the partnering institutions to develop a viable and appropriate intervention through constant communication with the research team.
• Help to develop an operations strategy to implement the intervention and enroll clients according to the mutually agreed upon interventions.
• Provide input on the partner’s marketing and messaging strategy for the study interventions, and ensure that both the plan and implementation are in accordance with the study design.
• Provide daily coordination between the research team and the Kenyan study partners and their staff, ensuring that preferences are effectively communicated between parties, flagging emerging issues that may be of potential concern to one or both parties, and in general ensuring that effective and productive collaboration is maintained.

Sample recruitment and management

• Ensure that enrollment targets are met. In collaboration with the WB research team, help oversee the recruitment of existing and new customers into the study sample and ensure that targets are met on time, troubleshoot enrollment problems and ensure that all is done in accordance with the study design.
• Help ensure that the interventions are rolled out only to the clients selected through the research team’s randomization.
• Oversee the export of administrative data from the Kenyan study partners’ computer system for use by the research team.
• Communicate progress, milestones and potential problems with the Kenyan study partners in a timely manner to maintain strong relationships with both the implementing teams and management.
• Oversee and monitor sample enrollment, including planning, logistics, hiring, and training.
• Conduct qualitative research to inform research design, when necessary.
• Run pilot survey exercises, provide feedback on field operations and survey instruments, and make and monitor improvements.

Day-to-day monitoring and management

• Checking in with partners to ensure study activities within partner's responsibility area are being done and providing troubleshooting and supporting assistance as needed.
• Checking on status of up to 400,000 respondents in the study sample across the country, even if this task simply involves data retrieval from partners.
• Ensuring all sample participants with dormant accounts receive follow-up.
• For ones who are not alive, ensure interventions reserved for those post-death happen per the study plan.
• Help to create follow-up survey instruments.
• Ensure follow-up surveys are carried out per the plan with selected study participants.

Report Writing and Analysis

• Keep both the rest of the research team and Kenyan partner institutions routinely updated on activities, concerns, and decisions that need to be made (at least once per week).
• Communicate regularly with WB human resources and finance teams on matters including finance and logistics.
• Write up reports on findings from qualitative investigations.
• Document activities, decisions and protocols in an organized and timely manner.
• Write reports with feedback and analysis of how the pilot interventions seem to be working.
• Write reports with feedback and analysis of how the survey instruments seem to be working.
• Assist in the analysis of the survey data, and the writing of project reports and policy memos.

Resource and Task Management

• Ensure activities are carried out on time, and on budget. Keep detailed accounts of all project program activities, including monitoring project expenses, and maintaining records of expenditures.
• Provide day to day oversight of any additional local research assistants. 

4. Contract Type and Supervision

The initial contract period will be six months, to cover the period pre- Concept Note approval. 

However, we anticipate that upon Concept Note approval for this study, we will be able to renew and/or extend the contract, and we prefer a person who can stay on for the duration of the study, which is expected to be approximately 3 years. 

The consultant will report to ETC Tricia Gonwa on a daily basis, and to TTL Eliana Carranza. 

Requirements
 

The World Bank is seeking candidates who meet the following requirements:

• Please note that our preference is for the candidate to be Kenyan, or a resident of Kenya.
• Masters (or significant work experience) in statistics, economics, sociology, anthropology, or related field.
• Demonstrated ability to manage collaborations between multiple organizations.
• Strong oral and written communications skills in English, including strong ability to communicate effectively via phone and email with counterparts who are located elsewhere.
• Strong budgeting and financial management skills.
• Strong oral proficiency in Kiswahili and/or additional languages used in Kenya is preferred. 
• At least two years of project management experience. Extensive experience supervising, designing and implementing data collection and/or field work activities, and managing teams of field workers, is preferred.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Well organized, detail-oriented, able to prioritize, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously with minimal supervision.
• Advanced user of Microsoft office suite (Excel, Word, Power Point), and the Internet.
• Interest in pursuing a career in research, non-profit management, public policy, or financial services outreach is preferred.
• Professional experience working in the banking or microfinance sector is preferred.
• Experience in data management, econometrics, and programming in STATA or SPSS is preferred.

To Apply:  

Please submit your complete CV and cover letter by email to mhan1@worldbank.org AND courtneyhan@gmail.com using the subject line: WB UA Field Coordinator Firstname Lastname. 

All documents should be submitted as attachments, and the file names should include the name of the applicant.  

The documents may be submitted in Word document or PDF format.  

Applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted by email or phone.