·         Supervisor: Mercy Corps Ethiopia

   Duration: Approximately eight weeks

   Date of Start: After one week from the date advertised

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in five regional states - Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara - and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs and geographies as much as possible.  Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies and participating public. Mercy Corps has a growing portfolio of programs in Ethiopia that focus on food security; agriculture and livestock market systems development; maternal and child health and nutrition; youth economic productivity; resilience and humanitarian response. In Ethiopia, some of our donors include USAID, SIDA, DFID, and WFP. The Livelihood Improvement for Women and Youth (LIWAY) program is one of the project that MC is implementing with other partners which is funded by Swedish International Development Agency-SIDA and in a consortium led by Netherlands Development Organization-SNV; it is a poverty reduction program through Market Systems Development that aims to improve the incomes of 200,000 women and youth in Addis Ababa and surrounding areas.

With the influx of Covid-19, LIWAY identified and planned to give a temporary direct support to domestic workers who lost their jobs in connection with COVID 19 and are currently in desperate situation to feed themselves and find shelter to stay; believing that without the occurrence of the pandemic they would have been either able to search for jobs, or work & earn, or get hired via employment agents and other job matching service providers. The target groups are also who, currently have become more susceptible to different forms of abuse (even violence) for the fact that they don’t have money to feed themselves and rent a house to keep themselves during this testing time. Mercy Corps, in partnership with a legal organization working with domestic workers, would like to do the cash transfer through a financial service provider for reasons of speed, reliability and enhancing future access to finance (and associated financial literacy) among the target groups. The grim reality is that the significant majority of LIWAY target groups are undocumented Rural-Urban migrants, and are facing multifaceted challenges including opening up an account at any financial service provider branch. Mercy Corps has therefore puts a condition that the incumbent organization has to partner with a financial institution which has a policy and practice of allowing these target groups to open account using their biometric data. The Temporary Direct Support includes Cash Transfer using organizational partner for House Rent and purchase of food by identified target groups who are in desperate situation both in terms of affording shelter and availing daily subsistence (particularly food). This would help our target group  able to bridge the gap between their immediate food and shelter needs and the time they can safely search for jobs, get hired and earn income so that they become resilient to the crisis.

·         To support LI-WAY target group to revitalize self-worth, stay safe, safely search for jobs and work & earn.

1.    Mobilize their team to assign the list of target groups   received from mercy Corps to the financial institution  branches according to proximity to the target groups;

2.    Negotiate with the selected Financial Institution to provide embedded services as provision of basic financial literacy training/orientation to Selected targets (by the time they come to the bank to open an account);

3.    follow the regular bank  procedure to open bank account by using biometric identification system within 2 weeks from receipt of targets list from Mercy Corps;

4.    The partner Will submit to Mercy Corps a list of selected targets (beneficiaries) which have opened the required account at the bank in each respective area/branches;

5.    Based on the list provided in step 3, Mercy Corps will transfer to the organization/partner Bank account the amount for the first month support for each Selected target (Beneficiary). Based on performance, the second month support amount will be released.

6.    The partner will also distribute personal protective items (as sanitizers, face masks, gloves, etc) to these selected target groups and report back to mercy corps with valid distribution list.

   During the agreement period, coordinate and work closely with Mercy Corps focal person and project team leader to share information and receive feedback.

Deliverables

   Update and revise  deliverables based on comments from Mercy Corps management

   Submit all final versions of deliverables on time and within budget.

1.      Financial literacy training for LI-WAY targets as an embedded service;

2.       Facilitate opening of  bank account for each targets (beneficiaries) by using biometric identification system;

3.       Report timely the list of selected targets (beneficiaries) in their respective areas which have opened the required account at the bank;

4.      Upon receiving the transfer from Mercy Corps, The organization/partner shall transfer the fund to all beneficiaries without delay as this is an emergency support where time is a critical factor;

5.      Ensure in their negotiation with the financial institution that the targets (beneficiaries)  have access and ability to withdraw the full, part of the cash or deposit the cash as they wish from Bank branches;

6.      Conduct timely distribution of protective items without delay up on receiving them from Mercy Corps to the target groups and report back to Mercy Corps;

7.      Specific reports on the usage of the accounts funded by MC. how much is withdrawn each month, complaints from beneficiaries, status of resolution of the complaints, etc.

·         Financial literacy training –two weeks

·         open bank accounts -  two weeks

·         Transfer  the fund for respective branches-one week

·         Distribution of protective items-two weeks

·         Specific reports- one week

 IV.            Expected Outcome