Vacancies at BRAC

Project Objectives

We seek a technology firm/consultant to conduct an in-depth technical analysis of DFA architecture and the technical capability of the system to support current and future business and technical needs. Working with BRAC IT and BHIBV technology team, the consultant will::

• Conduct a systematic assessment of the overall DFA system - its design and architecture (hardware, software, access methods and protocols, et al). The aim is to assess both code bases, identify potential performance bottlenecks, opportunities for code base optimization, and software’s compliance with established standards and specifications.
• Assess T24-DFA system integration approach that was applied when we deployed the core banking system - Temenos Financial Inclusion Suite in Rwanda. The aim is to:

Understand the extent to which the implemented integration approach best supports current and future business activities

Investigate recurring integration issues and propose long-term solutions. During integration with T24, Rwanda has faced various issues including data syncing issues between the two systems. Although the number of issues has decreased in Rwanda, some data synchronisation problems still persist.

Identify areas to optimise the integration and apply learnings in the Liberia code base before Liberia goes live with T24 in 2024. Also, ensure that the Ghana code is also optimised.

• Assess the current approach for deploying DFA across all BI MF countries. The aim is to recommend how best to optimise the approach to ensure we efficiently provide timely and quality support to all our microfinance entities (who are at different stages of implementation of DFA) and exploit the full capabilities of the system in the long term. This will include an assessment of the current team structure and capabilities.

Scope of work for the technical review:

Architecture Evaluation:

• Assessment of data flow and communication between components.
• Examination of the technologies, frameworks, and tools used in the application's development.
• Identification of performance bottlenecks and recommendations for optimization.
• Evaluation of the rationale behind the technology choices.
• Evaluation of data storage solutions for reliability and efficiency.
• Evaluation of security components in existing architecture.

Performance and Reliability Testing:

• Assessment of the application's overall performance, including response times, throughput, and scalability.
• Documentation of performance benchmarks and test results.
• Conducting load testing and performance benchmarks.
• Examination of redundancy and failover mechanisms.
• Analysis of monitoring and error handling processes.
• Assess the capabilities of the automated notification/alert system for events, errors, or delays.
• Functionality and User Experience (UX) Evaluation:
• Evaluation of the application's user interface (UI) for usability and accessibility.
• Feedback on user experience and any usability issues.
• Recommendations for improving the application's functionality and user-centric design.
• Integration and Compatibility:
• Assessment of the application's integration capabilities with the existing core banking system (T24) and external APIs (For example, CRB, national ID system, Aggregators).
• Recommendations for data synchronization and backup improvements.
• Functionality of DFA vis-a-vis CBS and DARS:
• Review functionality of the DFA (App and Mission Control) vis-a-vis equivalent functionality in CBS and DARS to determine duplicates and make recommendations on which system is best placed to handle duplicated functionalities
• Mobile and Offline Capabilities:
• Testing of offline functionality and data synchronization mechanisms.
• Recommendations for enhancing performance in low-bandwidth or offline scenarios.
• Recommendations for Improvement:
• Clear and prioritized recommendations for enhancing the application's performance, security, and functionality.
• Actionable steps and timelines for implementing the recommended improvements.
• Summary and Conclusion:
• A concise summary of the key findings and observations from the technical review and subsequent recommendations.
• Identify pain points/challenges and recommend remediation/improvement

Qualification of the Consultant/Firm

• Software Development including Data modelling
• Familiarity with application development framework & tools - Native / Flutter/Xamarin/Hybrid, local data storage - local caching/SQLite/firebase/realm, Programming language - JAVA/objective c/ javascript etc
• Application Programming Interface (JSON, REST, Web Services, IRIS etc..)
• Knowledge of Temenos Transact (Financial Inclusion R20) and its integration capabilities will be an added advantage
• Excellent documentation skills
• Familiar with ActiveMQ or any other messaging system.
• Experience in the microfinance sector.
• Experience in Offline app development and management for large data sets.
• Understanding of web middleware system design
• Deep understanding of working with Microfinance institutions and process digitization and redesigning.
• Preferably have experience in HCD (Human-centred design) approach (or other client-centric methodologies) to understand the needs, behaviours, and motivations for staff and clients.
• Knowledge of regulatory environments of the target markets
• Strong analytical, research, and writing skills with expertise in survey and qualitative research in the form of interviews and focus groups.
• Proactive project management skills with strong attention to detail. Experience working under tight deadlines with a multilateral team across time zones and managing a rigorous schedule of data collection
• Fluency in English required.

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Scope of work for the operational review

• The consultants will conduct a comprehensive review of our ongoing end-to-end field operational processes and practices considering both Digital Field Applications (DFA), Core Banking System (CBS) and manual paper-based procedures. The selected consultants will be required to use diverse methodologies, including in-person focus group discussions, individual staff interviews, and a meticulous examination of existing documents, registers, questionnaires, and data points captured and reflected on DFA. This project will entail active engagement with front-end, middle management, and top management staff across multiple operational regions, spanning rural, peri-urban, and urban settings. The research methodology, including the indicative sample size, will be collaboratively determined in consultation with BIHBV and in-country management.

The specific scope of work for this assignment includes the following:

• Review of existing end-to-end operational processes in Rwanda and Liberia: Review the current MFI’s end-to-end field operational processes, including:
  • Client Onboarding: Review the end-to-end client onboarding processes for group lending and SEP clients on DFA and CBS platforms and recommend any possible areas for streamlining and optimising the workflow. The consultants will also review the questionnaires in use and recommend ways to streamline them, reducing the KYC documents required from clients for speedy onboarding and enhanced client convenience.
  • Loan Origination, Verification, and Disbursement: Assess the entire loan origination and disbursement process to generate direct client and business value through efficiencies in the loan cycle and automated credit decisions at the field level. Recommend optimisations for the entire process and identify areas for improvement to ensure faster loan processing.
  • Savings Collections and Withdrawals: Review the savings deposit and withdrawal process in BRAC Rwanda. Identify any manual processes in practice and recommend optimised processes for improving client convenience in savings deposits and withdrawals. Leverage the use of DFA (and other platforms if needed) to streamline the savings and withdrawal process to reduce TAT and improve customer experience.
  • Payment Reconciliation Processes (Office and Field Level): Assess the existing process of capturing cash payments using DFA and the reconciliation process at the back office. Additionally, review the passbook reconciliation process at the field level. Provide recommendations for areas of improvement to strengthen operational control, enhance transparency, and build client trust.
  • Group meeting management and attendance tracking: Examine the group meeting attendance tracking at the field and available reports on DFA. Identify any manual processes currently in practice and recommend areas for improvement to streamline the data capture and reporting process, ensuring enhanced visibility of client attendance for optimal operational monitoring.
  • Client follow-up/CRM: Review the existing ways of following up on potential clients to increase client base in rural and hard-to-reach areas and recommend areas for improvement through digitisation. This includes providing recommendations on how the process of engaging repeat clients can be improved through digitization to enhance the customer experience.
  • Any other processes along the credit and savings life cycle such as loan recovery, account opening among others which can be optimised through the use of a Digital Field Application solution.

Overall, the review will identify opportunities to improve business process efficiency and effectiveness through digitisation, identify any manual processes that are in practice, and recommend ways to optimise the use of the DFA platform to achieve operational excellence. The review will identify redundant steps and documentation (if any), potential efficiency gains, and an analysis of process gaps. The review will identify how to convert potential efficiency gains into increased staff productivity and how their (field and office-based) roles can be improved.

• Review existing reports and tracking of key business performance indicators: The consultant will assess the need for diverse reports to aid staff in monitoring operational performance and in tracking client-level metrics such as social impact KPIs. The review will include assessing the sufficiency of reports on DFA and other available data analytics and reporting platforms (currently in use) to identify reporting requirements that will enhance data-driven decision-making and inform critical business areas such as staff and branch performance, client and poverty outreach, turnaround time for key processes such as member onboarding, and loan disbursement among others.
• Review the DFA business requirements gathering process and post implementation support processes: Analyse the DFA business requirement gathering process and identify areas to improve the quality and clarity of business requirements gathered and communicated to key stakeholders including system vendors.

Based on the above review, provide Should-Be processes, reporting requirements and recommendations that will enhance operational excellence and efficiency and that can improve critical performance measures such as cost, quality, service, and speed.

Qualification of the Consultant/Firm

• Experience in conducting business process reviews/business process re-engineering including experience in creating and evaluating process flows and identifying areas for improving operational excellence.
• Working knowledge of Digital Field Applications in the Financial Inclusion or Microfinance Context is Preferred
• Experience with working with microfinance institutions and an understanding of the process of digitalization of microfinance processes.
• Preferably have experience in HCD (Human-centred design) approach (or other client-centric methodologies) to understand the needs, behaviours, and motivations for staff and clients.
• Knowledge of regulatory environments of the target markets
• Strong analytical skills and ability to conduct in depth interviews and focus groups with staff and clients
• Proactive project management skills with strong attention to detail.
• Fluency in English required