Project/Consultancy Title            : Learning Document Consultant

Project Location(s)                       : Surabaya, Semarang, Medan

Background:

Experience from YMCI’s previous program shows that women-led/owned micro and small businesses tend to have low access to financial services, with only 51% having an active bank account and using it in the last six months. YMCI learnt that although the financial inclusion and financial literacy rate for women in Indonesia has improved compared to the Global Findex 2017, women – who lead/own around 60% of MSMEs in Indonesia – still face challenges due to structural and behavioural factors to use the financial products and services from formal financial institutions. Gender-based barriers to financial inclusion arise from both the demand and supply sides. From the demand side, the most critical barriers are social norms that preclude women from owning property or being involved in financial decisions. From the supply side, barriers include lack of gender-specific policies and practices in product design, marketing, and distribution channels. Moreover, in terms of cultural limitations, women may face socio-cultural barriers in accessing services as empowered clients even when financial services are easily available or even mandated by the government.

This program aims to empower women-led /owned micro and small businesses in Semarang, Surabaya, and Medan Cities by improving their access to bundled financial literacy and services, business development, and digitalization. The program will replicate YMCI’s multi-stakeholder partnership and bundled services approach in facilitating a comprehensive package that includes financial literacy, financial management, access to financial products and services, digital literacy and mentoring, and digital marketing for women-led/owned micro and small enterprises, to enable them to increase their businesses performance, increase sales, and expand their market. This program expectedly will create impact to their financial health that leads to bettering their well-being and their family. The program will also facilitate ecosystem learnings, knowledge exchange and foster collaboration between women led/owned MSEs engagement and within the broader Micro and Small Businesses, and other stakeholders through learning events.

Throughout the first year of implementation, the program has delivered a range of interventions, including bundling training on digital literacy, digital marketing, management operation and COGS, Smart Saving, and access to financial products and services. The program has also strengthened facilitator capacity and fostered partnerships with government institutions, financial service providers, and women-owned/led micro and small entrepreneurs’ communities/business groups. Building on the program’s achievements, implementation challenges, and key lessons learned, the program will develop a learning document that captures evidence-based recommendations for the Government of Indonesia on effective strategies to support women-owned/led micro and small enterprises. The learning material will be finalized and submitted by 31 October 2026.

Goals and Outcomes Program:

Improved financial health & resilience

30% of women reported an improvement in financial heal Influences Policymakers (increased sales)

Outcomes:

1. Improvement in financial knowledge & application

• 75% of women reported an improvement in knowledge on financial literacy & services, business development & digitalisation

2. Improvement in access to digital marketing and financial services

• 60% of women reported an improvement in access to digital marketing channels to improve their business
• 60% of women reported an improvement in access to financial products /services including digital financial services.
• 70% of women reported to have accessed and actively used financial product/ services (at least once a month)

Consultant Objectives:

The consultant will develop a learning document in Bahasa Indonesia on effective strategies to support women-owned/led micro and small enterprises by synthesizing field observations, stakeholder interviews, review of existing program evidence, and insights generated from six learning events to be conducted by 30 September 2026. The final learning document will be submitted to the Government of Indonesia by 31 October 2026 as part of the program’s Year 1 milestones.

Specifically, the consultant will:

• Participate in selected program activities and implementation processes to observe program delivery and capture emerging learning.
• Conduct interviews and discussions with key stakeholders, including Mercy Corps Indonesia staff, facilitators, women entrepreneurs, government partners at village, sub-district, and city levels (particularly the Office of Cooperatives and SMEs and other relevant agencies), DBS Foundation representatives, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Review relevant program documents, monitoring data, reports, and learning materials to triangulate findings from the field.
• Assess implementation experiences against the program’s outputs, intended outcomes, and Year One milestones to identify achievements, implementation challenges, adaptive management practices, and emerging opportunities.
• Identify good practices, innovations, enabling and limiting factors, and recommendations to strengthen implementation during Year Two.
• Synthesizing field observations, stakeholder interviews, and review of existing program evidence, and insights generated from six learning events to be conducted by 30 September 2026
• Produce a high-quality Learning Document, presentation deck, and supporting knowledge products for dissemination during the National Learning Event.

Deliverables and Timeline

The Consultant will report to:

Financial Inclusion for Women Entrepreneurs Program Manager.

Works Directly With: KM and Comms Specialist and MEL Specialist

Payment and Cost Arrangement:

Payment will be made at the end after full product delivery. Payment Mechanism: 100% payment will be processed after all final documents have been delivered and full approval from DBS / DBS Foundation. All files are submitted in the agreed format Canva, Microsoft Word, Power Point, and PDF. Payment will be transferred within maximum 7 working days after invoice receipt and final approval and review.

All travel, accommodation, local transportation, and other expenses incurred during the assignment shall be the sole responsibility of the consultant and must be included in the financial proposal. Mercy Corps Indonesia will not reimburse any additional costs beyond the agreed contract value.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

Education

• Master’s degree in Development Studies, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Communication, Economics, Business, Gender Studies, Knowledge Management, International Development, or other relevant fields.

Professional Experience

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in knowledge management, organizational learning, qualitative research, learning documentation, program documentation, or knowledge product development within international development programs.
• Demonstrated experience in developing learning documents, lessons learned reports, case studies, knowledge products, or similar publications for donor-funded programs.
• Experience working with international NGOs, development agencies, or donor-funded projects is required.
• Experience in women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, MSME development, digital inclusion, or community development programs is highly desirable.

Technical Competencies

• Strong qualitative research and stakeholder interview skills.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize program evidence into actionable lessons learned and strategic recommendations.
• Excellent analytical, writing, and editing skills in English.
• Proven experience in producing high-quality reports and knowledge products for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Good understanding of adaptive management, knowledge management, and learning approaches in development programming.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

Interpersonal Skills

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination abilities.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to meet tight deadlines.

Language

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Bahasa.

Bonus (Nice to Have)

• Experience working with international NGOs or donor-funded programs.
• Experience in women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, or MSME development.
• Experience producing bilingual (Bahasa Indonesia and English) knowledge products.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting relevant experience in learning documentation, knowledge management, qualitative research, publication development, and stakeholder engagement.
2. Technical Proposal (maximum 5 pages), including:
   • Understanding of the assignment and proposed approach.
   • Proposed methodology for documenting program learning, including stakeholder engagement, data collection, analysis, and validation.
   • Proposed work plan and timeline.
3. Financial Proposal, including:
   • Proposed consultancy fee (lump sum).
   • Breakdown of professional fees and any anticipated reimbursable costs (if applicable).
4. Portfolio / Writing Samples, including:
   • At least two (2) examples of learning documents, knowledge products, research reports, case studies, or other publications that the applicant has authored or substantially contributed to.
   • If available, examples of professionally designed publications (e.g., learning reports, annual reports, policy briefs, knowledge products, or impact reports).
   • A brief description of the applicant’s role in producing each document (e.g., lead writer, researcher, editor, or publication manager).

Applications should be submitted to anadzifah@mercycorps.org with the subject LDC_Name no later than [03 September 2026]. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Thank You,

Mercy Corps Indonesia