CONSULTANCY TO EXTRACT AND CAPTURE ACHIEVEMENTS OF MDG-F THEMATIC WINDOW ON CHILDREN FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION |
| Location : |
Home based |
| Application Deadline : | 07-Aug-12 |
| Additional Category | Millennium Development Goals |
| Type of Contract : | Individual Contract |
| Post Level : | International Consultant |
Languages Required :
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English |
Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) | 27-Aug-2012 |
Background |
In December 2006, the UNDP and the Government of Spain signed a major partnership agreement for the amount of €528 million, with the aim of contributing to progress on the MDGs and other development goals through the United Nations System. In addition, on 24 September 2008 Spain contributed and additional €90 million.
The MDG-F (also referred to in this document as the Fund) was established to address top priority development challenges at the country level and allow the combined knowledge, norms and services of the UN system to be brought to bear on these challenges. The Fund is supporting innovative actions with the potential for wide replication and high-impact in select countries and sectors, within the framework of the Millennium Declaration’s global partnership for development and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The Fund’s decisions and approach has been informed by the imperatives of ensuring national and local ownership of Fund-supported activities, alignment with national policies and procedures, coordination with other donors, results-orientation and mutual accountability. Based on these principles, the MDG-F aims to accelerate progress towards attainment of the MDGs in select countries by: supporting policies and programmes that promise significant and measurable impact on select MDGs; financing the testing and/or scaling-up of successful models; catalyzing innovations in development practice; and adopting mechanisms that improve the quality of aid as foreseen in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The Fund actively strives to strengthen inter-agency coherence and effectiveness. Substantively the MDG-F focuses on the following eight key thematic areas: Economic Democratic Governance; Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; Youth Employment and Migration; Private Sector and Development; Environment and Climate Change; Conflict Prevention and Peace Building; Cultural Diversity and Development; and Children Food Security and Nutrition. The MDG-F uses joint programmes as the main form of development intervention in the field; with a total of 130 joint programmes in 50 countries.
The MDG-F Secretariat is the operational coordination unit for the Fund and services the Steering Committee. The MDG-F Secretariat is seeking to commission a series of analytical studies by thematic window, in order to undertake a deep level analysis and consolidation of the areas of work and results achieved so far by the Joint Programmes.
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Duties and Responsibilities |
Thematic Studies Purpose and Use:
Each thematic window and its respective joint programmes, cover a broad range of interventions, in regions with very different contexts and involving different UN agencies and other stakeholders. In order to support the MDG-F Secretariat’s efforts to consolidate and systematize results obtained through the 130 joint programmes, the MDG-F will recruit a specialized technical consultant for each window to undertake a thematic studies, which aim to capture, systematize, and disseminate the results and the experiences of each thematic window, connecting these to the broader developing agenda. The specific objectives of such studies are:
- To document the consolidated key findings on the work and results of JPs from each window
- To deepen our understanding of trends, similarities and differences among joint programmes in a given thematic window, as well as understand country-specific situations and broader development agenda discussion connected to the UN and other key forums (G8, G20).
- To develop a set of common and unique lessons learned and evidence-based recommendations for future programming in critical areas of concern.
- To identify and document approaches of those programmes addressing issues of inequalities, under the overall framework of intersecting inequalities.
The MDG-F Secretariat would benefit greatly from having a substantive consolidation and systematization of the work, progress and results obtained by each window. These thematic studies are intended to be used:
- As separate thematic pieces that can be shared at relevant forums, publications, or with relevant stakeholders;
- As input for an MDG-F annual report
- As input for thematic video productions
- As input for the final evaluation
Scope of the Studies:
The scope of each thematic study will be on issues related to the substantive areas of work of the thematic window and results achieved so far, within the larger development context. Within this scope, the study will focus on, but not limited to, the following key issues:
- Joint Programmes: depending on substantial progress and results reported to date, the MDG-F Secretariat will provide a selection of joint programmes in each window to include in the study; such selection may include the totality of programmes in the window.
- Thematic coverage: The scope of each thematic window is broad, and while the study is expected to capture all main achievements of the window, it should also highlight those elements that are most predominant within the current broader development agenda.
- Regional scope: joint programmes span the five geographic areas (Africa, Asia & Pacific, Arab States, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and Caribbean), where applicable the study should capture regional specificities.
- Results and sustainability: the study will look at what are the key contributions have been in each window intended and unintended and the likelihood of sustainability.
Sources of Information:
The thematic study will be documented primarily through a comprehensive desk review and a series of interviews with key informants. No filed visits are envisaged within the review.
Information that could be used during the desk review includes programme documents, mid-term evaluations, final evaluations, monitoring reports, final reports, and relevant KM products.
A brief description of the window is provided below. Additional information, as well as a list of joint programmes can be found at:
http://www.mdgfund.org/content/childrenfoodsecurityandnutrition
Description of the Children Food Security and Nutrition Thematic Window:
The Joint Programmes in the Children, Food Security and Nutrition thematic window cover a broad range of interventions, ranging from agriculture to health, in regions with very different epidemiological and ecological contexts and involving different UN agencies and other stakeholders.
This thematic window is aligned with MDG 1 and given the challenges associated with reducing the number of persons suffering from hunger and the number of underweight children justified its inclusion in the MDG-F in 2006. The 2008 global food crisis confirmed this choice and the decision by Spain to increase the total budget of this window in 2008 to US$ 134.5 million through 24 joint programmes.
These joint programmes are working to halt preventable deaths caused by child hunger and poor nutrition. Interventions range from providing low cost nutritional packages that can save lives and promote healthy development to engaging with pregnant and lactating mothers ensuring they are healthy and aware of key nutrition issues. Advocacy for mainstreaming children’s right to food into national plans and policies is also a key element of the fight against under nutrition.
Timeline and Deliveries:
The consultant will conduct the desk review, research and analysis, and will submit a draft study by week 5; the MDG-F Secretariat will have one week to review and provide comments to the draft study. The consultant will have two weeks to make adjustments and submit the final study report.
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Competencies |
Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards; promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP; and displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Application Requirements:
All interested applicants should submit the following requirements. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.
- P11 (UN Personal History Form) and at least 3 references
- Duly completed UNDP Personal History Form (P11) can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc
- A 2 page narrative proposal on how the consultant intends to undertake this assigned and the proposed approach to review the achievements
- Financial proposal specifying the lump sum offer which should include all related expenses including related benefits and insurance. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as a separate line. In the case of unforeseen travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, and lodging should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.
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Required Skills and Experience |
At a minimum the consultant will comply with the following requirements.
Education:
- A master degree on international development, public policy, social science, engineering or related field; further education or a concentration in the thematic area of the study desirable.
Experience:
- At least 10 years of recognized expertise in development and the specific thematic area of the study.
Required Skills:
- Strong conceptual thinking and analytical skills. Excellent writing skills.
Language skills:
- Proficiency in English (written and spoken) required; knowledge of French and Spanish is an asset.
Evaluation:
Consultants will be evaluated on the cumulative analysis method – combination of the weighted technical and financial score - to obtain the total score. The candidate scoring the highest combined weighted score will be recommended for the award of contract. The designated weights for the technical and financial criteria are 70% and 30% respectively. The maximum score is 100 points.
Step 1: Technical evaluation of the candidates CVs and Proposals. The minimum score required to pass the technical assessment is 70%. Aspects of the technical evaluation will include but is not limited to the following:
- Technical proposal’s responsiveness to the terms of reference (25 points);
- Work experience and knowledge of the thematic area of the study (20 points);
- Experience in compiling and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data (20 points);
- Experience in analytical writing and producing reports and research assessments (20 points);
- Availability to complete the assignment within the prescribed timeline (15 points).
Step 2: Financial evaluation of the candidates who passed the technical evaluation in step 1.
The lowest financial offer will receive the assigned maximum financial points (30). All other financial offers will receive points in inverse proportion.
The contract will be awarded to the candidate with the highest total score subject to the financial cost being within the hiring unit’s budget allocation.
Other:
More information about the MDG Achievement Fund can be found at www.mdgfund.org
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS_ INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT (IC)
http://www.undp.org/procurement/operate.shtml#_Conditions_of_Contract |
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UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
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