Background

Democratic governance is a concept that requires the establishment of democratic institutions and procedures of democracy which, among other things, brings about respect to the principles of the separation of powers and independence of the branches of government; the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law; respect of human rights, effective people’s participation, as well as transparent and accountable processes and institutions.
 The culture of democratic governance also promotes a wide scope of political participation embracing a pluralistic system of political parties, a free fair and credible electoral process, a vibrant civil society and media; and a space for equal participation of both women and men at all levels. The Democratic Governance for Development Project in Nigeria is aimed at strengthening the democratic character of Nigerian political processes and outcomes through consolidating and advancing democratic governance and accountability, to achieve the country’s stated development priorities and goals. In order to achieve this aim the project has identified four components: Promoting Credible, Transparent and Sustainable Electoral Processes; Improving the Democratic Quality of Political Engagement; Enhancing Participation by Women, Youth and other Marginalized groups; and   Strengthening Channels of Civic Engagement. The Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) project is funded with contributions from the European Union, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UNDP, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is managed by UNDP. The project duration is 2010-2015.
Gender issues are technical and require a professional handling especially when it relates to constitutionalism. The assignment given to the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 constitution is so massive and tasking that, leaving gender issues to be handled by the committee is to say the least, daunting. Since gender issues are cross cutting issues that permeates the entire framework of the review process, there is the need to have an expert in the field who will serve as the bridge between the committee and various gender advocates that presented memoranda and are still pushing for far reaching reforms and pronouncements on gender issues. The Consultant, who should be a gender specialist with a history of legislative relations will serve as a liaison between the committee and the Gender Advocacy team whose main duty is to simplify and amplify the committee’s work as it relates to gender issues.
 
During the review process, the plethora of issues advocated, promoted and sponsored by various gender CSO’s aimed at giving the emerging constitution a gender base and compliant will be classified, organized and structured in such a way that it will be inputted into the constitution through the amendment bills. As a specialist, the consultant should be able to organize interactive sessions between the committee and the Gender Advocacy Team based on the issues addressed by the memoranda submitted by gender CSO’s. Both the committee as well as the Advocacy Team would benefit from the consultant’s guidance, assistance and advice.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of Assignment:

The objectives of the consultancy include:

  • Collate, classify and analyse submitted memoranda on gender issues and where necessary improve on their quality, but not limited to their contents
  • Collate information and views to increase the capacity of the committee, Gender Expert as well as the Advocacy Team in terms of gender mainstreaming and balancing in the constitution review process.
  • Harmonize all documents submitted and streamline them on needs basis.
Key functions:
 
Summary of key functions to be performed by the consultant :
  • Collation of necessary documents;
  • Develop a working schedule on the collation of materials for the Committee, Advocacy Team and the Gender Consultant
  • Develop a detailed work plan of the assignment with time lines, indicators and outputs, to be prepared at the commencement of the consultancy, and agreed upon by DGD.
  • Avail the Committee, Gender Consultant and Advocacy Team necessary and relevant documents and information on the Constitutional Review Process
  • Harmonize the findings from the collation from the gender memoranda with the five point’s irreducible minimums on gender issues from the gender CSOs and relevant stakeholders. The five points include a) 35% affirmative action, b) use of gender responsive language in the constitution, c) the questions around citizenship, indigineship and residency, d) Socio economic empowerment and justice   for Nigerian women and e) non discrimination
  • Provide information as the need arises for the operations of the Committee, Advocacy Team and Gender Consultant.

For an all-inclusive and balanced constitution to be achieved, the committee as well as the Advocacy Team will embark on Advocacy visits to various state Houses of Assembly not only to sensitize the members, but also to mobilize them towards this noble goal. Provide technical support on Gender issues/matters to the Advocacy Team and House committee on the review of the constitution after the Peoples’ public sessions. The Gender Research consultant will provide information as the need arises.

Deliverables / Outputs
 
The Consultant is expected to provide the following specific tangible deliverables:
  • An inception report and checklists for the progress of engagement with time lines and milestones; the report should include detailed work plan of the assignment with timeframes, indicators and outputs at the commencement of the assignment and agreed upon by DGD
  • An interim report of activities implemented according to approved work plan;
  • A final report incorporating the feedback from DGD and the Advocacy Team with recommendations on way forward.
Supervision
 
The Project Director of DGD will provide strategic guidance to the consultant in the discharge of the assignment while monitoring and supervision will be carried out by the Democratic Governance Gender Experts.
 
Payment Modality
 
The total fee will be paid in three installments as follows:
  • 30% upon submission of a detailed work plan of the assignment with timeframes, indicators and outputs at the commencement of the assignment and agreed upon by DGD;
  • 30% upon submission and clearance of progress report of activities implemented according to approved workplan;
  • 40% upon submission and clearance of a final report detailing technical support provided to the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Review Process of the 1999 and its Team of Experts and recommendations on way forward.
For all approved travel outside Abuja, transportation and accommodation costs will be covered in addition to the consultancy fee.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • First degree in Law, Political Science, Humanities, Gender and Development studies or any social science related field
Experience:
  • At least 5 years relevant experience working on gender and constitution related issues;
  • Knowledge and understanding of the national assembly bureaucracy and its operations; underpinning issues for constitutional review such as political inclusiveness, Gender balancing is an added advantage;
  • Excellent facilitation and planning skills are required,
  • Experience working on previous constitutional amendment processes in Nigeria;
  • Knowledgeable and versatile in Research and comparative analysis
  • Good interpersonal skills
Language Requirements:
  • Strong skills in written communications in English;
  • Excellent spoken English is also required.
Note:

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS.

Interested individual contractors must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications alongside their proposal:
  • Proposal:
  • Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work
  • Provide a detailed methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work
  • Implementation Plan and Timelines
  • Past experience in carrying out similar assignment with verifiable evidence i.e. reference with detail contacts
  • All proposals must be submitted alongside signed cover letter.
  • Personal CV including past experience in similar projects with detailed contacts relating to the project and at least 3 references
  • Financial proposal
  • Lump sum contracts
The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. Your financial proposal shall include a breakdown of the lump sum.
All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. All travels shall be refunded by UNDP at economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she shall do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets (economy class), lodging and terminal expenses shall be paid at UNDP rate.
Individual Contractors responding to this request for Individual Contractors should use the Price Schedule in Annex 1 below in their submission:
  • Selection Criteria
  • Cumulative analysis
The evaluation Criteria as shown below shall be used to evaluate all the proposals received. The award of the Individual Contractors Contract shall be made to the individual contractors whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Technical Criteria weight; [70]
Financial Criteria weight; [30]
Only candidates that obtain a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. The maximum 30 points all be allotted to the lowest bid, all other bids shall receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest fee e.g. [30 Points] x [Naira lowest] / [Naira other] = points for other proposer’s fees
Selection Criteria
Education 10points
At least 10years relevant experience working on gender and constitution related issues 30points
Knowledge and understanding of the national assembly bureaucracy and its operations; underpinning issues for constitutional review such as political inclusiveness, Gender balancing is an added advantage 30points
Financial proposal 30
TOTAL 100points