Background

Roma inclusion is both, a national and pan-European challenge and UNDP as international organization faces to be one of the key players of the Roma inclusion process in Europe. The dual layer organizational structure of UNDP combines the network of CO-s to implement country-specific projects, and the Bratislava Regional Centre to provide comprehensive and consistent conceptual framework and support. Being part of UN system makes UNDP and its work impartial and equally trusted by governments, international organizations and the Roma civil society too.

The substantive sources of UNDP are rooted in the strong record of sustainable and realistic approach to Roma inclusion. Namely:

• The first UNDP Roma report, “Avoiding the Dependency Trap” drew attention to the need to address the systemic causes of Roma exclusion and go beyond plain human rights rhetoric.
• The second Roma report promoted a results-focused approach to Roma inclusion pioneering in working on quantitative data and monitoring. The data collection done in 2004 made possible constructing baselines for the Decade of Roma Inclusion initiative.

UNDP has broad expertise in actual implementation of projects on the ground with wide range of partners at CO level. This network can be used in the future as knowledge and experience base and an implementation infrastructure of big-scale regional endeavors.

UNDP’s conceptual approach is built around the idea of area-based development and human development context. It consistently defines the issue of Roma inclusion and the proposed solutions not in terms of ethnicity but rather in the context of multiple deprivations faced by different individuals and groups. Those deprivations correlate with group identity but are not primarily driven by that identity (this is why although the majority of Roma are vulnerable, not all Roma are vulnerable). The practical implications of this approach mean that Roma exclusion can be successfully addressed in territorial context, addressing all people living in the most disadvantaged regions. This will most often cover groups with a Roma majority.
UNDP is among the few international players that has the courage to present the challenge of Roma exclusion in its complexity and multidimensionality raising the issue of the complex web of interests involved. Roma exclusion is not just a matter of ignorant racist prejudice and human rights abuse; it’s a complex combination of ignorant racist prejudice and objective outcomes of daily interactions between Roma and non-Roma that reinforce those prejudices and prepare the ground for human rights abuse.

UNDP BRC plans drafting a number of regional projects with individual country components testing practical interventions at community level, addressing various challenges of poverty reduction, social inclusion, and other areas of work through tangible projects implemented with partners at community level. They would also build on existing local-level networks that have been created on the Western Balkans, in the Cserehát project in Hungary and in various projects in Slovakia.

In 2013 UNDP initiated a regional project “Regional support facility for improving stakeholder capacity for progress on Roma inclusion” to provide national governments (central and local), civil society and other stakeholders with the operational support needed to build capacity for Roma inclusion in Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo (as per UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)), Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova, Turkey). UNDP sees this objective as critical in terms of these governments’ EU membership preparations.

The initiative has three components: (a) Supporting national stakeholders in operationalizing the national Roma integration strategies, in order to strengthen their implementing infrastructure at central and local levels; (b) Supporting the establishment of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks, including data collection for results-oriented progress monitoring; and (c) Facilitating the exchange of experience, mutual learning from successes and failures, and mainstreaming working approaches to Roma inclusion at local level. 

“Area-Based Interventions for making the most of EU Fund for Sustainable Housing and Inclusion of disadvantaged Roma in pilot areas in Romania & across the border to Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey” project builds upon many years of UNDP expertise in the area of poverty reduction and Roma inclusion in the ECIS region, as well as Roma-targeted area-based-development projects at the local level in Cserehat, Hungary (2005-2010) and in Cluj, Romania (2012). The project relies also on the committed involvement on a national level through the UNDP offices in the 4 countries (Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, and Turkey). It is being implemented as part of the wider Regional Support Facility regional project.

The project aligns closely with Making the Most’s (MtM’s) mission to make the most of EU funds for Roma inclusion — by holding as its prime objectives the forging and enhancement of processes and replicable models of social inclusion and desegregation through integrated local development and housing improvement, thus creating an opportunity for Roma communities in critical sites to absorb EU funds for inclusion.

Goals of the project

The project’s activities aim at:

• Establishing local Social Inclusion Strategies and development initiatives that directly engage the participation of and benefit the most excluded Roma groups;
• Fostering delivery of public services through facilitating partnership of local authorities with civil society partners; 
• Supporting municipal management in desegregation, inclusion and poverty reduction through strengthening of organizational capacity and technical expertise of local and regional development actor;
• Increasing the absorption capacity of the development stakeholders of Roma inclusion;
• Share in the vision of MtM of the critical importance of public reform and management for a more just and equal society.

Objectives

• Ensure the sustainability of the overall “Area Based Development (ABD) for Inclusion” initiative and its results in Cluj and generate new strategic partnerships and projects in the wider Cluj Metropolitan area;
• Multiply the “ABD for Inclusion” model in Braila and Galati cities and contribute to the establishment of necessary conditions to implementation of the model in Bucharest 2nd and 3rd districts and other interested cities in Romania;
• Contribute to setting up of necessary conditions on national level to localizing the EU 2020 Roma Inclusion strategy in Romania;
• Contribute to set up of conditions for the further scaling up of implementation of the EU Roma Strategy at the local level in Central-Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, especially in Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.

Duties and Responsibilities

Within the framework of this TOR the responsibilities of this position entails overall communication and networking activities and successful completion of project activities, under supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the project the Consultant is being expected to work closely with Project Manager and International Experts, the Donor Institution and UNDP BRC, to facilitate the process of implementation for sustainable development by performing, but not limited to, the following duties:

• Develop a communication strategy and action plans for the Programme implementation (approximately 10 working days);
• Create, design and continuously maintain the project website (approximately 15 working days);
• Collect and register all articles, films and other media documents related to the Project when applicable (approximately 5 working days);
• Establish and coordinate internal and external communication among Partner Institutions, all international consultants and UNDP BRC (approximately 15 working days);
• Promote internal publications on paper or/and in electronic version  for effective information of target communities of the Project (approximately 10 working days);
• Make sure that all relevant information related to project development be accessible online (approximately 10 working days);
• Provide assistance to communication between UNDP, OSI, the Chief Technical Advisor and all international project stakeholders, partner institutions (approximately 5 working day);
• Contribute to preparation of agenda and participation to international events with the local counterparts (eg. in Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, Hungary, Romania) (approximately 5 working days);
• Contribute to managing the logistical arrangements for trainings, workshops, study visit and other related travels, edit and proofread the related documentation (approximately 10 working days);
• Maintain a close working relationships with CTA, Project Manager and International Researcher (approximately 5 working days);
• Contribute to regional (CEE, SEE) networking for are-based Roma inclusion (approximately 10 working days);
• Contribute to advocating the UNDP policy and ABD programming for inclusion on EU level and build partnership and cooperation with EU and other relevant stakeholders, and donors in the region (approximately 5 days);
• Any other activities and assistance which may reasonably be required (maximum 5 working days).
  

The implementation of the above mentioned duties will expect also travel in the amount of approximately 13 days:

• Participation at the Steering Committee Meetings in Romania once in 2013, once in 2014 – 2x3 days;
• Travel to Macedonia for an exchange workshop (fall 2013) – 1x2 days;
• Travel to Turkey for an exchange visit (fall 2013) – 1x3 days;
• Participate at the project closing regional workshop (location to be decided later) – 1x2 days.

Output and deliverables

• Installment No. 1 - Contribution provided to setting up all necessary Project Conditions, e.g. work plan and communication draft plan of the project - estimated in early August 2013;
• Installment No. 2 - Established and monitor the internal communication and implementation schedule, estimated in early September, 2013;
• Installment No. 3 - Support provided to the design and content preparation of project documentation and reporting – estimated in early October, 2013;
• Installment No. 4 - Created electronic database of all consultants and project partners involved (international networking database) - estimated in early November 2013;
• Installment No. 5 - Established and maintained project website, provide advice and support to Programme’s special events and campaigns, prepare the Communication Strategy Plan – estimated in early December 2013;
• Installment No. 6 - Submitted Progress Report on Communications Activities - estimated in mid December 2013;
• Installment No. 7 - Established and updated regional and national media and other related institutions contact database based on the previous networking opportunities, research and Mission Reports of International Partners - estimated  in end of January 2014;
• Installment No. 8 - Contribution provided to the preparation of knowledge products (stylistic editing, proofreading, uploading the documents online, etc.)  - estimated in early March, 2014;
• Installment No. 9 - Participate in planning and the implementation of the Final International Workshop/Conference - estimated in early April, 2014;
• Installment No. 10 - Contribute to the preparation of the Final Project Report (stylistic editing, proofreading, uploading the documents online, etc.)  - estimated in May 2014.

The above mentioned activities shall be performed under supervision of the Programme’s CTA and assigned Bratislava Regional Centre Programme Specialist.

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;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

• Professional managerial, including administrative management and excellent communication skills;
• Strong analytical and inter-personal skills, ability coordinate and work in a team;
• Excellent expectation management and conflict mediation skills;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, ability to work under pressure with tight deadline;
• Flexibility to travel, including on short notice;
• Good knowledge of civil society in Europe (specifically Hungary, Romania, Western Balkan countries);
• Familiarity with UNDP’s regional work on Roma issues (particularly with pilot projects in Hungary and Romania).

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor Degree in Communications, Media Studies or related field preferably from a college/university with English as main/first language (mother tongue level fluency is required).

Experience:

• Prior knowledge and at least one year of working experience in the ABD for Inclusion is a must;
• Minimum of three years of relevant, responsible managerial/coordination experience on sustainable/integrated local development;
• Minimum two years experience on working with disadvantaged/Roma communities;
• Minimum 3 years experience in international working environment, ability to work in inter-ethnic environment; UNDP experience is a plus;
• Minimum 2 years project management experience;
• Networking experience;
• Editing and proofreading experience;
• Proven website design/maintenance experience (e.g. URL link);
• Firsthand knowledge of Roma issues, familiarity with Roma-related policies and processes on the local and EU level (experience with housing issues a plus);
• Proficiency in using computer applications (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, internet and e-mail), experience in handling of web based management and reporting system, good reporting and presentation skills.

Language skills:

• Fluency in English language required, including excellent writing and proofreading skills;
• Knowledge of any additional Central and South East European languages a plus.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications (desk review) and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• a) Responsive and
• b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 65 points:

• Criteria A (Minimum two years experience on working with disadvantaged/Roma communities) – max points: 10;
• Criteria B (Prior knowledge and at least one year of working experience in the ABD for Roma Inclusion) – max points: 20;
• Criteria C (Minimum 3 years experience in international working environment, UNDP experience is considered as a plus) – max points: 10;
• Criteria D (Knowledge of and experience in Europe and CIS region)– max points: 10;
• Criteria E (Familiarity with UNDP’s regional work on Roma issues, particularly with pilot projects in Hungary and Romania) – max points: 5;
• Criteria F (Language skills) – max points: 10.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 28 points.

Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
• Please based below an URL link proving website design/maintenance experience.
• Financial Proposals specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, travel, per diems and any other possible costs). Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/jobs.
Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

FC: 30000