UNDP Jobs - 47401- UNDAF Technical Coordination Consultant

UNDAF Technical Coordination Consultant

Location :

Home-based with possible travels, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

27-Jun-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated from beginning of July 2014 to 31 December 2014

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 100 working days

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and the CIS (RSC) and UNFPA Regional Office are the convening agencies (CA) in quality support and assurance for the UN Common Country Programming Process (CA/UNDAF (1)) in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in 2014. Eleven countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, FYR of Macedonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -and one territory – Kosovo (2) are expected to roll-out new UNDAFs (UN Common Development Plan or CDP in the case of Kosovo) in 2014. To ensure effective coordination, technical support and quality assurance, UNDP and UNFPA have agreed to split the coordination functions between these 12 countries/territories, as indicated below:

UNDP - Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kosovo (UNSC 1244), Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan;
UNFPA - Armenia, Belarus, FYROM, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan.

UNDP RSC acted as a convening agency most recently in 2008-2009, and together with UNFPA will use its available capacities and prior experience to allow for smooth revival of the regional Peer Support Group in 2014. Both UNDP and UNFPA will continue their Convening Agency roles and will be jointly responsible for overseeing and supporting the aforementioned UNDAF countries to ensure a quality and timely common country programming process in accordance with the 2010 UNDG CA/UNDAF guidelines, its subsequent amendments as may be applicable to the 2014 rollouts, and the Standard Operating Procedures for countries wishing to adopt Delivering as One (DaO) approach. The Convening Agencies will ensure full engagement and teamwork of the UN System in the analytical work, review and other stages of the process.

In order to support these responsibilities, the UNDP RSC is recruiting a UNDAF Technical Coordination Consultant.

Where the text refers to UN RCs, UNCTs, and UNDAFs, it should be clarified that in Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) those terms are replaced by ‘UN Development Coordinator’ , ‘UN Kosovo Team’ and the ‘UN Common Development Plan’;
This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision and direction of the PSG CO-Chairs, and in coordination with the UNDAF Quality Assurance Expert, the Technical Coordinator will assume the following duties:

Liaising with UNCTs on all matters related to the development of CCA/UNDAFs;
Coordinating CA/UNDAF schedules with UNCTs and support management of overall calendar of CA/UNDAF process across the PSG and the UNCT.

Coordinating the process of submissions, reviews and revisions of common programming documentation, including:

Making sure that all draft Roadmaps, CAs and UNDAFs will be submitted to the Peer Support Group networks for comments in time (and with enough notice for substantive comments);
Encouraging PSG members, with support from the PSG Focal Points, to provide comments to the draft documents;
Stimulating and facilitating discussion among PSG members around the content of each individual document;
Encouraging knowledge and information sharing between the members of the PSG and the representatives of UNCTs;
Collecting and synthesizing all the contributions and comments made by the regional PSG;
Providing technical advice on common programming processes and RBM;
Seeking clarification from reviewers on provided comments if necessary;
Coordinating schedules of PSG missions to UNCTs and country-to-country support and exchanges among UNCTs;
Providing substantive inputs into the synthesis of comments and revisions of CCAs/UNDAFs as required.

Deliverables, Timeframe and Payment Schedule:

Given the flexible nature of the UNDAF processes the timetable for which are highly dependent on UNCT and national schedules, payments will be made approximately once a month/two months upon submitted satisfactory progress report against tasks outlined above and approved timesheet submission providing details of time spent on respective tasks their timely execution and acceptance by the PSG Co-Chair (UNDP RSC Director) and/or UNDP PSG Focal Point (Capacity Development Policy Specialist).

Location:

Home-based with possible travels to Istanbul (Turkey) and two countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region.

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:

Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
Excellent analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
Excellent organizational skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree (Masters) in political, social, communications, economics, international development, or related field.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years of working experience in including in reviewing and/or coordinating UNDAF processes;
3 years experience in UN inter-agency coordination and collaboration at the regional and/or country level;
Experience with UNDAF formulation is an asset.

Language skills:

Proficiency of the English language;
Knowledge of Russian or other languages of the region is an asset.

Evaluation of Applicants

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

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant 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.

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. 21 points:

Criteria A - UN Experience in Programming, Policy and Coordination – max points: 5;
Criteria B – Technical expertise/experience in one or more of the five UNDAF programming principles (i.e., HRBA, RBM, gender equality, environmental sustainability, capacity development) – max points: 6;
Criteria C - Regional experience in coordinating with UNCT and/or UN agencies – max points: 5;
Criteria D - Analytical skills and communications - max 5 points.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 10 points.

Application procedure

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;
Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement.The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days and any other relevant expenses) with the exception of travel expenses related to missions. Travel costs will be covered separately according to UNDP rules and regulations;
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...). Travel costs will be covered separately according to UNDP rules and regulations

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://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

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.