UNDP Jobs - 47957- Gender and Social Inclusion Expert

Gender and Social Inclusion Expert

Location :

Port Louis, MAURITIUS

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

11-Aug-2014

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

21 person days (three weeks) over 8 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

21 person days (three weeks) over 8 months

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

Project Title:
“Mainstreaming biodiversity into the management of the coastal zone in the Republic of Mauritius” PPG.

Project Description:

Context and Objectives of Project:

A Project Preparation Grant (PPG) has been approved by the GEF Secretariat to prepare a Full-Size Project Document (FSP) for submission under the GEF-5 STAR to prepare a project on the theme of “Mainstreaming Biodiversity and the Sustainable Management of Land and Seascapes into the Development of the Tourism Sector in the Republic of Mauritius”. The project will be designed for national implementation involving a range of stakeholder agencies. The project is expected to strengthen the national governance framework on Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in Mauritius. Government legislation already provides for the creation of ESAs but there is an unmet need (addressed through this project) to operationalize the contents of the legislation. While doing so the project would contribute towards safeguarding globally significant biodiversity on production lands of high interest for conservation. ESAs are currently not being considered in the decision-making calculus. Only a small minority of coastal and marine ESAs fall within PAs. The protection and sustainable management of these ESAs across land/seascapes are seriously handicapped due to inadequate legal protection, unsystematic use of information and data on biological resources and the unsustainable development of the tourism sector. Unsustainable land use practices have led to soil erosion and loss. The project development approach assumes that the Protected Areas (PA) alone will not be able to secure the effective conservation of globally significant biodiversity partly due the high biodiversity of the country outside PA’s. An additional issue is the asymmetrical establishment and operationalization of PA’s when comparing Mauritius and Rodrigues.

The project proposes six land/seascape level management plans as the key entry points to optimize land/seascape management in ESAs in order to ensure conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem function, while allowing the ESAs for sustainable land use and economic activities under proper management. The purpose of the PPG is to fully design the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the project and to fully develop a full set of project documentation for submission to the GEF Secretariat and approval. Normal rules for development of medium-sized GEF projects apply. Copies of the GEF templates and guidelines can be found at: http://www.thegef.org/gef/guidelines_templates.

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide substantive technical input to project design on gender and social inclusion aspects of ESAs and participatory natural resources and ecosystem management. The expert will work in close collaboration with the Project Manager and the International Consultant to provide expert inputs towards a sound gender analysis within the project design. The expert will also work closely with the MPA and Coastal Experts, to ensure that field level gender and social inclusion aspects are adequately addressed through local consultations. The Gender and Social Inclusion Expert will contribute significantly to the design of the six landscape management plans and the development of appropriate indicators, and ensure gender and marginalized community concerns are adequately built in to the participatory ESA management model that will be field tested through the project. The expert’s primary responsibility is to carry out a detailed analysis of gender and marginalized communities to identify roles, responsibilities and access related to natural resource management. He or she should have strong analytical skills in the area of expertise (gender, social inclusion and participatory natural resources management) and have a deep understanding of gender relations in the communities and concerns of marginalized communities especially in relation to managing ecosystems.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

The Gender and Social Inclusion Expert is expected to play an important role in defining strategies and approaches to ensure greater gender parity and inclusion of marginalized communities in project implementation. He/she will support the Project Manager and International Biodiversity Consultant to identify key areas of intervention, activities and indicators to monitor inclusive gender-equal participation in natural resources management in the ESA context. Most importantly the Expert will consult with local resource persons knowledgeable about gender relations in the communities and marginalized communities themselves to inform design of project activities especially at the community level so that project interventions do not negatively affect gender equality. Specifically the Expert will be responsible for the following:

Carrying out a detailed gender and social inclusion analysis to identify roles, responsibilities and access related to natural resource management;
In collaboration with the consultants’ team, carry out community consultations with adequate focus on gender and marginalized communities, especially in the six landscapes;
Participate in field visits, as needed included including a site visit to Rodrigues;
Participate in two workshops for the inception (1-2 days) and validation of the project;
Provide adequate analysis for the international consultant to develop the GEF project document, especially on the situation analysis and project activity design;
With the Project Management, analyze the key project stakeholders, including NGOs/CSOs; assess their capacity and identify capacity building needs, in relation to gender roles and marginalized community roles in ecosystem management;
Explore the opportunities and ways for cooperation with other relevant initiatives, nationally and in the 6 landscapes.
Draft the relevant sections of the project document relating to his/her expertise.
Contribute to the work of the team in the preparation, as deemed appropriate, of the relevant Terms of Reference, Specifications for works and services to be carried out under the project and to be annexed to the project document as submission to GEF.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The key products to be delivered are as follows:

Review of past UNDP and Government work on Gender and Social Inclusion and identify applicable policies to the project;
Gender and social inclusion chapters included in the situation analysis of the Project Document;
Social screening of the project proposal to identify and address risks and opportunities;
Collaboration with consultants’ team to include socio-economic and sex disaggregated indicators in the project results framework;
Consultation with stakeholders for the identification and design of Gender and Social Inclusion activities in each area (ESAs, MPAs).
Contribute to the preparation of all the deliverables as per the payment schedule.

The Consultant shall be remunerated in accordance with the following time schedule and deliverables:

Deliverables/ Outputs: Upon Signature of Contract.
Tentative Dates: 11 August 2014.
Fee (%):10%.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Inception report based on inception workshop.
Tentative Dates: 15 September 2014.
Fee (%):10%.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Analytical Report on Gender and Social inclusion in Biodiversity projects in Mauritius and Rodrigues.
Tentative Dates: 15 November 2014.
Fee (%): 15%.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Draft project document based on comments by all stakeholders, as required.
Tentative Dates: 15 December 2014.
Fee (%): 25%.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Final project document, based on comments of GEF as required.
Tentative Dates: 11 April 2015.
Fee (%): 25%.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Completion of assignment i.e. approval by the GEF.
Tentative Dates: July 2015.
Fee (%): 15%.

All reports will be submitted in draft (for comments) and then final form, following incorporation of all comments and suggestions by the reviewing team and the Steering Committee described in the Reporting section. The reports have to be approved by the UNDP, the MOI before payment is effected.

Institutional Arrangement:

The project preparation phase will be executed through the Direct Execution modality of UNDP. While the project team will be contracted by the UNDP and the Mauritius Oceanography Institute and the participating Ministries will have a key role to play.

The institutional context of the project covers the mandates of various ministries and institutions. From the Government standpoint, the project is led by the Mauritius Oceanography Institute which is responsible for ocean matters in Mauritius. In addition, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security and the Ministry of Fisheries have various mandates which concern the management of ESAs, the management of terrestrial biodiversity and the management of marine protected areas respectively. As tourism is one of the principal parameters of the project, the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure will be involved. Finally, given that one of the landscapes is found in Rodrigues, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly will also be concerned.

The Consultant shall perform a liaison role with government, UNDP, and all stakeholders involved with the project. The Consultant shall work under the supervision of the Steering Committee and shall report to it for the fulfillment of its duties. The Steering Committee (SC) will be composed of high level representatives of the key ministries related to the project. It will provide high-level policy guidance and orientation to the project. The representative of the Mauritius Oceanography Institute will chair the SC. Representatives from the following organizations/entities will form part of the Steering Committee:

Ministry of Finance and Economic Development;
Ministry of Environment and Sustainability;
Ministry of Tourism and Leisure;
Mauritius Oceanography Institute;
Ministry of Fisheries;
Rodrigues Regional Assembly;
Maurice Ile Durable Commission;
Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security;
United Nations Development Programme.

The principal tasks of the SC are the following:

Provide high level orientation and guidance for the project;
Ensure that the project develops in accordance with national development objectives, goals and polices;
Pay special attention to the assumptions and risks identified in the logframe, and seek measures to minimize these threats to project success;
Ensure collaboration between institutions and free access on the part of project actors to key documents, land information systems, remote sensing imagery, etc.;
Pay special attention to the post-project sustainability of activities developed by the project;
Ensure the integration and coordination of project activities with other related government and donor-funded initiatives.

Duration of the Work:

21 person days (three weeks) over 8 months.

Duty Station:

Mauritius.

Competencies

Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily;
Demonstrated strategic technical and intellectual skills in the substantive area;
Excellent communication (both oral and written) and partnership building skills with multi-dimension partners, people skill for conflict resolution and negotiation;
Familiarity with GEF policies, templates and requirements for MSP;
Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior members of national institutions;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of quality analysis for the project proposal;
Excellent coordination skills and result oriented collaboration with colleagues – especially for this case the national level consultants;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Build strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Good team player who has ability to maintain good relationships;
Computer proficiency, especially related to professional office software packages (Microsoft Office);
Excellent English language skills, particularly in the preparation of written documents.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor:

Education:

Minimum Master’s Degree or equivalent in social sciences (economics, psychology, sociology etc) or natural sciences, environmental management or related fields.

Experience:

Minimum of 8 years of demonstrable experience and knowledge in the field-level gender issues in Mauritius;
Strong expertise in Gender Relations, Social Inclusion;
Experience in the field of Environmental Management would be an advantage;
Experience in project development, especially GEF projects.

Language:

Fluent in English.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The financial offer should be quoted as a lump sum amount, all-inclusive (professional fee, insurance).
The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. Payments will be effected based on deliverables as per section D above.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

The following documents are requested:

Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Offeror and at least three (3) professional references;
Technical offer: Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment (including his/her experience using Financial Planning and Budgeting), and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided by UNDP.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

The Combined Scoring method will be where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%;

Technical Evaluation criteria:

Education: 15 points;
Experience in Gender: 15 points;
Experience in Social Inclusion: 10 points;
Experience with Biodiversity and environmental issues: 10 points;
Communications/Language: 5 points;
IT skills (MS Office): 5 points;
Reports writing and Presentation Skills: 10 points;
TOTAL max.: 70 points.

Candidates scoring 50 or above will be short-listed.

The financial offers will be evaluated giving the lowest price proposal 30 marks and marking the other more expensive proposals reverse proportionally to the cheapest offer.
The final scoring of short-listed candidates will take into account the technical Evaluation and the financial score:

Criteria:

Technical score:
Weight: 70%.
Max. Point: 70.

Financial score:
Weight: 30%.
Max. Point: 30.

The candidate ranking highest shall be selected.

Annexes to the TOR:

The Project Identification Form which has been approved by the GEF can be downloaded on the local UNDP website on http://mu.undp.org .

Important note:

Interested offeror is strongly advised to read the Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice, which can be viewed at http://www.mu.undp.org/content/mauritius_and_seychelles/en/home/operations/procurement/ for more detail about term of references, general terms and conditions of IC and templates to be included when submitting offer;
Interested offerors above the age of 62: UNDP regulations require, at their own cost, to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical evaluation documentation does not need to be submitted with the other requested documents listed above, but will be requested should the candidate be chosen;
Interested offeror is required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system, because the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system;
Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.