UNCDF Jobs - 48984- Consultant : Knowledge Management and Communicatio

Consultant : Knowledge Management and Communication

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

Home-based, with travel to field projects

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Sep-2014

Application Deadline :

02-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

160 Days

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

UNCDF is the only UN agency mandated to focus primarily on the LDCs and has a special financial mandate within the UN system: it provides investment capital and technical support to both the public and the private sector. UNCDF has proven its ability to deliver true leverage on smaller and more risky investments and interventions within its core areas of expertise: Inclusive Finance and Local Development Finance. UNCDF’s work on inclusive finance seeks to develop inclusive financial systems and ensure that a range of financial products is available to all segments of society, at a reasonable cost, and on a sustainable basis. UNCDF’s work on local development finance aims at ensuring that people in all regions and locations benefit from economic growth. This means investing domestic resources into local economies and services through, inter-alia, fiscal decentralization, climate finance and project finance.

UNCDF is a recognized leader in local development finance within the UN system. UNCDF’s areas of expertise are local planning, development of mechanisms for the funding of local budgeted priorities, local development plans and performance of local institutions. This includes development of tools to strengthen the capacity for managing local development with due regard to specific issues, such as food security and climate change adaptation, local economic development, gender and mobilization of local resources, local governance, as well as the targeting and participation of disadvantaged groups. Through its Local Finance Initiative, UNCDF has piloted an approach to finance private investments, which aims at unblocking domestic financial and capital markets for small- and medium-sized local development infrastructure in LDCs. As part of its new strategic framework, UNCDF has developed a core approach (see annex).

UNCDF operates several global programs which work across Sub-Saharan Africa and the poorest countries in Asia to support local development finance initiatives. A new global program for food security, F4F (Finance for Food) is being developed by UNCDF to support the local food system and reinforce the financial mechanisms for public and private investments at local level.

Approach to food security: In the area of food security, UNCDF is implementing an innovative Finance for Food approach intended to support local food security in Africa and Asia through encouraging increased public, private and community investments to fill missing links in the Local Food System. This approach aims to enhance the four pillars of food security (availability, stability, accessibility and utilization of food) by targeting relevant stakeholders involved in the LFS, bringing together, engaging and leveraging the capacities of the LGs, private businesses and civil society. The program strives to make an impact by ensuring that the Local Food System is improved through targeted investments. The aim is to set up a cash mechanism to orient available funds at global and national level to finance the Local Food System, and more specifically Local Development Funds to reinforce the intergovernmental fiscal system.

Current Programs on Food Security: This approach build upon several projects developed and implemented over at least (the last) 10 years in Africa’s Least Developed Countries (see annex 4), with its long lasting partner the Belgium Fund for Food Security (BFFS). Different financial tools are used or piloted to invest on the local food systems: Local Development Fund and G2P transfers. Advisory services and capacity building support are also provided toward enhanced fund flow, financial management and food security governance at the local level. Ongoing initiatives includes Benin, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique and Niger.

In addition, UNCDF has developed a partnership with IFAD in order to mainstream the use of Local Development Funds within IFAD operations in DRC and Senegal. This partnership was initiated in 2012 with the development of a joint project focusing on “Promoting Local Economic Development and Food Security through Local Development Financing in the decentralized contexts of IFAD Senegal and DRC”. This was followed by a grant agreement between the two organizations which allowed UNCDF to initiate capacity building and knowledge management activities toward the use of Local Development funds within IFAD operations. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2013 to formalize UNCDF-IFAD partnership and extend its geographical focus from Senegal and DRC to the decentralized context of IFAD country projects.
The recent Mid-term review of supported IFAD intervention in DRC (PIRAM) has suggested to shift the management of Local Development Funds from Local Governments to local “Conseil Agricole Rural de Gestion (CARG)”. In parallel, it has been suggested to reorient the type of eligible investments and to move the responsibility of its implementation away from Local Development Committees to private sector actors and farmer organizations. These changes in the management of Local Development Fund toward the involvement of new actors from the local food system (private sector and civil society) represents a great opportunity for UNCDF to enrich existing Local Development Fund implementation modalities. Furthermore, in line with a recent IFAD policy brief that called for the leveraging of the rural-urban nexus for development, these joint UNCDF-IFAD initiatives are expected to generate knowledge and promote a more inclusive governance of the rural-urban nexus. This is to be done through the strengthening of the local actor’s capacities to monitor and promote inclusive local food system governance, responsible agricultural investments and comprehensive value chains improvements.

UNCDF partnerships with IFAD under the Finance for Food (F4F) initiative will play a critical role in generating global knowledge on local development finance for food security. As a result, a consultant is urgently needed to capitalize on the best practices and lessons learned from ongoing interventions and to launch communication activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of UNCDF Local Development Finance Practice and in close collaboration with the UNCDF communication and knowledge management units, the Regional Technical Advisors, the UNV Food security and the Country teams, the consultant will initiate communication and knowledge management activities to capitalize on UNCDF Finance for Food experiences and guide the strengthening, dissemination, replication and use of it approach and associated tools.

Main duties and responsibilities:

Develop a methodology to analyze and capitalize on past and ongoing UNCDF Local Development Funds experiences, building upon UNCDF interventions (Benin, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger), UNCDF-IFAD partnership (DRC and Senegal) and other potentially interested IFAD operations (Burkina, Ghana and Tanzania);
Produce fully edited communication materials, research as well as knowledge sharing documents on strategies, approaches, methodologies and impact (with a specific focus on UNCDF-IFAD partnership in Senegal and DRC, including how economic investments and organization facilitating rural responses to urban requirements have been catalyzed);
Design communication and knowledge management strategy, annual work plan and associated communication and knowledge management tools;
Support the dissemination, empowerment and use of produced communication and knowledge management strategies, tools and learnings, both internally and externally;
Support network management, partnership development as well as internal and external communication;
Perform other duties as required.

Key deliverables and tentative timeframe

Detailed work plan is developed and approved by UNCDF (September 2014);
Methodology to analyze and capitalize on past and ongoing country initiatives is developed. This methodology will include a review of investments and governance, planning and budgeting mechanism for local finance for food security. The methodology should cover the following thematic: (1) promoting fiscal decentralization and public policies for food security (2) Increasing local finance for food security, (3) supporting local food security governance mechanisms, (4) exploring impact-investments on the Local Food System (5) leveraging the urban-rural nexus for local food security and climate change (6) gender and food security. (October 2014);
Research and knowledge sharing document is produced to capitalize on UNCDF experiences of local development funds and multi stakeholder’s approaches, building upon best practices and lessons learned from UNCDF interventions (Benin, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger), UNCDF-IFAD partnership (DRC and Senegal) and other potentially interested IFAD operations (Burkina, Ghana and Tanzania). (September – December 2014)
Partnership Development Strategy is developed. It includes a review and mapping of existing organizations working in the field of food security, their role, mandate as well as detailed recommendations/guidelines toward the integration of LDF approach at the global and country levels programming. This Partnership Strategy will include guidelines for positioning UNCDF and IFAD contributions to the UN system and especially in LDCs countries. (January 2015);
Communication tools are developed. This includes, among others : list of potential partners/platforms, key annual events and proposed UNCDF contribution, branding and visibility guidelines, advocacy materials (power point, press file, press releases, brochure, newsletter, leaflet, posters etc), social media presence etc. (February – March 2015);
Knowledge management tools are developed. This includes among others: project’s capitalization and communication guide (from diagnosis to knowledge sharing, through capitalization tools), list of possible exchange visits and field studies, learning events and seminar, knowledge management platform and other knowledge sharing mechanisms (April– May 2015);
All produced documents and tools are fully edited, printed and widely disseminated (as per publication plan) (May 2015);
Thematic discussions are organized and facilitated to share, receive feedback and validate produced research, communication and knowledge sharing documents and tools as well as launch the knowledge management platform (as needed);
Best practices and lessons learned from projects are regularly produced to update (at least twice a month) knowledge management platform, UNCDF website and other social media (Updates available at least twice a month);
Network, knowledge management, visibility and communication in the field of food security is strongly enhanced through dedicated support to UNCDF communication and knowledge management units (this includes, among others, the management of digital media monitoring, archiving and dissemination systems).

Competencies

Corporate:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religious, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Exhibits integrity in the work place, including transparency and honesty.

Functional:

Knowledge Management and Learning

Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications; web design and/or maintenance;
Ability to organize events.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Familiarity with UNDP and UN system and/or the donor community;
Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system, including new IT based systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master Degree in knowledge management, communication, journalism, economic, social sciences, or related discipline.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in communication, development; or other relevant field is required at the national or international level;
Experience in conducting field research related to food security local development finance, economic development or other issues pertaining to the millennium development goals (MDGs);
Experience working, directly or indirectly, with international organizations, governments, donor agencies, and/or NGOs and other civil society groups engaged in diverse sectors of international development;
Experience in overseeing document and report production, print and electronic publishing;
Extensive knowledge of food security, local development finance, the donor community or the development field;
Experience in conducting research and managing research projects.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and French mandatory.

Documents to be included in the proposal

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Letter explaining why they are the most suitable for the assignment;
Technical proposal;
Financial proposal (please use the confirmation of interest template);
Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references (names, titles, email addresses) .

Templates for submission can be found at http://procurement-notices-admin.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=17495.

Kindly send them no later than September, 02 2014 to the same address where you have received this offer http://jobs.undp.org/.
Please send your application (confirmation of interest letter including technical proposal, financial proposal, CV...) in one document (PDF format).
The proposal submitted shall remain valid up to a maximum of four months from it date of submission.

Financial proposal

Contracts will be based on daily fee: Please indicate (in the confirmation of interest letter) your all-inclusive daily fee rate in US dollars. Payments are made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked.
There are two anticipated travels for this assignment. In the case of travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNCDF and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel.
The fare will always be “most direct, most economical” and any difference in price with the preferred route will be paid for by the expert.

Evaluation of applications

Method: Cumulative analysis method will be used to evaluate proposals.
When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will 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.

Technical Criteria weight: 70%

Criteria 1: Master Degree in knowledge management, communication, journalism, economic, social sciences, or related discipline - 5 points
Criteria 2: A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in communication, development, knowledge management or other relevant field at the national or international level - 10 points
Criteria 3: Extensive knowledge of food security, local development finance, the donor community or the development field – 10 points
Criteria 4: Experience in conducting research and managing research projects for the UN in English and French – 10 points
Criteria 5: Technical Proposal – 35 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) on technical part will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Criteria weight: 30%
The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:
p = y (µ/z), where ; p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated ; y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal ; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal ;z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

Payment Modalities

Signature of Contract 10 %;
Approbation of work plan and methodology submission 20%;
Submission of final research and knowledge document 20%;
Production and dissemination of documents and tools 20%;
Acceptation of final products 30%.

UNCDF 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.