UNDP Jobs - 49714- Readvertisement: - Consultant : Scoping Studies on

Readvertisement: - Consultant : Scoping Studies on Joint Adoption of Poverty and Sustainability Measures in Select Countries’ National Development Objectives

Location :

Home-based with travel to New York and Regional Offices

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

30-Sep-2014

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

60 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

60 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

As the global development network of the United Nations, UNDP, operating in 166 countries, works with partner countries on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. While partner countries have made significant progress on a number of dimensions of poverty over the last two decades, yet despite the significant gains, poverty remains a key challenge across the developing world, affecting more than a billion people. Apart from income poverty, other indicators of well-being such as nutrition, maternal and child health, women’s empowerment and inequality are also matters of concern. At the same time, the world’s natural capital is declining at unprecedented rates. These trends is particularly worrying and is increasingly recognized to both slow further progress, and undermine much of the progress made, in helping the world’s poorest communities – often heavily dependent on natural resources - to escape and stay out of poverty.

Many partner countries recognise the need for more transformative action and are demanding integrated approaches that jointly achieve poverty eradication and sustainability. What many countries cite for the future of sustainable development, is identifying and addressing concrete constraints and bottlenecks related to a country’s capacity for formulating and implementing policies and programs that integrate the social, environmental and economic dimensions, and rally the actions of national and international development actors. This includes developing a much greater role for Ministries of Planning and Finance to coordinate integrated approaches and bring support of stakeholders and enabling actors such as the UN system. Partner countries are requiring much needed support on the means of implementation for sustainable development to become much more firmly rooted within the post-2015 development agenda.

These demands for integrated approaches have firmly manifested in the formulation of UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2014 – 2017. Outcome 1 of the Strategic Plan calls for “Growth is inclusive and sustainable, incorporating productive capacities that create employment and livelihoods for the poor and excluded”. This outcome explicitly recognizes the demands for growth and poverty eradication to emanate within the framework of sustainable development, and for this, transitioning to greener economies will be paramount. To reach this outcome will require the development and implementation of integrated approaches to poverty and sustainability as means of attaining sustained progress on human development - through 2015 and beyond – and as part of transitions to green economies, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will also require a commitment to working with other UN agencies that bring to bear specific expertise and resources on such integrated approaches and transitions.

It is in this context that a comprehensive and multi-year initiative has been developed with two-fold objectives: 1) to strengthen and deepen knowledge on many facets of integrated development approaches; and 2) to support partner countries to mainstream these approaches into their transition action plans.

This initiative proposes a range of enabling actions linking to national plans and processes in 10 countries with a particular focus on targeting Ministries of Planning and Finance to meet their needs for sound planning and financing decisions. Furthermore, these enabling actions are vital for developing improved UNDP programming that can help deliver on the means of implementation for real and measurable impact on sustained poverty eradication. A participatory process, based on (where possible) existing in-country processes will be adopted from the beginning to facilitate cross-sectoral and cross-stakeholder dialogues in each country with a particular emphasis in bringing environment and development concerns together, and to identify roles for enabling actors (Governments, UN agencies, donors, civil society and private sector).

In light of this, an international consultant is being sought to lead and coordinate on objective 1 of this initiative, which seeks to assemble evidence on:

The extent of adoption of integrated approaches and transitions to green(er) economies in 10 countries - the remaining gaps towards them and why - by developing 10 scoping studies (using a common methodology across countries).
A global synthesis report on good practices and innovative ways of jointly assessing, tackling and measuring poverty and sustainability

The sequence of the international consultant’s assignment will be as follows:

Development of methodology and a common template outline for national scoping studies;
Development of guidance for national consultants to be hired;
Development of Synthesis Report based on national scoping studies;
Presentation of findings at a validation workshop.

UNDP is already defining important areas of work on sustainable development, and initiative can help define a corporate approach to integrated approaches to poverty and sustainability ahead of the new development framework, with SDGs at the heart of it, so UNDP can be in a position to support partner countries from the onset in 2016. Moreover, there are a number of current UNDP initiatives with UN partners supporting transitions to greener economies and poverty reduction that can be strengthened and facilitated more immediately.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and supervision of the Environmental Policy Advisor, Environment and Energy Group and in collaboration with Policy Advisor, Poverty Reduction Group the consultant will:

Output 1:

Develop a common template/outline and methodology for conducting scoping studies in 10 countries that draws out information on:

The end to end workings of the national development planning processes in each country including key institutions, stakeholders and enabling partners and their (potential) roles;
Current in-country status related to poverty; stocks of ecosystems and environmental assets and poverty-environment linkages,
Review and assessment of relevant existing national development strategies (NDS), plans and policies (including macro-economic) with particular emphasis on addressing poverty and sustainability and bottlenecks in adoption of poverty-reducing sustainable development;
Review what role sector ministries and local government, NGOs play as implementation partners in achieving national development objectives;
The tools and methodologies available or applied to identify and assess integrated development approaches and the gaps in availability and application of tools;
Review of national, bi-lateral and multi-lateral financing support for sustainable development and green economy policies and potential gaps – (with an emphasis on policy and programme implementation through expenditure frameworks);
Review and assessment of indicators and methods to measure integrated progress on sustaining human development and their incorporation into national planning processes and potential gaps;
Review and assessment of implementation mechanisms to support integrated development approaches and (potential gaps and challenges);
Finalization of the common methodology developed based on e-review for draft methodology;
Overall coordination and supervision of 10 consultants to deliver quality scoping studies;
Attendance at 1 International Workshops to train national consultants on common methodology to undertake scoping studies;
Review of the first drafts of 10 scoping studies and provision of comments and feedback;
Review of final drafts of 10 scoping studies and assist national consultants in their finalization.

Output 2:

Develop an outline for a global synthesis report on good policy practices on integrated approaches within the 10 countries, innovative ways of jointly assessing and measuring poverty and sustainability as well as existing gaps in adoption of poverty-reducing sustainable development based on review of scoping studies and relevant literature, and share for review;
Based on review and feedback, finalize the outline for the global synthesis report and develop a first draft for review;
Based on review and feedback, finalize the global synthesis report for publication.

Present the findings at an international validation workshop attended by representatives from the 10 countries.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional competencies:

Excellent knowledge and understanding of human development and multi-dimensional poverty aspects;
Good knowledge of sustainable development, green economy, climate change, ecosystem services and the links to multidimensional poverty;
Strong analytical skills, and the ability to synthesize information and analysis from a number of sources;
Excellent written and oral communication skills and competency in editing and proofreading skills; must be detail oriented and organized;
Ability to work independently, manage consultants, competing priorities and perform well under pressure;
Excellent inter-personal skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least a Master’s degree in Development and/or Environmental Economics;
A PhD is preferred.

Experience:

At least 10 years relevant experience, in an academic institution, research think tank or international agency;
Knowledge of UNDP corporate priorities, with a specific focus on Sustainable Human Development;
Proven experience in producing or facilitating development-related knowledge products;
Proficiency in the usage of computers and with standard software.

Language:

Ability to speak and write clearly and compellingly in English.

Timeframe:

The consultant will have 4 months to complete all deliverables.

Payment:

The payment shall be made in the following manner:

First tranche of 20% on satisfactory submission of common methodology;
Second tranche of 50% on satisfactory submission of final drafts of the 10 Scoping Studies;
Final tranche of 30% on satisfactory submission of the final synthesis report on good practices and innovation.

Reporting:

The consultant shall report to Environmental Policy Advisor, EEG and MDG Policy Advisor, PG for any queries and assistance on a day-to-day basis. The consultant is expected to incorporate comments and suggestions from the other UNDP staff engaged in the process and especially those from Regional Bureaus and Regional Service Centres and other possible reviewers of the documents to be submitted.

Evaluation Criteria:

The evaluation criteria used to select the candidate will be:

Best value for money approach - The financial proposal will account for a minimum of 30% and technical proposal will account for 70% of the total evaluation score.

The breakdown of 70% of the technical proposal will be as follows:

Highest qualification (minimum as per TOR) Master’s degree at least in Development and/or Environmental Economics. A PhD is preferred - 15;
At least 10 years relevant experience, in an academic institution, research think tank or international agency including relevant experience in undertaking field based research on sustainable development - 25;
Knowledge of UNDP corporate priorities, with a specific focus on Sustainable Human Development -10;
Proven experience in producing or facilitating development-related knowledge products - 10;
Ability to speak and write clearly and compellingly in English - 10.