UNDP Jobs - 49767- Consultancy Services for African Human Development

Consultancy Services for African Human Development Report 2015 (Junior Researcher)

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six Months

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six 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

UNDP works to advance gender equality and empower women as agents of change and leaders in the development processes that shape their lives towards a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient world. Gender equality and women’s empowerment is integrated in the organisation’s work in promoting sustainable development pathways, inclusive and effective governance systems and resilience building. This second Regional Human Development Report on Women’s Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality in Africa builds on the success of the first Africa Human Development Report (2012) on a Food Secure Future for Africa that advocated for sustainable increases in agricultural productivity and better nutrition as drivers of growth and human development. The analysis highlighted the importance of building resilience, empowerment, social justice and gender as critical elements of the transformative change required for food security. It made the case for clear linkages between expanding women’s capabilities and enhancing food security including empowering women in agriculture by addressing unequal control of productive assets, time use and access to justice and markets.

This report intends to provide intellectually independent, empirically grounded analysis of development issues, trends, progress and policies in order to help advance human development. HDRs are based on the premise that "people are the real wealth of a nation" using empirical data to impact policies that enlarge people's choices and create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives or simply to "advance the richness of human life, rather than the richness of the economy in which human beings live" (Amartya Sen). Today, more people are healthier, live longer, are more educated, have more access to goods and services and more power to select leaders, influence public decisions and share knowledge. Yet much more remains to be done in expanding choices and improving well-being for all people in all countries and communities, and for generations yet to come.

The junior researcher will support the work of the research and production team in carrying out consultations, research, production and finalisation of the report. In particular the junior researcher will be responsible for coordination of communication and monitoring the schedule of delivery of outputs to create a smooth exchange of information within the AfHDR Team.

Objectives of the report

This African Human Development Report aims:

To establish the links between Sustainable Human Development, women empowerment and gender equality in Africa;
To use existing and newly generated research, to provide evidence and demonstrate the intrinsic value of gender equality with a focus beyond economic aspects to social and environmental gains;
To explore political, social and structural constraints to globally and nationally identified goal and targets while showcasing lessons learned from successes and failures in the African context;
To provide policy recommendations that would lead to fundamental changes in policies, institutions, incentives, ideas and social processes to achieve Africa’s transformative vision.

Partnership

The Report will be prepared over a period of 18 months through a consultative process, using new and existing empirical research produced by a team of UNDP in-house experts led by UNDP Africa working in close collaboration with the Policy Bureau, leading scholars and development practitioners.

Timeline of the report preparation and finalization

Given the scope and dimensions of the report, the preparation and finalisation of the report is expected to take place over a period of 12 months. The initial duration of the assignment is 6 months. Based on the results of the first 6-month period, the work can be extended further. During this period, the junior consultant will be based at the UNDP RBA offices in New York.

Duties and Responsibilities

The individual consultant will work closely with the Research and Statistical Analysts, the RBA Senior Strategic Advisor and the Strategic Advisor working on the AfHDR:

Gather documentation requested by AfHDR team as inputs to selected chapter reviews;
Prepare and maintain a central repository for all draft background papers and chapters;
Consolidate feedback from peer review and advisory panels on draft documentation;
Support the communication with review and advisory panels;
Prepare a monthly report on status of various deliverables from the AfHDR work plan including draft documents, reviews and consultations;
Any other duties related to research and analytical work of the Strategy and Advisory Team.

Deliverables

List of documentation for selected chapter reviews;
Up to date central repository of background papers and chapters;
Consolidated comments from peer review and advisory panels on drafts;
Monthly report on status of delivery of work plan outputs.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values including working in a culturally diverse environment;
Demonstrates ability to function in a team environment and shares knowledge and experience.

Functional Competencies

Excellent verbal and writing skills with strong academic and policy experience;
Good research, analytical and statistical skills;
Ability to present coherent and convincing positions both in writing and orally;
Personal organization and ability for multi-tasking;
The consultant must also possess ability to work under pressure and to accommodate change;
Demonstrable networking capability, interpersonal skills and strong ability to promote team work.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree in development, applied economics, macroeconomics, quantitative economics, or equivalent qualifications.

Experience:

Evidence of one year experience in research and analysis in an academic settings including papers and presentations;
Demonstrated capacity to perform original analysis including econometric and statistical analysis;
Working experience UNDP and other similar Intertional organization will be an added advantage;
Fully literate in terms of software and e-networking

Language skills:

Excellent written, oral English and French communications skills.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposal:

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

Technical proposal

Letter of motivation;
Filled the P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (Blank form can be downloaded from here);

Financial proposal

Indicate the daily fee expected.
The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable deliverables as indicated below:
All individual consultants must follow this schedule when submitting their financial proposal. All financial proposals should be submitted separately to this email address(rba.procurement@undp.org) no later than 26 September 2014.
The template for the Financial Proposal can be downloaded from http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_18149_101011919.docx. Please Note: The total working days per month are estimated to be 21.75 days. The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. professional fee, and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services.)

Payment Modality:

Monthly upon satisfactory submission of monthly progress reports.

Travel

No travel is expected during this assignment. However, if required, the organization shall bear the cost of travel including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses based on extant policies and rules.

Should the Individual Consultant (IC) wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Criteria

Candidates will be assessed based on the following technical criteria:

Technical Evaluation (70%):

Evaluation of the P11 and CV including educational attainment, relevance of experience, capacity to carry out original research (70 points);
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 per cent of the total technical scores will be considered for the Financial Evaluation; and
Financial Evaluation (30%): (if the professional fee should be based on the understanding that there are 21.75 working days in a month. The fee should be quoted in US dollar only.

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal: p = y (µ/z),

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

The final evaluation method will be based on a cumulative analysis of both the technical and financial 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 per cent
Financial Criteria weight: 30 per cent

General Terms and Conditions of Contract for the Services of an Individual Contractor can be downloaded from here.

Others:

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. 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.

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.