UNDP Jobs - 49879- National Technical Consultant for Guidelines Devel

National Technical Consultant for Guidelines Development and Capacity Enhancement Support for Ending Drought Emergencies (EDE) in ASALs of Kenya

Location :

Kenya

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

50 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

The Nairobi-based Centre is one of six UNDP Global Policy Centres. The Centre is currently responsible for supporting sustainable and inclusive development in the drylands, including the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Centre currently works at the policy-practice interface and uses an integrated approach embodied in its Integrated Drylands Development Programme (IDDP) to address development challenges in the drylands. The IDDP promotes the drylands on the global development agenda; facilitates inclusive national policies that are conducive to drylands development; and supports individual and institutional capacity building, good practice and South-South cooperation to inform policy and facilitate knowledge sharing.

In the face of recurrent disasters, tremendous efforts have been made in the Horn of Africa (HoA) region to integrate various actions in different operational sectors under one umbrella of 'resilience building', as highlighted in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) Drought Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) Strategy adopted in 2011. With increasing humanitarian and development investments in the region, there is a need to measure their actual impacts towards resilience building.

It is in this context that the Centre developed the Community Based Resilience Analysis (CoBRA) Phase II Project, with the financial support from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO). Building on the experiences and achievements of CoBRA Phase I (2012-2013), the project aims to strengthen the capacities of IGAD, its Member States and other relevant stakeholders to align their planning and programming frameworks with the local needs for long-term climate resilient and sustainable development. The specific objective of the project is to improve the coherence of resilience measurement/analysis tools and their findings under the shared understanding and operational framework, through which to enhance evidence-based disaster resilience policymaking and investment decision-making in the IGAD region.

The National Technical Specialist will support the UNDP by providing consultancy services to the realization of the activities under the Kenya national component of the Project. This component aims at enhancing the institutional capacity on climate resilience mainstreaming with special focus on Kenya based on the priorities of the IDDRSI Kenya Country Programming Paper (Drought Risk Management and Ending Drought Emergencies Medium Term Plan for 2013-17 [EDE MTP]).

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, with the technical support from the Project Coordinator and international project consultant, and in close collaboration with relevant partners, particularly the UNDP Kenya Office, National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the members of the EDE MTP Pillar 6, which is responsible for the establishment and strengthening ASAL institutions and knowledge management for decision-making and impact assessment. His/her duties and tasks will include:

Participatory development of EDE MTP resilience assessment tools/guideline in Kenya

Prepare a draft guideline document for the entire EDE MTP, which elaborates on resilience impact indicators, progress markers and/or intermediate development outcomes and impact pathways in a participatory manner through desk review, analysis of existing datasets, key informant interviews and group consultations, etc., with the key partners and other stakeholders at national and local levels;
Lead organizing participatory consultative meetings among the EDE MTP stakeholders from respective pillars at national and local levels, facilitate and direct discussions on the draft programme-wide framework for the EDE MTP M&E and resilience analysis;
Guide the process on the operationalization – to ensure the M&E and MIS frameworks are operational.

Strengthening of government and other partner institutions’ capacities at national and local levels in integrating the resilience assessment into DRR planning and M&E systems

Liaise closely with the partners to organize the desk-/field-based training sessions government/non-governmental organizations, including NDMA, respective pillar groups (e.g., M&E managers) and other relevant DRR stakeholders at national and local levels in the selected county (s), to build their capacity in the utilization of various EDE MTP M&E and resilience impact assessment approaches to track performances and progress for each Pillar and the entire Common Programming Framework;
Improve and refine the EDE MTP resilience assessment tools/guideline by incorporating field work experience and findings;
Provide practical recommendations on how the national/county government could translate the key policy/practice recommendations generated from the resilience assessment and field practices into relevant development/humanitarian plans (e.g., CIDPs, DRR plans, contingency plans, etc.), and mechanisms (e.g., county disaster early warning system, county mechanism for systematic disaster information collection, documentation, analysis and sharing including the establishment of county disaster information centres, etc.);
Document processes and best practises learnt during this process for strengthening EDE MTP knowledge management for Pillar 6.

Outputs/Deliverables

The payment will be disbursed in 5 (five) instalments based on the satisfactory submission of the following deliverables and outputs.

Milestones to be Achieved/Deliverables to be Submitted (payment out of 100 %)

Draft EDE MTP resilience measurement guideline document, and framework on resilience impact indicators, progress markers and/ or impact pathways (25%);
Completion of the consultative meetings and report with action-points on draft programme-wide framework for the EDE MTP M&E indicators and resilience analysis (15%);
Completion of the desk-/field-based training sessions with the detailed post-field assessment and analysis report in selected county (s), and report on piloting of M&E and MIS framework (20%);
Final submission of policy/practice recommendations briefs, and lesson learnt report/s (15%);
Final EDE MTP resilience analysis guideline document (25%).

This is a lump sum contract. All envisaged travel costs, including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses, would be included in the above instalments. In case of unforeseen travel requested by the Centre, travel costs will be agreed upon prior to travel between the Centre and the Individual Contractor, and the Centre will reimburse. The costs of the meetings (consultative/workshops) will be covered by the Centre.

Formats of the deliverables should comply with the UNDP requirements. The detailed outline of these deliverables shall be agreed upon the commencement of the assignment. All the draft deliverables shall be submitted in English by the Consultant to the Centre and partners for review and feedback.

Duration and Implementation Modalities of the Assignment

This consultancy is envisioned to be completed in 50 (fifty) working days spread over the period of 5 (five) months, starting on 15 October 2014. The consultant will be expected to coordinate with the knowledge management sub-group of pillar 6. The position is based in Kenya with proposed in-country missions to Turkana and Baringo for five (5) days each excluding travel days.

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Project Manager housed by the Centre and will be bound by the terms and conditions of UNDP Procurement rules and guidelines. S/He will be briefed at the beginning of the assignment.

Competencies

Excellent communication skills in English with the ability to compile information in coherent and succinct formats and explain complex analysis and data in a clear and simple manner to non-native English speakers.;
Interpersonal skills with strong cultural sensitivity and adaptability;
High attention to detail; and
Ability to work under tight deadlines;
IT competencies at least in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and internet;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant should have the following qualifications, knowledge and skills:

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in disaster management, dryland management, rural or social development or similar with strong emphasis on monitoring, evaluation and research skills.

Experience and knowledge:

Minimum 7 (seven) years of relevant post Master’s working experience;
Substantial prior experience in high quality quantitative/qualitative impact assessment using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including statistical analysis of data;
In depth knowledge and good understanding of disaster resilience concepts, drought and livelihood systems in the dryland environments and arid and semi-arid lands-ASALs of Kenya specifically;
Excellent skills and experiences in participatory consultations, workshop facilitations and desk-/field-based trainings to a diverse audience;
Previous experience with the United Nations and/or other multilateral, bilateral organizations and international civil society development partners is considered an asset.

Language:

Excellent written oral, presentation and communications skills in English.

Complete details of this assignment and application procedures can be obtained from http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=18175.