Background

Candidates who previously applied need not re-apply.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS supports UNDP’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 7 outcomes including strengthening institutions to progressively deliver universal access to basic services (outcome 3). The HIV Health and Development team, within BPPS, is helping to contribute towards this outcome.

HIV, Health and Development Approach

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals.  For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV and health.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment.  UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and transgender people.  Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multi-sectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

Building on its experience in HIV and leveraging its core competencies in governance, poverty reduction and gender, UNDP is exploring opportunities to contribute to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially through tobacco control. NCDs are one of the most serious global health and development challenges of the 21st century. Tobacco use is a key modifiable risk factor for a host of NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, various cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases requests the agencies, funds and programmes of the UN system to support multi-sectoral responses to NCDs. The UN Secretary General’s Ad Hoc Inter-Agency Task Force on Tobacco Control explicitly requests UNDP to incorporate Article 5 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in its convening and coordinating role of the UN system at country level. The report also requests UNDP to incorporate Article 5 under its governance programming. Moreover, UNDP (with WHO and UNAIDS) is to co-convene the work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs (formed pursuant to ECOSOC resolution E/RES/2013/12) on Objective 2 of the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020. Objective 2 aims to strengthen national capacity, leadership, governance, multisectoral action and partnerships to accelerate country responses to NCDs.

Objective:

The objective of this consultancy is to provide research, analytical and writing support to the HIV and Health team’s work on addressing social determinants of health and health financing. The substantive focus of support will cover but is not limited to: sustainable AIDS financing; cross-sectoral co-financing of development synergies for AIDS responses; universal health coverage; social determinants of health approaches to NCDs, especially tobacco and support to UNDP’s contributions to both the WHO FCTC and IATF on NCDs; NCD planning at municipal levels.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Director & Deputy Director, HIV and Health Team, the Consultant will be responsible for:

• Coordination of and technical support to a donor-funded project on cross-sectoral co-financing , culminating in the development and delivery of a course to policymakers;
• Development of a funding proposal on prevention and control of NCDs in cities;
• Provision of technical support to the pilot phase of the NCDs and cities initiative;
• Coordination of the Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (PEIR) for NCDs project;
• Development of a proposal on PEIRs for NCDs;
• Coordination of the regional Legal Scan for NCDs project; and
• The provision of analytical and research support to the development and dissemination of various knowledge products and communications outputs relating to social determinants of HIV and health.

Specific Deliverables: (time allocations TBD):

• Proposal for multi country NCDs and Cities Project. Envisaged Deadline: end of November 2014;
• Legal scan completed of one region. Envisaged Deadline: January 2015;
• Co-financing course delivered. Envisaged Deadline: January 2015;
• Co-financing course materials revised and finalized. Envisaged Deadline: February 2015;
• Adapted methods package for PEIRs for NCDs. Envisaged Deadline: February 2015;
• Proposal on PEIRs for NCDs. Envisaged Deadline: February 2015.

Reporting:

• The consultant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the specific deliverables with the Director and/or Deputy Director.

Travel: 

No travel is expected for this consultancy.

In the case of additional and unforeseeable travel, payments of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP HHD Team and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be covered and paid by UNDP.The fare will always be “most economical” and any difference in price with the preferred route will be paid for by the consultant.

UNDP will not cover any costs associated with moving to the duty station. If applicant is requesting for such coverage the cost to be calculated and included in the financial proposal.

Timeframe:

The consultant’s assignment is expected to last a maximum of 111 days starting from 20 October 2014 to 31 March 2015.

Working arrangements

A workplace and computer will be provided.

Evaluation:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review and/or an interview process. Applicants will be evaluated based on: Cumulative analysis method that combines the results of technical and financial evaluation results.

• 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 points;
• Financial Criteria weight: 30 points.

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

Criteria for technical evaluation (70 points maximum):

• Education (5 points);
• Knowledge of HIV and/or NCDs and their social determinants (20 points);
• Fluency in English (5 points);
• Previous experience with UNDP or specialist health agency or fund of the UN system (5 points);
• Knowledge of health economics/finance (5 points);
• Project management experience (5 points);
• Knowledge and / or experience in national budgeting processes in low- and middle-income countries (15 points);
• Research, writing and analytical skills, as evidenced by submitted writing sample as well as quality and quantity of other publications listed on candidates’ CVs (10 points).

Criteria for financial evaluation (30 points maximum):

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:

Payment will be certified through the Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet, certified by the direct supervisor. The rate will be based on the all-inclusive daily rate or rate mentioned in the Offeror’s letter to UNDP.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products;
• Knowledge of HIV and/or NCDs and their social determinants;
• Knowledge of health economics / finance.

Project and Resource Management:

• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating evolving client needs;
• Ability to focus on impact and results for the client, promoting and demonstrating an ethic of client service;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs;
• Sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to manage competing priorities.

Partnership building and team work:

• Demonstrated well developed people management skills;
• Strong negotiating and networking skills;
• Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment;
• Provides and receives constructive feedback.

Communications and Advocacy:

• Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences, and to speak clearly and convincingly;
• Strong presentation skills in meetings with the ability to adapt for different audiences;
• Excellent analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
• Capacity to communicate clearly and quickly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• An advanced degree (Masters level) or equivalent in economics, public health, international affairs, international development, public policy, or a related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience;
• Demonstrated knowledge of HIV and/or NCDs and their social determinants;
• Excellent writing, research and analytical skills;
• Project management experience an asset;
• Experience in health economics / finance and/or national budgeting processes in low- and middle-income countries an asset;
• Work experience with the UN an asset, especially UNDP or one of the specialist health agencies or funds.

Language:

• Fluency in English is essential.