UNDP Jobs - 50152- Senior Consultant – HIV, Sexual Minorities, and Ri

Senior Consultant – HIV, Sexual Minorities, and Rights

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

17-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

05-Oct-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

70 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

17 October 2014 – 30 June 2015

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 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 Sustainable 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.

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, 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 multisectoral 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.

Objective:

UNDP is engaged with other development partners (e.g., UNFPA, USAID, UNAIDS, WHO, civil society orgs, etc.) in finalizing drafting of the HIV “men who have sex with men implementation tool”/MSMIT. The MSMIT will be along the lines of the already launched “sex workers implementation tool”/SWIT, and is intended to provide practical guidance to implementers supporting HIV prevention, care, and treatment services to gay men and other men who have sex with men. The work on the MSMIT is expected to be completed by end of October. UNDP will subsequently engage with the same development partners in an approximately 6 months’ process for developing the HIV “transgender people’s implementation tool”/TRANSIT. UNDP’s interest in both implementation tools is ensuring rights-based programming across the prevention, care and treatment continuum.

Consequently, UNDP’s HIV, Health and Development Group is recruiting a human rights consultant to support UNDP’s role in the MSMIT and TRANSIT processes. The objective of this consultancy is to provide research, analytical, and writing support to the HIV, Health and Development group in its inputs to the finalization of the MSMIT and the drafting and finalization of the TRANSIT. The expertise required includes legal research and writing expertise, and the further objective of the consultancy is to provide support to the HHD Group on ad hoc requests from UNDP Country Offices for legal analysis related to sexual and gender minorities, HIV, and rights.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of Global Cluster Leader for Governance and Human Rights, the Consultant will be responsible for:

Specific Deliverables

Participate in the finalization discussions and writing of final assigned sections of the MSM Implementation Tool (MSMIT) and participate in the final experts consultation. Envisaged Deadline: October 2014;
Participate in in-person and virtual discussions with partners related to the Transgender People Implementation Tool (TRANSIT) and draft original assigned sections of the TRANSIT. Envisaged Deadline: ongoing;
Participate in in-person final consultation to launch the TRANSIT. Envisaged Deadline: June 2015;
Support as required research and writing legal and other briefs related to sexual minorities and HIV and/or rights, as requested by UNDP Country Offices. Envisaged Deadline: ongoing.

Expected Outputs:

The MSMIT finalized and disseminated;
The TRANSIT finalized and disseminated; and
Two legal or other briefs related to sexual minorities, HIV and/or rights.

Reporting:

Within the HIV, Health and Development Group, the Consultant will report to Global Cluster Leader for Governance and Human Rights.

Travel:

No travel anticipated. 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.

Time-frame:

The consultancy will be home-based for 70 days covering the period 17 October 2014 through 30 June 2015.

Evaluation:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review and/or an interview process. Those selected for the next stage of the selection process will be reviewed based on a cumulative analysis method that combines the results of technical and financial evaluation results. Specifically, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable;
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; and
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):

Knowledge of HIV and its social determinants, HIV-related human rights, and key populations (20 points);
Knowledge and/or experience in developing policy and normative guidance, including implementation tools (15 points);
Research, writing and analytical skills, as evidenced by submitted writing sample as well as quality and quantity of other publications listed on candidate’s CV (10 points);
Knowledge of governance practices for better health, particularly at the municipal level (5 points);
Education (5 points);
Previous experience with UNDP or specialist health agency or fund of the UN system (5 points);
Project management experience (5 points); and
Fluency in English (5 points);

Criteria for Financial Evaluation (30 points maximum):

The following formula will be used to evaluate the 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 made on a per diem basis in accordance with the all-inclusive daily rate. Payment will be certified through the Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet, verified by the direct supervisor.

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;
Professional and/or academic experience in legal research and writing;
Professional experience in the legal and human rights aspects of HIV and sexual and gender minorities.

Project and Resource Management:

Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs;
Strong organizational skills;
Ability to work independently;
Sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to manage competing priorities.

Partnership building and teamwork:

Demonstrated, well-developed people management skills;
Excellent negotiating and networking skills;
Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment.

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;
Strong analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly;
Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

An advanced degree (Masters level) or equivalent in law, human rights, international affairs, public policy, public health or a related field and knowledge of at least one of the other substantive areas.

Experience:

Minimum of 10 years of national/international professional experience in the practice area with policy or programme management experience;
Experience working in the field of Knowledge Management and/or organizational management highly desirable;
Work experience from a developing country highly desirable;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages as well as web-based management systems;
Knowledge of UN and/or UNDP procedures, grant applications and programme implementation is highly desirable.

Language Requirement

Excellent written and spoken English.