UNDP Jobs - 51663- International Consultant: Sustainability of Nation

International Consultant: Sustainability of National HIV Responses, Laws and Rights-Related Issues in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Location :

Home-based with two travels in the region

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

15-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated 15 January 2015 – 31 December 2015

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 155 working 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

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. As a founding co-sponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and guided by the health-related MDGs, responding to HIV is one of the organizations’ priorities. Under the UNAIDS division of labour, UNDP is responsible for leading the UNAIDS response in addressing dimensions of AIDS relating to: development planning and mainstreaming; governance; and human rights, gender and sexual diversity. UNDP is also responsible for providing support to governments in their implementation of policies and programs that protect the human rights of people affected by HIV.

While globally the number of new HIV infections is decreasing, the region of Eastern Europe and the Central Asia (EECA) is home to the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world: rising from an estimated 970,000 people living with the virus in 2001 to 1.6 million in 2013. Mortality from AIDS has also experienced a 21% increase in the region over the period 2005-2012. The Russian Federation and Ukraine, the two most populous EECA countries, together account for almost 90 percent of newly reported HIV cases. Levels of treatment in the region are low with approximately 25 percent of those in need of antiretroviral therapy receiving it. While there has been a significant improvement in the legal environment relevant to HIV in the region, certain gaps still persist and they are closely related to the rights situation of people living with HIV, key populations most at risk of HIV infection and the legal and policy regulatory frameworks that govern national efforts in prevention, treatment, care and support.

In cooperation with governments, other UN agencies, international organizations, and civil society actors, UNDP works to develop the capacity of national legislators, government offices and civil society actors on matters of HIV and the Law. Through the regional project “HIV, Rights and Universal Access in Eastern Europe”, co-funded by the European Commission, UNDP sought to support and develop the capacity/expertise of non-state actors to address the nexus between human rights, laws, and HIV, as well as to foster effective and efficient dialogues and cooperation between governments and non-state actors in this area. Through the regional project on “Sustainable Financing of National HIV Reponses in Select Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”, which is partially co-financed by the Russian Federation, UNDP analyzed the legal regulatory framework that governs the access to HIV medicines in the context of intellectual property, registration and licensing and provided opportunities for optimization of these regimes both and national and regional levels, in the context of the Customs Union between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia and an emerging Eurasian Economic Union.

In order to further enhance and speed up the implementation of follow up activities related to the conclusions and recommendations of these projects in the law and rights, UNDP seeks an international consultant to support the HIV, Health and Development Team at the Regional Center for EECA in Istanbul for approximately one year (180 days). Among the interventions that would require support are: analysis of existing and upcoming legislation that affects the rights of key populations most at risk of HIV; supporting policy advice and technical assistance provided to country offices in the field of HIV and co-infections, the law and rights; update of the data, conclusions and recommendations on the regulatory frameworks that affect access to HIV medicines in the EECA countries; supporting the drafting of project documents and reports; supporting the planning, execution and follow up with capacity development activities, such as workshops, conferences, national consultations; work with the members of the Regional HIV Legal Network and the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health established with the help of UNDP; liaising with other regional civil society organizations, such as the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network and the Eastern European and Central Asian Union of People living with HIV. The consultant is also expected to meaningfully contribute to the growing collection of virtual resources of the HHD Team, available on the professional network Teamworks and the UNDP website.

Location:

Home based, two missions (Istanbul, Turkey and one more country in Eastern Europe/Central Asia, TBD).

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultant reports to the Legal Specialist at UNDP’HIV, Health and Development Team, Regional Service Centre for Europe and the CIS in Istanbul (Supervisor), being responsible for the following:

Supports the preparation, implementation and follow up of the following UNDP interventions:

Analysis of national legislation and proposed legislation of countries in the EECA region that concerns HIV and co-infections (TB, Hepatitis C and others), as well as the rights of key populations most at risk of HIV infections. Developing sets of recommendations to improve legislation and mitigate possible risks of rights violation;
Further completion, corrections and update of database on the regulatory frameworks on IP, registration, licensing and procurement of ARV medicines in the EECA region and supporting the UNDP contribution to UNAIDS investment cases in EECA countries;
Supporting the development of Training of Trainers Toolkit for people who live with, or are most affected by HIV on matters related to HIV and Rights;
Support to regional organizations, representing key populations most at risk of HIV infection, such as Regional HIV Legal Network, Eurasian Coalition on Male Health, Eurasian Harm Reduction Network, the Eastern European and Central Asian Union of People living with HIV and others;
Support to preparation of project documents, reports and recommendations; follow up with regional and country level stakeholders on recommendations and other related tasks.

Supports UNDP’s work in policy advice and technical assistance in the field of:

Reviewing legislation, policies and practices related to HIV, public health and development in EECA countries;
Translating relevant materials, carrying out background research;
Drafting of analyses, reports and recommendations;
Liaising with UNDP country offices and communicating on matters related to support provided. Liaising with other UN agencies’ offices;
Preparation, implementation and follow up with field missions.

Contributes to knowledge sharing by participating in the development of background papers publications, concept notes, presentations and other materials, including by contributing to the UNDP Regional Centre’s website and blog and the knowledge-sharing network Teamworks.
Contributes with law-related input to the Team’s efforts in promoting the sustainability of healthcare systems in the region.
Supports the liaison with government and non-state actors in the region for the purpose of the UNDP interventions
Contributes to periodical and annual reporting of UNDP and performs other tasks assigned by the Supervisor.

The Consultant is expected to be home-based.

Deliverables:

Analysis of national legislation and proposed legislation that concerns HIV and co-infections (TB, Hepatitis C and others), as well as the rights of key populations most at risk of HIV infections in three or more EECA countries. Sets of recommendations to improve legislation and mitigate possible risks of rights violation.

Updated and, if needed, corrected database on the regulatory frameworks on IP, registration, licensing and procurement of ARV medicines in the EECA region and supporting the UNDP contribution to UNAIDS investment cases in EECA countries.

A Training of Trainers Toolkit for people who live with, or are most affected by HIV on matters related to HIV and Rights.
Drafts, research reports, concept notes, background papers, correspondence and other written materials, as described, assessed and evaluated by Supervisor and other Team staff.

Specific deliverables will be agreed upon with the Supervisor at the beginning of each month, in writing. Payments will be made once a month upon submitted satisfactory progress report against deliverables and approved timesheet submission providing details of time spent on respective deliverables, their timely execution and acceptance by the Supervisor.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

Commitment to the principles set forth in the UN High Level Declarations on HIV and AIDS;
Very good understanding of the legal and practical aspects of HIV and co-infections in the region;
Familiarity with national healthcare systems and legal and practical issues surrounding non-communicable diseases;
Familiarity with the social determinants of health and health inequities;
Excellent organizational skills, ability to work independently, strict adherence to completing assigned tasks in a timely manner;
Quality-oriented professional, constructive approach to obstacles and delays in planned performance;
Excellent research and drafting skills;
Excellent communication and presentation skills, oral and written;
Advanced user of virtual communication tools.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

An advanced degree (masters or higher) in law, international law or human rights, public health, international relations, or other relevant field.

Experience:

Eight or more years of relevant regional experience in the field of human rights, law and health;
Of which at least three years of experience in working with legal aspects of HIV issues in the EECA region;
Experience on working with legal aspects of non-communicable diseases and healthcare systems reform is a plus;
Publications: At least three recent relevant publications (as author or co-author) in the field of human rights, law, and public health, or HIV, concerning the EECA region, in English;
Additional publications in English and/or Russian are a plus.

Language skills:

Fluency and ability to communicate and write complex research in English and Russian;
Knowledge of more regional languages is a plus.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications, an interview, a test and a financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable;
Having successfully passed the interview;
Having successfully completed the test;
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates who received at least 70% of total score in each step of selection process (desk review, interviews, written tests) can be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation - max. 50 points:

Education and additional qualifications (courses, diplomas) - max. 10 points:
Publications (as listed in P11) - max. 5 points:
Relevant work experience in human rights, law and health, NCDs - max. 10 points:
Test: legal aspects of HIV issues in the EECA region - max. 10 points:
Interview (Communication skills and languages) - max. 5 points:
Interview (corporate and functional competencies, problem solving skills) - max. 10 points:

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 21 points.

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ). Please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
Financial Proposal* - specifying a daily rate in USD. Payment to be made once a month upon submitted satisfactory progress report against deliverables and approved timesheet. Financial proposal must not include the estimated two missions;
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. rent of dwelling, fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged costs (except of missions) must be included in the financial proposal. Travel costs for missions, if any, will be paid separately according to UNDP rules and regulations.

The selected candidate is responsible for obtaining necessary visas, if applicable. UNDP will strive to support the application process.

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
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/jobs

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.