UNDP Jobs - 52138- South-South Cooperation Specialist

South-South Cooperation Specialist

Location :

Home-based with Travel to Bangladesh

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jan-2015

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

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

Bangladesh is at a particular juncture of its development and is faced with multiple crossroads. As a Least Developed Country (LDC) it aims to graduate out of LDC status by 2021, close the remaining MDG gaps, further open its economy to realize the benefits of trade for its most vulnerable, and transition into a Middle Income Country (MIC) which comes with new development challenges as well as access to a range of diverse sources of development finance.

At the same time, Bangladesh is confronted with a number of key policy considerations due to existing and emerging issues. Overall investment rate and consequently economic growth rates in the last two years are below target levels with future prospects including trade exports vulnerable to the European debt crisis. Tax revenue (as a % of GDP) has stagnated over the last two decades and has only recently reached double digits in 2011 (10.1%) and 2012 (10.53%). Remittances have plugged the trade and services account deficits and have kept the current account in surplus, albeit may not hold for much longer. Government budget deficits are accompanied by declining grant and concessional Official Development Assistance (ODA) at a time where the domestic, regional and global development finance landscapes are changing rapidly.

The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is in the process of developing its Aid Policy to reflect these implications on future sources of development finance and the changing role of ODA. It seeks to better align future sources of development finance including ODA to Bangladesh’s development priorities, enhancing their complementarity and value adding to domestic sources. In addition, the Aid Policy aims to capture the more inclusive partnerships for inclusive development espoused in the Busan Partnership Document. The government wishes to ensure that the Aid Policy is fully coherent and mutually reinforcing with policies relating to other sources of development finance. To that end, the GoB is commissioning a Development Finance and Aid Assessment (DFAA).

As such, the Asia-Pacific Development Effectiveness Facility (AP-DEF) seeks to engage an international consultant to undertake the first Country Assessment and Mapping of Information on South-South Cooperation (CAMI) in Bangladesh as part of the overall DFAA study. This assignment is expected to commence in January 2015 for a total of 25 days including a mission to Bangladesh for 5 days.

Approach

The Bangladesh CAMI will be undertaken as part of a Development Finance and Aid Assessment (DFAA) exercise for Bangladesh that is being led by the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) through the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Relations Division (ERD). The DFAA is a comprehensive mapping of past, current and future sources of development finance. It considers domestic and public sources of development finance. On the domestic side sources include public sources such as tax and non-tax revenue and private sources such as private investment and from philanthropic organisations. On the external side public sources include ODA, climate finance and SSC, and private sources such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), remittances and private borrowing.

The CAMI therefore will serve as the key tool for the DFAA in mapping SSC in Bangladesh. It will include an assessment of relevant policies, institutional arrangements, technical systems and tools and human resource capacity to mobilise, manage, deliver, monitor and report on existing and future flows of SSC. The CAMI will assess SSC related data availability and analysis including how they are collected, analysed and managed as well as used with data for other sources of development finance in policy formulation, analysis, and monitoring implementation.

Therefore, a consultant to undertake this assignment will be part of a DFAA Team that comprises of an international public finance expert as the DFAA Team Leader, a public finance specialist, a trade and private sector specialist and a research analyst/assistant.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective:

The CAMI is to help Bangladesh:

better understand the role of and demand for SSC as part of an expanded range of development cooperation initiatives supporting the achievement of national development priorities;
capture data and information on SSC knowledge sharing and development cooperation to the extent available as well as the ways in which this information is used in the management of SSC including by CSOs and the private sector, within different sectors and at the national level; and
assess policies, institutional arrangements, technical systems and tools, and human resource capacity necessary to effectively and efficiently manage SSC as part of Bangladesh’s development cooperation.

Scope of work:

This assignment for a total of 25 days will focus specifically on the Bangladesh CAMI:

January 2015

Pre-CAMI and DFAA launch preparation to include support to DFAA international team leader and national team leader:

Providing feedback on proposed DFAA and finalizing component of methodology related to SSC and CAMI;
Finalise overall work plan including timeline for key outputs, implementing the CAMI including SSC case studies, and proposed schedule of meetings for the in-country consultations;
Undertaking preliminary desk-based data collection and analysis with a focus on a detailed stakeholder analysis;
Providing list of key Bangladesh policy documents and analysis related to SCC and summarizing the key literature.

February 2015

Preparation for inception workshop including support to DFAA Team Leader

Undertake first mission (inception) to Bangladesh as part of the DFAA Team and support to DFAA international team leader to include:

Provide inputs to preparations for inception workshop including support to selecting CAMI/SSC related stakeholders;
Finalized methodology and work plan for assessment to include a detailed schedule of meetings focused on the picture of SSC and development finance flows as part of the broader DFAA exercise (NB where possible the work plan will draw on existing national/sub-national consultative processes and data collection limiting the need for additional meetings);
Produce the Initial CAMI Paper.

March 2015:

Contribute to preparation of draft DFAA as agreed with international and national team leader including the drafting of the Case Studies on SSC and development finance;
Submit draft CAMI report for Bangladesh to AP-DEF Secretariat and DFAA international and national team leaders.

April 2015:

Join the 2nd international team leader mission to Dhaka including preparation for and presentation of CAMI as part of the DFAA at the relevant Forum;
Support 2nd international team leader mission to Dhaka including preparation for and presentation of DFAA at the validation workshop.

May 2015:

Support national and international team leader to finalise SSC and development finance case study for publication;
Finalise and submit final CAMI Report for Bangladesh to AP-DEF Secretariat including a government foreword as necessary.

Expected Output and deliverables

The consultant in undertaking the CAMI for Bangladesh is expected to produce a report at the end of the assignment as follows:

Initial CAMI Paper summarizing the data collected information on SSC knowledge sharing and development cooperation to the extent available. In addition, how the information is used in the management of SSC including by CSOs and the private sector, within different sectors and at the national level and identifying substantive issues for further investigation. This would be provided to the DFAA Team Leader after the in-country consultations are completed and as part of the consultant’s debrief to the Ministry of Finance DFAA Oversight Team before departing Bangladesh;
Draft CAMI Report Provides an introduction and overview of the role of SSC as part of an expanded range of development cooperation initiatives supporting the achievement of Bangladesh’s national development priorities, past, current and future demand for SSC in Bangladesh and prospects of SSC inflows to Bangladesh in the next 5 years. It will include an assessment of policies, institutional arrangements, technical systems and tools, and human resource capacity necessary to effectively and efficiently manage SSC as part of Bangladesh’s development cooperation, outline key implications and provide recommendations for Bangladesh’s Aid Policy, the Bangladesh Development Forum and the Seventh Five Year Plan;
Final CAMI Report.

Competencies

Proven track record working with governments, private sector, CSOs or multilateral and/or bilateral agencies in the provision or facilitation of SSC;
Excellent written and spoken English;
Familiarity with UN Agencies and UN/UNDP procedures and regulations is desirable;
Committed to the values of the United Nations – gender equality, human rights and sustainable human development.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least a Masters in development economics, development studies, public policy or related field.

Experience:

Expertise in the area of South-South Cooperation as a development or economic cooperation modality (including in the areas of Public-Private Partnerships, trade, private sector development or CSO engagement);
Research and data collection experience with a focus on SSC;
At least 5 years in development cooperation, public finance, private sector and trade-related fields.

Language:

Fluency in spoken and written English required.

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will work directly to the AP-DEF Secretariat. For inputs to the Bangladesh DFAA Report, the consultant will work directly under the overall leadership of the international consultant and DFAA Team Leader. The UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Governance and Development Effectiveness Advisor will provide quality assurance for the process. Deliverables will be reviewed by the DFAA international Team Leader, as well as GoB via the MoF DFAA Oversight Team, and the UNDP CO, Bangladesh. The contract will be managed by UNDP.

Duration of work:

15 January - 15 May 2015, Total 25 working days.

Duty Station:

Home-based with 2 missions to Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Schedule of payments:

Payment will be done by output per below schedule.

15 February 2015 (30 % of total contract value)

Initial CAMI Paper summarizing the data collected information on SSC knowledge sharing and development cooperation to the extent available. In addition, how the information is used in the management of SSC including by CSOs and the private sector, within different sectors and at the national level and identifying substantive issues for further investigation. This would be provided to the DFAA Team Leader after the in-country consultations are completed and as part of the consultant’s debrief to the Ministry of Finance DFAA Oversight Team before departing Bangladesh.

30 March 2015 ( 35% of total contract value)

Draft CAMI Report Provides an introduction and overview of the role of SSC as part of an expanded range of development cooperation initiatives supporting the achievement of Bangladesh’s national development priorities, past, current and future demand for SSC in Bangladesh and prospects of SSC inflows to Bangladesh in the next 5 years. It will include an assessment of policies, institutional arrangements, technical systems and tools, and human resource capacity necessary to effectively and efficiently manage SSC as part of Bangladesh’s development cooperation, outline key implications and provide recommendations for Bangladesh’s Aid Policy, the Bangladesh Development Forum and the Seventh Five Year Plan.

30 April 2015 (35% of total contract value):

Final CAMI Report.

Review time required:

Review Time of one to two weeks is required for each assignment.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document.

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.

Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal, including a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.

Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annexes:

Annex I - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions;
To download Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template : http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_19681_915042650.docx;
To download P11 : http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_19681_772040632.doc.

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to Ashley.palmer@undp.org.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis. The award of the contract shall 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 set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation 70% (Maximum 100 points):

Criteria 1: Years of hands on experience in trade/macroeconomic policies and analysis, trade and private sector expertise with a focus on Aid for Trade and Private Sector role in financing development (including Corporate Social Responsibility) – Max 30 points;
Criteria 2: Research and data collection data collection experience with a focus on Trade and the Private Sector - Max 5 Points;
Criteria 3: Knowledge of global trade institutions and systems particularly the WTO, PPP financial flows; Foreign Direct Investment; commercial and concessional loans; and innovative financing for development instruments - Max 10 points;
Criteria 4: Education – Max 20 points;
Criteria 5: Excellent analytical skills, synthesize information from multiple sources, writing in journalistic style and fluent in English - written and spoken – Max 10 points;
Criteria 6: Experience working in Bangladesh and South Asia and ability to hold discussion with government senior officials, private sector and development cooperators - Max 10 points;
Criteria 7: Availability – Max 15 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to: Ashley.palmer@undp.org.