UNDP Jobs - 52157- Individual Consultant – Web Development Services

Individual Consultant – Web Development Services

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

23-Dec-2014

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months

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 recent evaluation of the UNDP contribution to South-South and Triangular cooperation (SSC/TrC) highlighted the organization’s strong comparative advantage in facilitating South-South and Triangular cooperation, and recognized its success in advancing SSC through global, regional, and country programmes. At the same time, the evaluation pointed out that UNDP support often took place in an ad-hoc manner and was not accompanied by systematic learning, collecting and connecting knowledge between countries.

Accordingly, UNDP has committed to create a stronger information system and systematic learning in support of SSC/TrC, and to fill-in the information and knowledge gap on the range of existing SSC approaches, mechanisms, and initiatives. To this end, mapping of SSC initiatives supported by UNDP worldwide was carried out by South-South Cooperation Team of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (SSC/BPPS). A comprehensive database of SSC initiatives at the global, regional and country level was compiled. This database as well as the geographic attribution of SSC initiatives should be presented to the donors, partners and public through a South-South cooperation geo mapping website (further referred to as ‘website’).

Description of South-South Cooperation Geo Mapping Website

Structure and content of SSC mapping website. The website will be designed using the codebase of open.undp.org (available at https://github.com/undp/undp.github.com). It will feature: (1) a searchable database of UNDP’s South-South cooperation initiatives and (2) an interactive maps of SSC initiatives at the global, regional and country level. The website will be featured at the SSC page at UNDP website.

The database of SSC initiatives will consist of the following entries:

Country Name;
Region (LAC, Africa, Asia & Pacific, Arab States, Europe & CIS);
Territorial focus (SIDS, LDC, MIC, Low income country, High income country);
Thematic focus area (Sustainable development, Resilience building, Inclusive and effective democratic governance);
Project title;
Project objective and description of SSC;
Time frame;
Partner types (International cooperation / development agencies, Regional / inter-governmental organizations, National governments, Sub-national governments, CSO, Academia, Private sector);
Link to project page;
Role of UNDP (Partnership facilitator, Capacity builder, Knowledge broker).

Filtering initiatives by ‘Thematic focus’, by ‘Partners’, by ‘UNDP role’ and by ‘Country typology’ the user should be able to obtain a corresponding list of SSC projects.

Filtering initiatives by ‘Region’, the user should be able to obtain the following information:

Map of the region with marked SSC projects;
A brief overview of SSC activities in the region;
List of regional projects;
List of countries, linked to country pages.
Links to selected case studies (if available).

Selecting projects by ‘Country’ should provide the user with the following information:

Map with a blurb containing basic information about the project;
List of SSC initiatives in the country (clickable, linked to a SSC project/initiative page);
Link to UNDP country office web site;
Link to case studies (if available).

Selecting a project, the user should be able to retrieve the following information:

Country, region;
Project title;
Project objective and description of SSC activities;
Time frame;
UNDP role;
Partners (types);
Territorial focus;
Thematic area;
Link to the project page;
Link to a case study (if available).

The interactive map of SSC initiatives should be similar in its style and functionality to the map at open.undp.org. It should feature SSC initiatives at the global, regional and country level, alongside with the basic information (in blurb).

Script should be designed to synchronize the website’s database with the main repository at http://open.undp.org. Additionally, system is to be developed for entering additional data (territorial and thematic focus, partner types, role of UNDP, description of SSC activities).

Design and features. The website should have a similar theme and design with www.undp.org, and be easy to navigate. It should also comply with technical characteristics and web standards of www.undp.org and provide consistent user experience across all most popular browsers (IE, Safari, Chrome, Firefox). Frontend design should follow responsive approach and provide optimal viewing experience to users across wide range of devices, mobile and traditional desktops.

Deployment and hosting. Consultant should arrange deployment of the website. and provide Configuration Documentation and Installation Guide/Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) which should clearly state how to manage the website, details of the database, environment and its configuration.

Training, Maintenance / Support Period. The consultant shall provide training and assist in maintenance of the website during the support period, as follows:

Technical training will be provided to SSC/BDP team on administration, content management and security of the web page, alongside with technical administrator manual (with screenshots);
Consultant will host the website during the development process and for 3 months after the completion and provide weekly backup;
Consultant will transfer the website to the specified web server after completion of development;

Consultant will provide 3 months maintenance (after 3 months warranty) and technical support for the website, including trouble shooting (in case the site is down, any link is broken, any functionality not working properly etc); technical assistance, e.g. in case the website needs to be moved from one server to another; remote support for assistance in changing/editing/modifying modules, webpage via call or emails (if required); bug fixes for any existing functionality.

Duties and Responsibilities

An individual consultant will be hired to design, develop and operationalize a website of SSC mapping. Specific tasks will include:

To develop and deploy a website with a database and interactive map of SSC initiatives, using the codebase of the open.undp.org (available at https://github.com/undp/undp.github.com);
To create a system for regular synchronization of data with the main repository of http://open.undp.org database;
To provide training to SSC/BDP staff on administration and security of the website.

The website design has to follow an interactive development process with the involvement of SSC/BDP Team and changes have to be accommodated as the website concept and design evolves. The consultant should provide alternate home page and sub-page design mocks for final approval by SSC/BDP Team.

Deliverables and timeline

The estimated duration of the assignment is up to 3 months. At the onset, the contractor will consult with SSC/BDP team to develop an actionable work-plan with clear timelines for developing a website in accordance with the description of South-South Cooperation Geo Mapping Website above and implementing the following deliverables:

Design of the website developed:

A visually appealing design of SSC mapping webpage similar in theme and design to http://open.undp.org (2 weeks).

Beta version of website developed:

A searchable web database of SSC initiatives, allowing to filter the projects by pre-set criteria; an interactive map; “Search” functionality using key words or phrasing that will identify content from throughout the page and the functionality allowing to synchronise the data with http://open.undp.org database (6 weeks).

Training for SSC/BDP staff:

On administration and security of the website is provided alongside with a short technical administrator manual (1 week).

Website tested, finalized and deployed:

The web site is finalised and featured at www.undp.org/ssc; deployment, hosting and back-up of the web site are arranged (3 weeks).

Maintenance support:

Is provided during the warranty period.

Competencies

Good understanding of Management and Geographic Information Systems and data-driven decision-support;
Knowledge of database management systems;
Commitment to excellence in producing quality work;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor degree/certification in the area of Information Technologies or related field.

Experience:

Practical experience with development of the web-based systems and visualization of data;
Minimum five years of relevant experience as Web developer/master is required;
Working experience with GitHub Pages/Jekyll/Python web sites development is preferable;
Experience in working with international development organization;
Experience of working with international organization is an asset;

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English;
Additional UN language is an asset.

Documents to be included when submitting the Proposals:

Application Submission Process

Proposal - Please submit the following documents/information to demonstrate your interest and qualifications:

Explain why you are the most suitable for work;
Provide a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work, including a tentative work schedule for the delivery of outputs/deliverables. (1000 words maximum);
Links to samples of similar websites developed by the applicant;
Contact reference of at least 3 references for whom you have rendered preferably the similar services (200 words maximum).

Financial Proposal:

Applicants are instructed to submit their total lump sum amount for this consultancy to ganna.iatsiuk@undp.org at time of application with the subject heading “Financial Proposal for Web Development Services Consultancy". The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount per deliverable.

Personal CV and/or UNDP Personal History Form:

Applicants must submit their CV or Personal History Form through this Online system along with the links to the samples of similar websites developed by the applicant. Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, upload the document and click “Submit Application”. Please note that the system takes only one attachment. Scan all documents into a single PDF file to attach.

Evaluation of Proposals:

The selection will be based on a combined Scoring method – where the qualifications will be weighted 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted 30%. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications/competencies will be evaluated based on the below technical evaluation criteria.

The Technical evaluation will be based on the following criteria with the corresponding points (out of a total of 70 points).

Demonstrated experience and expertise in web development, database management system and data-driven decision-support (25 pts.);
Technical proposal (30 pts);
Samples of similar websites (15 pts.);

Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 49 of the obtainable points of 70 points (70%) in technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Evaluation. 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

UNDP is applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores.

Other important considerations:

Schedule of Payments

Payments will be made based on the agreed upon schedule and released upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating outputs achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.

UNDP Personal History Form

In addition, applicants will be requested to fill and sign a PH 11 Form if not submitted together with Curriculum Vitae on the online application portal. The PH 11 Form will be required at the time a consultant signs an Individual Contract (IC) or his/her employer, if employed, signs a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) for work associated with this assignment.

UN Personal History form (UN PH11) can be downloaded from here(http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

Annexes and References:

Individual Consultant's General Terms and Conditions are provided here: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.