UNDP Jobs - 52253- International Consultant

International Consultant - Open Data for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Location :

Istanbul, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated February 2015 – December 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 200 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

In recent years, countries in Eastern Europe have benefited from an upsurge in global Internet connectivity, the rise of citizen engagement, digital activism and community-centered development. Advances in Information and Communications Technology and increasingly systematic collection of data present considerable potential for the anti-corruption agenda and they can improve transparency and accountability of public services. Evidence also shows that open data can promote not only social, but also economic growth.

Growing interest in open data is clearly visible in the ECA region. Many governments have embraced the open government agenda, among others, by joining the Open Government Partnership [OGP] (http://www.opengovpartnership.org/). Not surprisingly the two most popular commitments made by governments within the OGP framework are ‘open data’ and ‘e-Government’. Most of the OGP action plans in the region focus on the development of open data portals, integrated online platforms for public services, or the expansion of existing e-services and official websites.

Despite the fact that more and more governments in the ECA region are developing new open government policies and in opening their data, there are still countries that have not yet started this process, especially in Central Asia. Those which have are still facing several challenges preventing their local communities from making the most out of the data they open. These challenges include the insufficient number of data sets made public and low quality of data released. The existence of online platforms and open data portals does not necessarily indicate their full functionality.

In order to support the sharing of knowledge and peer to peer technical assistance on open data at the regional level the UNDP and the IDRC are promoting a regional initiative (ODECA), supporting the development and implementation of the OD4D programme (http://www.od4d.net/) in the Eastern Europe and Central Asian region; the following activities will be implemented:

Development of a network of government officials, NGOS’s representatives and citizens/ activists working on open data and promoting open data policies;
A conference for the OD4D in the ECA region, in order to take stock of the progresses in the countries of the region and promote further engagement at the political and technical level
Web page of the Network and Newsletter;
Provision of Small grants to local NGOS, UNDP offices, or other local partners for the development and implementation of prototype tools for the utilization of the datasets released;
technical assistance for the development of open data portals and related apps or tools.

The ODECA is a three years initiative (2015-2017), the initiation phase (2015) will be supported by the IDRC and UNDP. The ODECA will be coordinated through the UNDP Regional Hub for the ECIS based in Istanbul Turkey. Implementation will be under the responsibility of the Anti-Corruption regional specialist.
The consultant will assist in the development of the structure of the initiative, its launch and the general program management activities through coordination of partners, implementation of decisions, follow up on various activities and monitoring and reporting.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will perform tasks for the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS, Democratic Governance Practice, Anti Corruption Sub Practice, under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Anti Corruption Specialist, in liaison with the different partners of the initiative.

The Consultant’s main tasks will be the following:

Conduct research and codification of lessons learned regarding open data initiatives in the region;
Management of the call for proposal for small grants, short listing of the applications, selection of the successful tenders in collaboration with the initiative’s partners and overview of the funds disbursement;
Drafting of main communication products, including newsletters, articles and presentations;
Organisation of events- trainings and regional meetings;
Provide technical support for the open Data initiatives in UNDP Country Offices and UNDP Regional Hub.

Deliverables and timeframe:

Organization of the regional meeting of the OD4D partners (by end of February);
Small grant call for proposal launched, proposals evaluated and selected for funding (by end of March);
Communication products for external diffusion drafted and distributed widely, initiative’s website launched (by end of April);
A regional conference organised in partnership with OD4D members with key stakeholders from the governments and leading civil society organisation in the field (by end of May);
A Prototype developed in one of the countries of the region (by end of June);
A Prototype developed in one of the countries of the region (by end of July);
A Prototype developed in one of the countries of the region (by end of August);
A Prototype developed in one of the countries of the region (by end of September);
A draft paper containing research - analysis on open data achievements and challenges in the region (by end of October);
Final version of the research paper (by end of November);
Annual progress report of the ODECA initiative produced, highlighting progress to date and planning for the next steps in collaboration with the partners (by end of December).

Payment:

Deliverable 1 to 10: 9% of lump sum;
Deliverable 11: 10% of the lump sum.

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;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
Knowledge of or proven interest in one or more of corruption, public sector integrity frameworks, Open Data tools, project management;
Knowledge of or proven interest in Eastern Europe and/or Eastern Partnership area and/or Central Asian region.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Law, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or Public Policies.

Experience:

At least 3 years of progressive responsibilities managing or implementing development activities related to Youth engagement, Open Data, innovation and IT for transparency and accountability of public services;
Experience in conducting research and analysis in the area of public services delivery, transparency and accountability, civil society engagement;
Experience coordinating networks and building partnership with stakeholders for development assistance;
Experience organising events preferably in the field of Open Data, integrity, anti corruption.

Language:

Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and 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, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only those individual consultants who obtained at least 70% of points in each of the steps of the process (P11 desk review and interviews) will be considered for financial proposal evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

Progressive responsibilities managing or implementing development activities related to Open Data, innovation and IT for transparency and accountability of public services max points 10;
Experience in conducting research and analysis in the area of public services delivery, transparency and accountability, civil society engagement max points 5;
Experience coordinating networks and building partnership with stakeholders for development assistance max points 5;
Experience organising events preferably in the field of Open Data, integrity, anti corruption max points 5;
Interview assessing the motivation and understanding of the candidate of the most recent open data and transparency accountability issues / tools, as well as communication skills in English max points 10.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 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 total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, and other possible costs);
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. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services, this includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel). Financial proposal should not include costs related to missions, which will be paid separately as per UNDP rules and regulations.

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://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

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.