Background

The Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) reports to the Administrator and is responsible for internal audit and investigations services to UNDP and its affiliated entities.  OAI provides independent, objective assurance on the effectiveness of risk management and the effectiveness and adequacy of internal controls. OAI also responds to allegations of misconduct by conducting and reporting on investigations.

The Investigation Section of OAI is responsible for conducting investigations into allegations of misconduct, such as mismanagement, fraud, corruption, retaliation on whistleblowers, workplace harassment, abuse of authority, violation or willful disregard of UNDP regulations, rules, and administrative instructions, that involve UNDP staff, contractors and other applicable persons.  The Investigations Section is also tasked with investigating allegations against parties external to the UNDP of financial irregularities committed to the detriment of UNDP.  In addition, OAI undertakes proactive investigations in high risk areas that are susceptible to wrongdoings, fraud and corruption.

OAI conducts investigations in accordance with the Uniform Principles and Guidelines for Investigations, the UNDP Legal Framework for Addressing Non-Compliance with UN Standards of Conduct, and the OAI Investigation Guidelines.

OAI maintains a roster and seeks to engage in a Long Term Agreement (LTA) with suitably skilled and experienced Transcribers to call upon as required from time to time.

Duties and Responsibilities

The individual consultant is required to transcribe Investigations Interview audio recordings in the original language(s) of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Urdu and Dari.

The consultant is require to:

  • Complete transcriptions that are authorized and approved by the Deputy Director and Head of Investigations or the Investigations Manager, OAI, on a case by case basis;
  • Complete verbatim transcripts from audio recordings;
  • Provide a high standard of transcription service:
  • Numbering each sentence or line in each transcript;
  • Numbering each page of the transcript;
  • Provide a MS Word document transcript;
  • Provide a condensed PDF version of the transcript; and
  • Provide an index of keywords for each transcript;
  • Submit each transcript for review to the designated Investigation’s staff in OAI.

Expected Outputs:

A set of verbatim-transcribed documents in PDF and MS Word formats from the audio recordings in accordance with OAI SOPs and templates. The MS Word document should be presented in the following format requirements:

  • Annotate each line of each transcript with a line number;
  • Annotate each event on the recording to accurately reflect the conversation, e.g., if applause occurs, the transcript reflects the applause in a clear and concise manner, e.g., [Applause];
  • Annotate each inaudible event on the recording in the transcript with a time reference, e.g., [unclear] 0:07:21;
  • Each page should be US Letter size;
  • The font size should be 11 points Arial.

Competencies

Core Values & Ethics:

  • Demonstrates integrity and fairness;
  • Demonstrates the ability to remain objective, neutral and independent vis-à-vis all parties involved;
  • Displays utmost discretion and upholds confidentiality;
  • Display cultural sensitivity;
  • Supports corporate goals;
  • Complies with UNDP regulations, rules, and code of conduct.

Task Management Skills:

  • Produces timely, quality outputs;
  • Exercises sound judgment/analysis;
  • Ability to handle multiple tasks.

Communications:

  • Writes clearly and convincingly;
  • Speaks clearly and convincingly;
  • Has good presentation skills;
  • Listens actively and responds effectively.

Professional:

  • Demonstrates ability to perform in accordance with relevant professional standards for administrative investigations and transcribing best practices as approved by OAI.

Technical Competencies:

Demonstrates ability to use and apply the following technical process of aides, in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of OAI services:

  • Microsoft Office suite;
  • Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree is required;
  • Advanced University degree is an advantage.

Experience:

  • At least 2 years of working experience conducting transcripts is required;
  • Working experience in an International Organization is an advantage;
  • The Individual consultant should have a proven record of providing transcription services to government agencies, including Courts, non-government and/or international organizations by submitting;
  • Proof of providing transcription services from the past two years, and reference contacts.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
  • OAI is looking to contract individual consultants who are  proficient in transcription in at least one of the following languages groups:
    1. English and Chinese;
    2. English and French;
    3. English and Russian;
    4. English and Arabic;
    5. English and Urdu;
    6. English and Dari.
  • Individual consultants may be selected for more than one and any combinations of the above language groups.

Financial Proposal:

All interested individual consultants are requested to submit an itemized Price Proposal. The Price Proposal should be fixed and “all-inclusive”. This means that all costs (professional fees and other related costs, if any) that could possibly be incurred by the Individual consultant are factored into the final fixed price.

The individual consultant will not me paid for more than five hours of work [Transcript] for each hour of interview audio recording, unless exceptional circumstances warrant payment for additional work, to be authorized in writing by OAI.

Recommended Presentation of Proposal:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information in his/her application:

  • Cover Letter - Indicating the language(s) in which you transcribe in and explaining why you are applying for the position with highlights on any factors that are particularly relevant to your application;
  • Completed P11 - form including past relevant experiences and contact details of 3 referees; and
  • Financial proposal - indicating the proposed hourly fee rate in US$.

How to apply:

This assignment  is also advertised in UNDP Procurement Notice through the link:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=20712

The application must contain duly completed and signed Personal History Form (P11), which can be downloaded from www.sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

P11 should be uploaded to your online application in lieu of CV. All applications must be submitted through the UNDP Jobs Admin site. Only if you experience technical issues with uploading your P11 to the UNDP Jobs Admin site, please send it to oai.bids@undp.org indicating:  your name and “Transcription consultant - Investigations” in the e-mail subject field.

Please note that:

  • Applications without P11 form will not be considered;
  • Application should be submitted in the English language;

  • Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.