UNDP Jobs - 56399- Individual Consultant (Development Specialist), Fo

Individual Consultant (Development Specialist), For Indian Nationals Only.

Location :

Agartala, Tripura, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

19-May-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six months.

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

In the current programme cycle (2013-17) UNDP is implementing a project titled ‘Strategic programmatic engagement at state level’ to work closely with state Governments to improve delivery mechanisms and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of governance structures and programmes. This objective will be achieved inter alia by providing high quality analysis and advice on programme implementation bottlenecks and support to ensure higher inclusion and participation of excluded groups in governance and implementation

Government of Tripura is one of the partner states under the project. UNDP is seeking the services of a Development Specialist who would be responsible for developing a set of objective indicators for the state and analysing the development outcomes of the various ongoing and proposed development interventions by the state government. The incumbent would develop quantitative and qualitative assessment criteria for evaluating the ongoing development initiatives and provide relevant inputs to the planning and coordination process in the state.

S/He will be part of the Development Support Service Centre (DSSC) in the state attached to the office of the Principal Secretary, Planning and Co-ordination Department, Government of Tripura,. Assistance will be based on the State-level framework for institutional and governance reforms.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Principal Secretary, Planning and Co-ordination Department, Government of Tripura and in liaison with the Management Specialist, UNDP, the Development Specialist will provide technical assistance in objective evaluation of priority social and economic development programmes in the state.S/He will be embedded in the Office of the Principal Secretary, Planning and Co-ordination Department, Government of Tripura, and will support key functions including but not limited to evaluating the overall development framework in the state; analyse the relevance of various development and infrastructure investments in the state; establish a robust social cost-benefit assessment of development interventions in the state; create an assessment framework and support its operationalization with active coordination with various line ministries.

The indicative list of functions of the Development Specialist will include:

Develop an overall development framework for the state in consultation with the administrative and political leadership of the state;
Build and maintain a comprehensive database of all the development interventions currently underway in the state using central and state resources;
Support the assessment of the degree of relevance and effectiveness of current and proposed interventions with respect to the development framework of the state;
Collect, analyse, and present information and data on development effectiveness of projects and programmes of the state;
Support the operationalization of cost benefit analysis tools for effectiveness and efficiency assessment of the broad spectrum of development initiatives in the state.

Results

As a result of the technical assistance and support provided by theDevelopment Specialist, the functions of prioritization, policy and programme formulation, development effectiveness measurement will be significantly strengthened in the state.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Develop effective programme developmentstrategies relevant to the state’s development context;
Analyze political situations and scenarios, and contribute to the formulation of institutional responses to development challenges in the state;
Identify critical points of integration across programme activities;
Generate high quality information and documentation;
Network effectively with partners to build strategic alliances;
Identify capacity building requirements for counterparts and partners;
Anticipate counterpart requirements;
Solicit feedback on the technical support they are providing.

Core Competencies

Promote the highest standards of ethics and integrity;
Demonstrate political acumen;
Support creativity and innovation;
Help create an enabling environment for open communication;
Share knowledge and support a culture of learning;
Demonstrate fairness and transparency.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

MBA /Master’s in Economics, Finance, or other relevant disciplines in development sector.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in national / international development focused onlarge scale programme formulation, outcome and impact assessment and state level experience in development administration.
Proven experience in addressing implementation challenges in key socio-economic development areas with a focus onmarginalized social groups and/or geographically disadvantageous regions;
Demonstrated capacity to write clear and well-constructed reports, training manuals, process documents; and
Excellent communication, interpersonal and liaison skills with government, inter-governmental agencies, UN system and international and regional development partners, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and other relevant institutions.
Consultants with extensive experience in design and evaluation of large scale development initiatives at the state level will have an added advantage;
Demonstrated knowledge (education, publications, etc.) of development of North East India and prior experience of working in Tripura is desirable.

Language:

Written and oral proficiency in English is required;
Knowledge of Bengali is preferable.

Duty Station:

Agartala, Tripura;
The Consultant is required to report regularly to the office as per the State Government policy;
Relocation expenses, if any would be borne by the successful Consultant.

Documents to be submitted:

Curriculum Vitae including experience in similar projects, and Names/Contact Details of 3 referees;
A brief (not more than 3 pages) technical proposal that includes a write up on the development challenges faced by the North Eastern states in general and the state of Tripura in particular. The documents should be referenced appropriately and a select bibliography provided with the proposal.
A Financial proposal indicatingall inclusive consultancy rate for the Individual Consultant. The consultant will be based in Agartala. Preapproved official travel will be reimbursed as per the procedures established by the Government of Tripura.

Financial Matters:

Payments will be made on a monthly basis for the actual days worked on satisfactory completion of activities as agreed with the supervisor.

Evaluation Criteria:

Technical Proposal: 35 Marks;
Relevant Experience:25 Marks;
Qualification:10 Marks.

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive;
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight - 70%;

Financial Criteria weight - 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Notes:

Any kind of miscellaneous charges i.e. internet, phone etc. would not be reimbursed;
Individuals working with institutions may also apply, contract would be issued in the name of institution for the specific services of individual;
Please note proposals without financial proposal will not be considered;
CV and Financial proposal can be clubbed in one file for uploading;
The consultants must bring his/her own computing equipment;
Please note that there will not be any fee payable for holidays and leaves taken, if any.
Please combine all the documents in one file as system allows uploading of one document only.

For any clarification please write to sandeep.sharma@undp.org