UNDP Jobs - 56813- Review of Capacity Development in Malawi

Review of Capacity Development in Malawi

Location :

Lilongwe, MALAWI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

12-Jun-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

30 Working days over two 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

The UNDAF is the common plan of 21 UN agencies, funds and programmes in Malawi for the period from 2012 to 2016. This ‘One Plan’ for Malawi supports the achievement of the international development goals, the Millennium Declaration and related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), national development priorities which are consistent with the MDGs, and the realisation of international human rights in the country.

In response to national priorities, the UN in Malawi supports the Government in four inter-linked and mutually reinforcing priority areas:

Sustainable and Equitable Economic Growth and Food Security;
Basic Social and Protection Services;
HIV and AIDS;
Governance and Human Rights.

In addition to these priority areas, there is a strong focus on cross-cutting issues including Human Rights, Gender Equality and Capacity Development. Capacity Development and ownership of national development strategies are essential for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) recognizes Capacity Development as one of five key principles for UN country programming – alongside a human rights-based approach, gender equality, environmental sustainability and results-based management. The UNDG has also agreed on a common approach to Capacity Development and articulated the role of UN country teams in a joint position statement.

For governments to fully own, achieve, and account for the priorities in the national development framework, they must assess their Capacity Development needs, respond to those needs and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts. UN country teams play a critical role in supporting national efforts to develop lasting capacities at individual, institutional and societal levels. These capacities will help rights holders to claim their rights and duty bearers to meet their obligations.

The UN has been present in Malawi since 1964, the year when Malawi achieved independence. As part of the 50 years celebrations in 2014, the Government and the UN undertook a period of reflection, looking at both what has been achieved, but also importantly, what has not been achieved and why. One of the key issues coming from this reflection was Capacity Development and its delivery. Despite the huge sum of resources invested in Capacity Development over the years, there are still major gaps in Malawi and the question has been asked as to whether the way we delivery Capacity Development is either efficient or effective.

As there is no “one size fits all” solution, the UN would like to undertake a review of Capacity Development in Malawi. This would include a review of Capacity Development methods and their efficiency and effectiveness, resulting in a report providing a pedagogy on how to implement Capacity Development while ensuring the greatest value for money.

Duties and Responsibilities

The purpose of the assignment is to assess the extent to which the UN undertakes Capacity Development in Malawi and to determine how effective and efficient this has been in delivering the development priorities set out in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy MGDSII (MGDS II) and the UNDAF, in particular the fulfilment of human rights and gender equality.

Objectives include:

To identify the scale and scope of the UN’s work on Capacity Development, and facilitate a critical engagement on the concept of Capacity Development in UN Malawi terms, engaging government on their priorities;
To evaluate Capacity Development methods and techniques previously employed by the UN in terms of effectiveness and efficiency;
To develop clear a methodology for the implementation of the desired capacities in government agencies.

Planning and Preparation

Conduct a desk review of key documents;
Conduct a mapping of UN agencies Capacity Development activities;
Support the Operations Management Team (OMT) in collecting and consolidating UN Malawi’s Capacity Development expenditure data, assessing the data in terms of scope and value for money;
Analyse the UN’s successes and failures with regards to capacity development in Malawi in the 2012 – 2016 UNDAF
Identify successful approaches to Capacity Development, appropriate to Malawi, which have been implemented in other Member States;
Develop an Inception report that clearly outlines the proposed methodology as well as templates and interview guides.

Implementation

Conduct kick-off meetings with OMT/PMT to present, obtain feedback and refine the draft approach/ tools, as well as discuss plans for key people to interview;
Facilitate discussions with UN agencies on what a coherent approach to Capacity Development should incorporate, and how it can be better undertaken to realise human rights and gender equality;
Interview government officials, NGOs and CSOs discussing their priorities in relation to Capacity Development;
Identify the best and worst Capacity Development practices, delivering a clear methodology on the steps to implementing Capacity Development;
Develop a brief report outlining the key findings of the work to date.

Report and Presentation

Develop a draft report that clearly outlines the current Capacity Development situation in Malawi, incorporating UNCT and OMT/PMT feedback;
Prepare and deliver a presentation of the key findings and recommendations for the assignment;
The final report should compare desired capacities against existing capacities, determining the level of effort required to bridge the gap between them, defining Capacity Development in UN Malawi terms;
Deliver a tight methodology which informs future capacity development implementation;
Develop a baseline survey to be used in future UN Capacity Development practices.

Methodology

The consultant will be responsible for developing an appropriate methodology for the assignment that is built on existing UN guidelines, frameworks and methodologies on Capacity Development, taking into account the stated purpose and objectives of the assignment as well as human rights and gender issues;
The proposed methodology should be included in the technical proposal and if necessary, will be refined based on discussions with the Operations Management Team/Programme Management Team. The final methodology will be clearly outlined in the Inception Report.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies:

Hands-on experience working with UN/DaO processes, supporting UNCTs at country level on change and capacity development exercises;
Familiarity with UN reforms and the larger context of the changing development aid environment, particularly aid delivery, donor harmonization and alignment;
Understanding of UN programming principles;
Ability to translate strategic thinking and innovative ideas into practical operational recommendations

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters degree in Education/Adult Education and Training, Social Research or relevant field.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years relevant experience undertaking similar work/assignments;
Proven experience in organisational change management and business process reviews;
Demonstrated experience in working with, or supporting, the development of new and innovative approaches, particularly in all areas relating to human resource management, innovative learning strategies and incentive programmes, knowledge management and goal alignment;
Hands-on experience working with UN/DaO processes, supporting UNCTs at country level on change and capacity development exercises;
experience in facilitation, communication and negotiation.

Language:

With full proficiency in written and spoken English.

The Consultant must satisfy the above qualifications.

Application:

For more details please see TORs and Procurement Notice on the link below:

http://www.mw.undp.org/content/malawi/en/home/operations/procurement/ or send an email to

procurement.mw@undp.org and clearly quote the title of the assignment.