UNDP Jobs - 57431- Institutional Review Consultant

Institutional Review Consultant

Location :

Bissau, GUINEA-BISSAU

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

07-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

35 working days

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

35 working 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

Political instability and persistent human poverty are endemic in Guinea-Bissau. The social situation remains precarious, with one of the lowest scores on the human development index in Africa (177 out of 187 in 2014, HDI index of 0.396). The new Government that came out from the 2014 election that restored constitutional order, has set the objective of turning around the history of stability in Guinea-Bissau, as stated in its Vision and Strategy 2015-2025. It seeks to turn the page on three decades of poverty and violence and achieve profound transformation within 10 years, culminating in “a positive Guinea-Bissau that has achieved political stability through inclusive development, good governance and preservation of biodiversity”.

UNDP, through its Country Office in Guinea-Bissau has been a Government key partner since independence and will continue to work with the Government to achieve its objectives. UNDP partnership with the Government is guided by the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF +), the document that sets the framework and priorities for United Nations agencies, funds and the integrated Peace-Building Mission in the country, and by the Country Programme Document (CPD) which defines UNDP specific contributions for the achievement of UNDAF results. Currently, UNDP support is based on the UNDAF and CPD 2008-2012, successively extended until 2015, as the process of the new UNDAF and CPD preparation and endorsement was suspended due to the sanctions imposed by the international community after the Coup d ‘Etat of April 2012. With the restoration of constitutional order and the development of the new Government Strategic Plan and vision, the conditions for the UN to define its strategic and priority contribution to the country development are in place.

In 2014, UNDP launched the Strategic Plan for 2014-2017 with the vision to “offering countries analysis and ideas for new or strengthened policies, opportunities to develop the capacity for follow-through, and practical innovations on the ground that benefit the poor and excluded, feed back into policies and provide the basis for scaling-up”. As indicated in the strategic plan, “this ambitious vision will require an institution that meets benchmarks for organizational effectiveness that match or exceed the highest standards set in its peer community”. The country office initiated in 2014 a process of its country programme alignment with the new strategic plan.

Within the context of the new environment in the country and at corporate level, UNDPhas finalized the preparation of its new Country Programme Document (CPD) 2016-2020, aligned with the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017 and the new United Nations Development Framework 2016-2020 recently prepared by the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and the United Nations Integrated Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) in partnership with the Government of Guinea-Bissau. The new UNDAF and the CPD were developed on the basis of the new Government of Guinea-Bissau Vision and Strategy 2015-2025 and the respective Strategic and Operational Plan for 2015-2020. This CPD also takes into consideration UNDP’s mandate and past experience in Guinea-Bissau, particularly in supporting good governance and sustainable inclusive development, where important lessons were learned.

The organization, at Headquarters level have been going through structural changes to align with the new Strategic Plan. These changes introduced new ways of doing business, which have implications for the country offices. In addition, resources limitation requires the country offices to rationalize the use of resources through efficient management.

The above facts suggest a need for the country office to review its management structures and system in order to make it adequate to the challenges posed by the new CPD. UNDP Guinea-Bissau country office is looking for a qualified consultant to assist in the process of management structure review and adjustment.

The objectives of the consultancy are the following:

Analyse the capacities and skills of key personnel and their adequacy to the CPD implementation and propose the most adequate personnel profile and skills fit for the new structure;
Analyse the current organizational management structure in view of its alignment and propose a structure that can ensure a more efficient management and the delivery of results in accordance with our new CPD;
Assess the adequacy of financial resources (programme and management) to sustain the proposed structure and propose a strategy for financial sustainability.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant is expected to perform the following duties and responsibilities:

Conduct a desk review to assess the country office organizational structure, workflows, resources (human, material and financial) and performance;
Conduct interviews with all personnel to find their assessment of the country office structure, management, personnel and resources;
Conduct interviews with key partners to assess their perception of UNDP performance and their expectations regarding UNDP performance;
Prepare an inception report with the finding from the desk review and interviews;
Facilitate a workshop with all staff to discuss the finding and in a participatory manner, identify the most adequate structure, capacities and skills for the CPD implementation;
Prepare a final report with the analysis of the current situation and proposal of a new management structure, including personnel and respective job description, as well as estimated budget requirements;
Propose an action plan with milestones for its implementation.

Methodology and Approach:

The consultant will be based in Bissau during the whole period of the assignment and is expected to conduct her/his assignment in a participatory manner, involving all UNDP staff to ensure full ownership of the process and its results. She/he will have to consult all key documentation at corporate and country office level, including programmatic and management related documents. In that regard, the consultant will:

Review key documentation as suggested by the Country Office and other that the consultant may deem important;
Conduct individual interviews with staff members to have their perceptions of the current management structures and ideas on the possible changes to be introduced;
Conduct working sessions with all staff and specific groups (operations/program/Economic Unit/Staff Association Committee, etc.) as deemed relevant to discuss findings;
Regularly brief senior management on all steps and findings on the process;

The source of information will be the Country Office primarily. The consultant/s will also identify and pursue additional secondary information sources and will be responsible for implementing additional research and exploratory consultations as required.

Guidance to the consultant and support to the process will be provided by the Senior Management. In addition, a core reference group will provide advice throughout the consultation process.

Assignment duration and deliverables:

Under the responsibility of the overall guidance of the Resident Coordinator/Resident Representative, the Consultant is expected to work on the deliverables presented below, within a maximum period of two calendar months.

For each of the deliverables, the consultant is expected to submit a draft, to which s/he will incorporate Country Office’s comments before submitting a final version.

Based on the above, this consultancy is expected to deliver the following five deliverables:

Inception report: 5 working days;
Documents Review and Interviews findings reports: 10 working days
Draft report with the proposed structural changes and resources requirements: 5 working days;
Draft budgeted Action Plan for changes implementation: 10 days;
Final Consultancy report: 5 days

The assignment is expected to be completed in 35 working days. The language of deliverables will be in French.

Competencies

Excellent knowledge of Institutional change review, preferably an international organization;
Exellent report writing skills;
Ability to prepare budget action plan;
Ability to conduct structured Interviews;
Excellent written and communications skills in French or English.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualification:

Master’s degree or its equivalent in management, public administration, organizational psychology or related fields.

Experience:

Min. 10 years of relevant experience in conducting and implementing organizational management changes in a participatory manner, especially in international organizations;
Experience in conducting management change consultancy with UNDP or UN agencies is an advantage.

Language Requirements:

Excellent written and communication skills in French or English;
Knowledge of Portuguese is an advantage.

Required documents:

CV of applicants;
Technical proposal;
Financial proposal.

Evaluation criteria:

Academic qualification, Master's degree or its equivalent in management, public adminitration, organizational psychology or related fields - 20pts;
Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in conducting and implementing organizational management changes in a participatory manner - 25pts;
Experience in conducting management change consultancy with UNDP or UN agencies - 30pts;
Written and communication skills in French or English - 20pts;
Knowledge of Portuguese is an advantage - 5pts.

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