Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS supports UNDP’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 7 outcomes including strengthening institutions to progressively deliver universal access to basic services (outcome 3). The HIV Health and Sustainable development team, within BPPS, is helping to contribute towards this outcome.

HIV, Health and Development Approach

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals.  For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment.  UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people.  Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

As the lead agency on human rights and law within UNAIDS, UNDP led an independent Global Commission on HIV and the Law in June 2010 to interrogate the relationship between legal responses, human rights and HIV. The Commission completed its work in July 2012, with the release of its final report ‘HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health.’ Amongst other legal issues affecting the HIV epidemic, the report includes analysis, findings and recommendations on laws and policies affecting access to treatment.

 Objective :

Increasing access to affordable treatment for HIV and related co-infections in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains a key aspect of UNDP’s work under the UNAIDS Unified Budget and Accountability Framework (UBRAF). The cost of HIV treatment and other health technologies is often affected by laws and policies. They are part of the complex set of factors that influence access at national, regional and international levels. As a founding co-sponsor of UNAIDS , guided by the health-related  MDGs, particularly MDG 6; “to halt and reverse the spread and HIV, Malaria and other epidemics by 2015”, UNDP is mandated to provide support to governments in their implementation of policies and programs that protect the human rights of people affected by HIV.

Under this assignment, contributing to UBRAF objectives, the consultant will:

• Provide project management and/or policy advice on activities undertaken by UNDP to support follow up to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s recommendations relating to access to treatment and other health technologies; and
• Provide material support and advice for the planning and delivery of meetings and forums relating to laws and policies which affect access to and innovation in health technologies.

Duties and Responsibilities

Specific Deliverables:

Under the overall supervision of the Policy Advisor, Human Rights and Treatment Access, HIV, Health and Development Team, the Consultant will be responsible for:

• Providing project management leadership and/or policy leadership on UNDP’s efforts to support follow-up activities to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s recommendations on access to treatment;
• Providing project management leadership and support (development of terms of reference, budgets, reports, inputs and editing where required, etc.) for the preparation of background and concept papers, presentations, analyses and reports on laws and policies affecting access to health technologies;
• Representing UNDP in dialogues and meetings to foster partnerships to support and promote follow-up activities to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s recommendations on treatment access;
• In conjunction with UNDP staff and consultants, designing and delivering meetings and forums on  access to health technologies issues, including as they relate to the findings and recommendations of the Global Commission on HIV and the law; and
• Undertaking related project management and/or policy advice on any other activities relating to access to health technologies, innovation and south-south co-operation as required by the HIV, Health and Development Team of UNDP.

Expected Outputs:

• With the support of staff and consultants of the HIV, Health and Development Team, the completion of a work plan for follow-up activities to the access to treatment recommendations of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law; Expected deadline: 5 October 2015;
• The completion of two (2) publications (policy papers/briefs) on access to health technologies finalized and disseminated;  Expected deadline: 15 February 2016;
• The completion of two (2) meetings or forums on laws and policies affecting access to treatment and other health technologies; Expected deadline: 15 March 2016.
• The completion of a report on follow-up activities to support the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s recommendations on treatment access, finalized and disseminated; Expected deadline: 1 April 2016.
• The production of relevant advice and research and/or project management for such advice and research on access to treatment and other health technologies, as required; Expected deadline: Ongoing.

Reporting:

The consultant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the set targets with the Policy Advisor, Human Rights, Law & Access to Treatment.

Travel

No travel is anticipated under this consultancy. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Timeframe

The consultant’s assignment is office-based (UNDP HQ NY) and is expected to last up to 160 days, completed over the period from 10 September 2015 – 31 May 2016.

Payment

Payment will be based on the number of days worked by the consultancy fee rate, and will be certified each month through the submission by the consultant of Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet, certified by the direct supervisor. The rate will be based on the all-inclusive daily rate or rate mentioned in the consultant's offer to UNDP.

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.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products;
• Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the in public health, international law, international affairs, human rights or a related field.

Project and Resource Management:

• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs;
• Ability to focus on impact and results for the client, promoting and demonstrating an ethic of client service;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs;
• Sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to manage competing priorities.

Partnership building and team work:

• Demonstrated well developed people management skills;
• Strong ability to manage teams; creating an enabling environment, mentoring and developing staff;
• Excellent negotiating and networking skills;
• Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment.

Communications and Advocacy:

• Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speak clearly and convincingly;
• Strong presentation skills in meetings with the ability to adapt for different audiences;
• Strong analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
• Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly;
• Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• An advanced Degree in public health, international law, international affairs, human rights or a related field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of national/international professional experience in public health, international law, international affairs, or a related field, with policy and/or project management experience;
• Experience working in the field of organizational management highly desirable;
• Proven expertise and track-record of providing policy and/or project management implementation at the national or international level of activities relating to public health, international law, international affairs, or a related field;
• Excellent writing, research, analysis and presentation skills;
• Work experience from a developing country is a strong asset;
• Knowledge of UN and/or UNDP procedures, grant applications and program implementation is an advantage.

Language:

• Excellent written and spoken English. Working knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Evaluation

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review and/or an interview process. Those selected for the next stage of the selection process will be reviewed based on a cumulative analysis method that combines the results of technical and financial evaluation results.

Specifically, the award of the contract will 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation; Technical Criteria weight: 70 points; Financial Criteria weight: 30 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) out of a maximum 70 points on the Technical Evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria for Technical Evaluation (70 points maximum):

• Advanced degree in public health, international affairs, human rights, business administration or a related field (20 points);
• Minimum of 7 years work experience of relevant policy and/or project management in the area of public health, public policy, international affairs or a related field (20 points);
• A demonstrated knowledge of project management and/or project management relating to activities and partnerships at the national or international level (15 points);
• Excellent writing and editorial skills, as evidenced by a writing sample (10 points);
• Knowledge of UN and/or UNDP procedures and program implementation is an advantage but not a requisite (5 points).

Criteria for Financial Evaluation (30 points maximum):

• The following formula will be used to evaluate the financial proposal
• p = y (µ/z), where;
• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

Additional Questions

Please also provide a recent and relevant writing sample where you have been the lead author (maximum 1,000 words). Please note that the system takes only one attachment therefore kindly scan all documents into a single PDF file to attach.