Background

Over the course of the past ten years UNDP (along with other international partners (1)) has been providing capacity building support to emerging donor countries in their new role as providers of development assistance. The Czech Republic became a member of OECD/DAC in 2013. Despite taking steps towards building an effective system of development assistance, the Czech Republic continues to face various challenges concerning the management of its Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the follow-up activities to engage Czech business and expertise in development.  

Development cooperation is an integral part of Czech Republic’s foreign policy with the strategic objective of eradicating poverty and promoting security and prosperity through effective partnership, enabling poor and undeveloped countries to achieve their development goals. Development activities strengthen bilateral political, economic and cultural relations with individual countries, while also improving Czech Republic’s position on the international scene. The growing economic potential of developing countries contributes to the stability of the global economy and the development of prospective markets. The Czech Republic focuses on development projects and activities which benefit from its comparative advantage over the established donor countries, related not only to its traditional expertise, but also to the process of political, economic and social transformation after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Czech bilateral ODA is delivered through the Czech Development Agency (CzDA) which issues tenders and awards grants to private companies, NGOs and academia. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) operates various programmes on sharing transitional experience targeting a more refined subset of priority countries and topics (2). Moreover, Czech Republic regularly contributes to the Czech-UNDP Trust Fund (3) managed by UNDP, which supports sharing best practices and lessons learned from Czech Republic’s transition to democracy and markets and its accession to the European Union, through study tours, workshops and trainings, as well as research, feasibility studies and expert consultations.

Businesses, other non-state entities or individual experts can take part in public tenders to become contractors of Czech development projects. Subsequently, these projects evidence the necessary experience and provide references for their future participation in tenders of other donors, as well as constitute the basis for building follow-up partnerships with representatives of various international and national organizations and businesses in beneficiary countries. Especially contractors from the private sector have recognized that successfully implemented development projects can open the doors to new markets and provide an opportunity for commercial follow-up. 

In line with the EU Communication "A Stronger Role of the Private Sector in Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Developing Countries" (4), it is necessary to encourage private sector involvement in ODA activities, especially as the Czech Republic is assuming an increasingly higher profile in global development efforts. In light of this the Czech development contractors should receive more than just diplomatic assistance in beneficiary countries during the implementation of ODA projects. Concrete support and services from key Czech ODA authorities are necessary to address prospective follow-up activities and build new business development partnerships. 

Notes:

Duties and Responsibilities


The overall objective of this assignment is to:

  • Identify entry points and map opportunities for Czech ODA authorities to support Czech development contractors in creating business development partnerships in beneficiary countries;
  • Seek best practices from advanced donor countries on supporting business development partnerships. Several OECD/DAC countries have launched successful initiatives and Czech Republic is looking for best practices and lessons learned in this area.

For the purposes of this assignment, business development partnerships are understood as opportunities of Czech contractors that have previously implemented Czech ODA projects and now intend to engage in projects/activities which lead to the conclusion of new contracts. These include commercial or other follow-up activities funded by other donor agencies, beneficiary´s state budget, international organizations (EU, UN agencies), international finance institutions (IFIs), as well as other private companies - “business to business” cooperation.

The international consultant will work under direct supervision of the Czech-UNDP Trust Fund Programme Specialist and in close collaboration with the CzDA and the Czech MFA. The consultant should also liaison with two independent development bodies uniting Czech entrepreneurs and NGOs, i.e. the Business Platform for Foreign Development Cooperation and the Czech Forum for Development Cooperation.

It is further expected that the consultant will conduct face-to-face interviews with various Czech ODA practitioners in the Czech Republic, as well as remote interviews with various organizations. The Programme Specialist will provide available data and official reports and will draft the agenda for consultant’s visit to the Czech Republic.

The consultant will draft a report taking into account the Czech contractors areas of expertise and geographical focus of Czech ODA that should include the following:

Deliverable – Analytical Report (approx. 20-30 pages, excl. annexes and summary)

  • Analysis of potential business development partnerships taking into consideration thematic and geographical priorities and tender modalities of Foreign Awarding Authorities, i.e. Multilateral and Regional Development Banks, International Financial Institutions, National Governments (country-level budgets), and of other donors;
  • Analysis of potential commercial cooperation in beneficiary countries, i.e. opportunities for Czech development contractors to partner with the local private sector;
  • Overview of successful OECD/DAC members´ initiatives that support business development partnerships;
  • Recommendations on the system of supporting Czech development contractors in creating business development partnerships, based on capacities and within the scope of competence of various Czech ODA authorities (5). These should include division of labor between key Czech ODA authorities (e.g. MFA and Embassies, CzDA, etc.) on taking specific measures; introduction of tools and new funding modalities; recommendations for the Czech-UNDP Trust Fund; identification of benchmarks and setting up of indicators and targets in order to monitor progress.

Payment schedule and delivery dates

Draft analytical report is to be delivered by 31 October 2015. Final Report is to be delivered by 15 November 2015. 100% of total lump sum payable after delivery of the final report approved by UNDP. 

Notes:

As stipulated in the Act on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, effective from 1 July 2010, which has defined the concepts of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, as well as the roles of various actors in its implementation. Available at http://www.mzv.cz/jnp/en/foreign_relations/development_cooperation_and_humanitarian/act_on_development_cooperation_and.html

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

  • Promotes the mission and values of the UN;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
  • Effective interpersonal and communication skills.

Functional competencies:

  • Strong analytical, research, reporting and writing abilities;
  • Strong organizational competencies;
  • Ability to assess complex situations in order to screen succinctly and clearly critical issues and draw forward-looking conclusions.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree preferably in Business Administration, Economics, International Development or other fields related to the scope of the assignment.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years’ experience in ODA project management, managing technical assistance projects in donor countries, or having policy advisory experience in international development banks, or international development organizations; previous working experience with UNDP is an asset;
  • At least 3 policy advisory assignments for national government authorities in an OECD/DAC member country responsible for development cooperation or economic diplomacy; experience with project evaluation and with benchmarking is an asset, experience in building business development partnerships of an OECD/DAC member country is an asset.

Language:

  • Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills in English (include at least one example of an analytical report/policy paper in your application).

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should 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.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.
Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:

  • Criteria A (Education) – max point - 5;
  • Criteria B (At least 3 years’ experience in ODA project management, leading technical assistance projects, or policy advisory experience in international development banks, or international development organizations; previous working experience with UNDP is an asset) – max points - 10;
  • Criteria C (At least 3 years of policy advisory for national government authorities in an OECD/DAC member country responsible for development cooperation or economic diplomacy; experience with project evaluation and benchmarking is an asset.) – max points - 10;
  • Criteria D (Analytical and drafting skills in English) – max points - 10.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points

Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website.

The application should contain:

  • Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
  • Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
  • Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, travel, per diems and any other possible costs);
  • Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials;
  • Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. 

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. 

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.