Background

Candidates who previously applied need not re-apply.

Uganda is among 12 countries that have received a grant from the GEF to pilot an integrated approach to Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in Sub Saharan Africa. The grant will support countries to integrate priorities that safeguard and maintain ecosystem services into investments improving smallholder agriculture and food value chains. The Uganda Child Project targets the greater Northern region of Uganda that harbours over six million people with special focus on Karamoja sub-region. The project shall cover 7 districts in Karamoja, with potential to cover additional 4 districts in Lango and Acholi sub-regions.  The sub regions are characterized by semi-arid climate, with one long rain season and long dry spells poor rainfall distribution and vulnerability to drought and food insecurity.

The project will be developed within the context of the National Development Plan2 (NDP II) to promote and ensure the rational and sustainable utilization, development and effective management of environment and natural resources for socio-economic development of the country, promote a low carbon emission development path, promote the rehabilitation and conservation of forests and wetlands, implement the National Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification under the UNCCD and other relevant national policy and legal frameworks.

In order to address the main barriers to transforming the Karamoja sub-region and its production systems into a sustainable self-sufficient food business model and sustainable rural livelihoods, the project proposes the following approach:

• Establish multi-stakeholder platforms  to support policy and institutional reforms necessary for upscaling integrated natural resources and ecosystems management;
• Establish policies / incentives that support viable smallholder agriculture systems and food value-chains at local level;
•  Support the expansion of land area, agro-ecosystems and investment flows under integrated natural resources management approaches and SLM technologies (including practices linked to GHG emission reduction -CSA);
•  Develop a framework for multi-scale assessment, monitoring GEB and integration of resilience in production landscapes (less vulnerable people nd more resilient ecosystems).

A Project Preparation Grant (PPG) has been approved by the GEF Secretariat to support development of a full size project document within a timeframe of 12 months. Project preparation activities will consist of multi-stakeholder consultations and PPG workshops to ensure involvement of key stakeholders in project design processes and generate project ownership, and systematization of knowledge about needs, potential and commitments of actors and agents at national and local level. The activities will contribute to awareness raising on the project and ensure active participation by local actors, technical sectors and political support to maximise design synergies and buy-in during the project development phase.

In this context, a National Social Development Expert/Anthropologist is required to conduct a social analysis (livelihoods, institutions and vulnerability analysis, gender analysis and stakeholder analysis), and will prepare a written report describing social conditions and the institutional framework in the project area, following an outline report template.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is the lead on the part of government. Other key Stakeholder groups include (but not limited to) Office of the Prime Minister, the National Forestry Authority (NFA), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), National Agricultural research Organization (NARO), Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE); GEF-Small Grants Programme, Africa Innovations Center, ICRAF, Civil society and Private sector organizations in the project area.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables:

Objective:

The overall aim of the project is to enhance long term environmental sustainability and resilience of food production systems to improve food security. This will be achieved by creating an enabling policy and institutional framework relevant for upscaling Integrated Natural Resources Management (NRM) approaches and SLM technologies, establishing mechanisms including incentives for smallholder agriculture and food value chains development, increasing land area and agro-ecosystems under SLM including carbon smart land use practices and integrated /multi-sector and multi-stakeholder approaches.

Scope of services

In coordination with national executing partners, the team of PPG experts, and the other members of the project task force, the consultant will be responsible for conducting a social analysis (livelihoods, institutions and vulnerability analysis, gender analysis and stakeholder analysis), and will prepare a written report describing socio-economic conditions and the institutional framework in the project area, following a report outline template.

• To prepare a social analysis report comprising livelihoods, institutions and vulnerability analysis, a stakeholder analysis and a gender analysis. The report should comprise of:
• Baselines on existing social and economic factors that influence sustainability and resilience building for agro-ecosystems and food value chains;
• a description of the social conditions in the project intervention area including the identification of project stakeholders, their relationships, potential differences and conflicts, and potential resistances and threats to proposed interventions;
• description and assessment of the rural asset base  and of the vulnerability context: shocks, trends, seasonality, coping strategies, source of resilience, based on a participatory self-assessment of climate resilience addressing environment, social, economic, agricultural practices & governance aspects (drawing on SHARP and LADA Local tools) with the focus on food security;
• Definition of target groups and of targeting  and gender mainstreaming measures;

Gender analysis:

• Description of gender roles and responsibilities in production and livelihood systems: typical men’s and women’s crops, livestock and activities; existing workload and time allocations of women and men (in productive and reproductive/household roles); responsibilities in house. Access to and control of resources: women’s and men’s access to and control over productive and household assets, main sources of income; control of income; patterns of access to extension services, rural finance and agricultural marketing.
• Skill, knowledge and information: women’s and men’s production priorities and needs in capacity development (farming and business skills etc.), agricultural research and technology transfer; access to natural assets (land, water, genetic resources) and services (extension, training,  savings and credit, markets etc.) communication, knowledge sharing  and information networks.
• Gender roles in decision-making: women’s and men’s participation and responsibilities in decision-making in the home, groups and community; women’s membership in local government, producer and community-based organizations; women’s access to leadership positions in the public sector, local government, producer and community-based organizations at national and decentralized levels; capacity-building of women as members and leaders of organizations.
• Project-related considerations: project’s likely gender impact; match between project activities and gender roles, livelihoods, resources and constraints; women’s representation on project-related decision-making bodies.
• Determine if the project is low, moderate or high risk, and whether UNDP/FAO social safeguard/standard policies are triggered. If social and environment safeguards are triggered, complete the relevant screening requirements in consultation with the project design team and inter-Ministerial Technical committee on sustainable Land management.

Support the GEF Project design team in writing relevant sub-sections of the Project Document dealing with food security and gender issues, indigenous peoples, target groups, targeting measures, participatory processes, capacity development, grassroots institutions, and cultural values, and in close collaboration with the PPG team, contribute to preparing a draft project results matrix. The social development expert will also support the PPG team in identifying potential risks that might prevent the project objectives from being achieved and elaborate mitigation measures for the successful implementation of the project.

• Inception report, 5 working days;
• A written baseline report, 20 working days;
• An elaborate project strategy mainly focusing on addressing gender and other socio economic aspects of implementing the project, 10 working days;
• UNDP/FAO Social and Environmental Screening Report completed, as appropriate, 10 working days.

Note:

All deliverables will be reviewed and approved by UNDP/Team Leader EE/FAO Technical Advisor.

Payment Schedule:

• 30% upon presentation of an acceptable inception report, deliverable #1;
• 40% upon completion of deliverables #2, 3;
• 30% upon completion of deliverables #4 and presentation of the draft project document for stakeholder comments.

Working Arrangments:

Overall, the Social and Gender Expert will report to the UNDP Country Director on contractual obligations (supervised by the Team Leader Energy and Environment), pertaining to the assignment. All reports and deliverables shall be approved by the Team Leader Energy and Environment in consultation with the Lead Consultant. The consultant will maintain regular contact with the UNDP and provide fortnightly updates on the status of the assignment.

The consultant will be responsible for liaising with stakeholders for interviews, arranging field visits and coordinating with Government. Finalization of the project document for presentation to GEF will be done in collaboration with the UNDP Regional Technical Advisor and FAO Technical Advisor. UNDP will support organization of stakeholder workshops to review the inception and draft reports.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries is the focal point and provides overall leadership for the project on behalf government in accordance Country Sustainable Land Management Investment Framework (2010-2020) implementation framework and National Development Plan 2015/16-2020.  In order to build national capacity, increase ownership and ease development of the project document, the consultant will liaise with the Inter-ministerial Technical Committee on Sustainable land management who shall form a Steering committee to oversee project preparatory activities.  In addition, the Consultant will liaise, interact, and collaborate/meet with officials from District Local Governments within the project area as well as relevant Central Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The Steering Committee shall support the consultant and will do but not limited to the following:

• Provide high level orientation and guidance for the project to ensure policy and technical consistency of the project document preparatory actions;
•  Participate in project development workshops to support identification and filling of information gaps regarding the legal/ policy or institutional framework around  the food value chains for the target region;
• Generate and provide baseline data concerning food security in the Karamoja region and the coping mechanisms currently used, through partnering with local governments, communities and non-government agencies working in Karamoja;
• Increase awareness through the consultations with other project partners to ensure ownership of project results, and ensure that the project develops in accordance with national development objectives, goals and policies;
• Identify specific activities to be undertaken in order to achieve the overall project objective within the context of the existing legal frame works, and integration and coordination of project activities with other related government and donor-funded initiatives
• Review and validate consultant reports and project strategy; and
• Mobilize co- financing commitment letters;
• Pay special attention to the assumptions and risks identified in the log frame, and seek measures to minimize these threats to project success.

UNDP will support the Consultant in the following areas;

•  Access to UNDP Office and its infrastructure (e.g conference room and internet while at UNDP);
• Transport for visits to the field (for official purposes only);
• UNDP Kampala with support from the Karamoja office will coordinate the keep abreast of the mission’s activities during the consultant’s stay;
•  Introduction of the consultant to partners;
• Organize stakeholder consultation workshops where required.

Duration of the Work:

45 Working days.

Duty Station:

Home based with duty travel to the project area in Karamoja.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Professionalism

• Ability to act professionally and flexibly to engage with government officials, donor representatives, and local communities. Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
•  Mature judgment and initiative;
• Ability to present complex issues in a simple and clear manner;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Good communication and organizational skills.

Corporate competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• At least a Master’s Degree in rural sociology, anthropology, rural development studies or a related discipline.

Experience:

• 5 year experience in conducting gender analysis.
• Of which 5 year experience in designing agricultural investment projects, in particular project targeting.
•  Experience and extent of knowledge in social safeguards.
• Experience in GEF or Multilateral Development Bank projects is highly desirable.

Language:

• Fluent in English.

Price Proposal and Payment Schedule:

Pricing: The Lump Sum Amount approach shall be used with the following expectations:

• The lump sum amount must be “all-inclusive”;
• The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components;
•  The initial payment includes the actual cost of the IC’s travel to arrive at the designated Duty Station.   This implies that the completion of the journey can be considered as one of the deliverables payable upon arrival.

Payment Schedule:

• 30% upon presentation of an acceptable inception report, deliverable #1;
• 40% upon completion of deliverables #2, 3;
• 30% upon completion of deliverables #4 and 5 and presentation of the draft project document for stakeholder comments.

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. Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation; Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation
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 (desk reviews based on CV) 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.
Evaluation of Proposals (Method and Criteria)

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis methodology.

The award of the contract shall 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. 70%-30%.

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
Technical Criteria – Maximum 1000 points

• Expertise of the Individual – 300 Points.

 Description of approach/methodology to assignment – 700 Points.

Application Requirements:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

• CV In English;
• Technical and Financial Proposal*- (using the standard template) Costs related to missions will be paid separately as per UNDP rules and regulations;
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials;
• Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into one single file.

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.
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://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=24593.
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.
Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
•  A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.

Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II)

Annexes (to be downloaded from UNDP Uganda Website, procurement notices section: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=24593): Reference No. 24593 Interested applicants should send an email to:  justine.naiga-bagonza@undp.org  and copy diana.nabbanja@undp.org   for a detailed copy of the Terms of Reference.

• Annex I - Individual Contractor General Terms and Conditions.
• Annex II –  Finacial proposal from.