UNDP Jobs - 60196- Climate Change Adaptation and Gender Research Cons

Climate Change Adaptation and Gender Research Consultant

Location :

Home Based with Limited Mission Travels

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

20-Oct-2015

Application Deadline :

04-Oct-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Through 30 April, 2016

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

In 2013 Canada established the Climate Change Adaptation Facility (CCAF) in partnership with UNDP. This facility incorporates six national projects that scale up or extend projects previously supported by the Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund (GEF/LDCF). The CCAF projects are being undertaken in Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Haiti, Mali, Niger and Sudan. They all similarly aim to strengthen resilient approaches to agriculture and water management, with an emphasis on gender-sensitive and gender-responsive approaches.

In 2014, a global component of the CCAF was launched, which aims to promote south-south cooperation amongst the six participating countries and enhance understanding about initiatives that address adaptation, especially the gender dimensions. This global component has three outcomes:

Establishing cooperation and communication among the six national projects;
Enhancing effective knowledge management on the experiences and lessons emerging from this portfolio;
Ensuring that results related to gender are documented and shared to inform broader adaptation processes.

To achieve these objectives, with a focus on the third, the CCAF is developing an in-depth study on gender-responsive adaptation approaches. This study will draw on the experiences, results and lessons learned from the CCAF portfolio, as well as other relevant adaptation projects within UNDP’s broader portfolio. The publication will be founded in existing literature in the area of climate change adaptation and gender, including UNDP’s publications, guidance material and training manuals. It targets adaptation practitioners and decision-makers at all levels (from community to global) who are designing new adaptation initiatives and/or developing new climate change-related policies. The overall aim of the publication is to better understand how gender-responsive approaches can be cost-effective and lead to greater adaptation impact. This includes an examination of the inputs and resources (financial, human and knowledge) required for gender-responsive approaches. The publication will also provide the support for building the case for scaling up gender-responsive project results into national climate responses. This includes ensuring successful measures inform national policy frameworks and budgets.

UNDP is seeking a consultant to take the lead on developing this publication. He/she would undertake the necessary research (both desk review and field visits) and writing to develop the content for the publication. He/she will work closely with the CCAF project coordinator, as well as UNDP’s Gender Team, CCAF national project teams, UNDP Regional Technical Advisors, and other relevant project teams and UNDP Technical Advisors.

Duties and Responsibilities

Description of responsibilities:

This consultant will be responsible for undertaking the necessary research, analysis and writing to develop an in-depth study of gender-responsive approaches to climate change adaptation under the CCAF projects and UNDP’s broader adaptation portfolio.

The study will consist of the following components:

Methodology:

Analytical framework for understanding the links between gender and climate change adaptation, and map out strategy for showing how gender-responsive approaches can be cost-effective and lead to greater adaptation impact. This includes both an examination of the inputs and resources (financial, human and knowledge) required, as well as an analysis of the impacts of these approaches. It should also cover issues of how different measures are scaled up and/or linked to national policy frameworks and budgets.

Case Studies:

Applying the analytical framework to a series of 8-10 case study experiences (6 CCAF projects + others) to understand the process for applying gender-responsive approaches in each country, as well as the results achieved.

Summary and Conclusions:

Based on review/analysis of each country, general summary of trends and conclusions demonstrated for the effectiveness and impact of gender-responsive approaches.

Lessons/Recommendations:

This section will be critical in providing the specific lessons and recommendations that will help to inform future project design, implementation and policy development. These recommendations should be clearly supported by evidence-based findings from the case studies.

Deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following, according to the indicated schedule:

Development of methodology, based on in-depth literature review, with a focus on UNDP’s products related to gender and climate change adaptation. The methodology should be no more than 5-10 pages, and include an analytic framework and strategy for understanding how gender-responsive adaptation approaches can be cost-effective and lead to greater adaptation impact, as well as how they can be scaled up through the use of national policy frameworks - by 6 November, 2015;
Development of case study template, which should provide an outline for the case studies. This takes into account the methodology and how it can be applied to the specific project experiences – by 6 November, 2015;
Undertake both desk-based and in-country research for case study analysis. This would involve reviewing all existing documents related to implementation and results of the 8-10 projects selected for case studies. It would also include interviews and on-site analysis in country - by 28 February, 2016;
Write up 8-10 case studies using the template developed on research undertaken. Each case study should be no more than 5 pages- by 28 February, 2016;
Write up summary and conclusions sections for the publication. This should be no more than 5 pages, and provide a summary of the analysis presented in the body of the study. It can include tables and figures as needed (to be designed by a professional designer upon final completion of the report). This summary will build the case for scaling up gender-responsive approaches and strategies for doing so (i.e. informing national climate policy frameworks and budgets)- by 15 March, 2016;
Development of Lessons and Recommendations. This section should draw on the evidence presented and analysis undertaken on the 8-10 case studies. It should be no more than 5-7 pages, and can also include visuals to support the content. This should be seen as a potential stand-alone piece, which could be pulled out of the study for separate dissemination - by 15 March, 2016;
Finalize full draft publication. The total publication should be no longer than 70 pages – by 1 April, 2016;
Finalize full publication based on feedback from UNDP, project teams and other partners, as needed. The total publication should be no longer than 70 pages - by 30 April, 2016.

Deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the Project Coordinator for Climate Change Adaptation Facility (CCAF).

Payment Schedule

Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion and acceptance of the deliverables by the Project Coordinator for Climate Change Adaptation Facility (CCAF) as per below percentages:

Completion of the methodology and case study template, by 6 November – 10%;
Completion of case studies, summary, lessons and recommendations, by 15 March, 2016. – 40%;
Finalization of full publication including feedback from UNDP, project teams and other partners, by 30 April, 2016 – 50%.

Working arrangements:

The Consultant will be home-based with limited mission travel;
The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, software, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
Payments will be made upon satisfactory delivery of outputs and submission of a certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor.

Travel:

Travel may be required; up to four mission travels to participating countries. One of these missions would include the end of the project workshop in Cambodia from 16-17 November, 2015; other missions will be determined once the consultancy is initiated;
Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the supervisor;
The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
Consultants are required to comply with the United Nations (UN) security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;
Consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas and security clearances needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
The consultant will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements (including travel claims) in line with UNDP travel policies;
All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents. Costs for airfares, terminal expenses, and living allowances should not be included in the financial proposal.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s vision, mission and values;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Professionalism:

Results-driven, initiative-taking, ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines;
Remains calm and in control even under pressure, and consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Ability to work under minimum supervision;
Highly motivated with a positive attitude and problem-solving approach;
Self-motivated with an ability to accept responsibility and accountability for decisions and actions.

Communication:

Speaks and writes clearly and effectively;
Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience;
Good interpersonal and networking skills, supports and encourages open communication.

Client Orientation:

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with clients;
Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective;
Keeps the client informed of problems or delays ;
Consults with clients and ensures their needs are represented in decision-making processes.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in gender studies, climate change adaptation or any other closely related field, PhD would be an advantage (max. 10 points).

Experience:

At least 10 years of relevant working experience in research and writing related to climate change adaptation and and/or gender (max. 10 points);
Experience undertaking qualitative research through literature review and interviews (max. 15 points). Please provide one example of a relevant published analytic report related to climate change adaptation and/or gender issues, which draws on data from project experiences.
Demonstrated writing and communication skills, particularly in the context of analytic writing (demonstrated through publication record). Please provide 3 examples and/or links in your application (max. 15 points );
Experience implementing adaptation-related projects an asset (max. 5 points);
Experience with UNDP-GEF projects an asset (max. 5 points);
Experience working in more than one region (Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, Arab States) an asset (max. 5 points).

Language:

Fluency in English (max. 5 points);
Ability to read and speak in French is an advantage (max. 5 points).

Selection criteria and award of contract:

Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated;
Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the technical criteria will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer will be weighted at 30%;
The technical criteria (education, experience, languages [max 75 points] and proposed methodology [max 25 points]) will be based on maximum 100 points;
Only the top 3 candidates that have achieved a minimum of 70 points from the combined total technical points (education, experience, languages and proposed methodology) will be considered for financial evaluation;
Financial score (max 100 points) shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal of those technically qualified;
The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, including breakdown per deliverable. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including number of anticipated working days and all foreseeable expenses for this assignment; costs for mission travels should not be included in the financial proposal);
Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.

Documentation to be submitted:

Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the below link;
Proposed Methodology for the Completion of Services. The applicant must describe how s/he will address/deliver the demands of the assignment, providing a brief technical proposal outlining the approach to be taken for this assignment and anticipated number of work days;(no more than one page);
Example of one relevant published analytic report related to climate change adaptation and/or gender issues, which draws on data from project experiences;
3 Examples and/or links demonstrating writing and communication skills, particularly in the context of analytic writing (please attach or provide links);
Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.

Kindly note you can upload only ONE document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.