UNDP Jobs - 60388- International Consultant for the Support to the Na

International Consultant for the Support to the National Youth Strategy Development

Location :

Home-based and Podgorica, MONTENEGRO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Oct-2015

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Up to 20 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Mid-October 2015 - 31 March 2016

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

The UN in Montenegro is working under Delivering as One model of work and in partnership with the Government and other development stakeholders in civil society and the private sector, the UN system delivers focused and value-added results in areas of human rights and development. The UN system in Montenegro is jointly implementing a Programme on Youth Empowerment (Joint UN Youth Programme), with a focus on underdeveloped North of the country. The joint programme is managed by the UN Coordination Office on behalf of UN Country Team.

Youth in Montenegro and support in development of the new National Youth Strategy: Youth in Montenegro (15-29) make up 21.5% of the country’s 620,029 population. Youth has a low level of democratic participation and are not always recognized as a resource to be invested in, and they are not prioritized in the public policy agenda. They are poorly served by an education system that is under-performing, as evidenced by approximately half of Montenegrin students scoring below basic literacy levels in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

PISA 2012 results have shown that a half of Montenegrin 15 year olds are functionally illiterate which clearly indicated the need to improve the quality and relevance of the skills and competences with which young people leave school. The urgency of addressing this issue is also underlined by the current situation in which Montenegro is facing high youth unemployment (38%), as well as high youth share in informal employment. This is accompanied with a serious mismatch between the skills young people develop through education and those needed by the labour market, as identified in the Study of labour market needs, 2013 (by the Ministry of Labour), and programmed in the National Action Plan on Employment and Human Resources Development, Montenegro Development Directions 2013-2016, National Programme of Economic Reforms and so on.

Besides the career management skills which are usually in the focus of secondary and tertiary education, new skills are needed. They include a set of social and emotional skills developed from young age through the whole education and life cycle. Another relevant issue is the youth policy in general, which still does not exist as such. The Law on Youth is to be adopted in 2015 and there is a need to develop relevant by laws and National Strategy on the Youth. Knowing that youth development, empowerment and transition to labour market involves multifaceted approach, analyses and interventions, youth policy in Montenegro needs strong focus and dedication of resources for its implementation. Main issues in youth policy field are: lack of systematic data and knowledge on youth, lack of coherent strategies and policy on youth, poor human and financial resources in implementation of policies, insufficient inter-ministerial cooperation, poor infrastructure, ad-hoc and reactive planning, as well as lack of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

Under the Joint UN Youth Programme objective ``Supporting enabling environment for youth development`` (research, policy and legislation work), UN System in Montenegro will support government in the process of development of new National Youth Strategy.

Government (Ministry of Education and Directorate for Youth and Sports) has recently started the process of development of the new Youth Strategy. The process has started with the evaluation of the previous Youth strategy (National Youth Action Plan 2006-2011) and the consultations with young people. The evaluation has shown that the main issues in youth policy field are: lack of systematic data and knowledge on youth, poor human and financial resources for the implementation of youth policy, insufficient inter-ministerial cooperation, poor infrastructure, as well as lack of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Previous Youth strategy was methodologically designed inadequately, which led to the constraints in measuring its impact. Priority areas of the new Youth Strategy should be those with most gaps: competencies for life (soft skills, knowledge, values, character traits), employability/employment, autonomy, participation, as well as transversal issues of youth information and quality youth services. However, internationally adopted youth policy principles should be the basis for the design and implementation of the strategy. This means that, for example, principle of holistic youth policy should be taken into account when deciding on the (priority) issues/areas of the new Youth Strategy.

It will be of the utmost importance to use sound methodology in designing the strategy, so as to ensure real change and impact of the strategy. The strategy should be based on theory of change and methodology such as results-based management.

Mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy are another crucial issue, and those should ensure commitment of all governmental actors involved, strong leadership, coordination in the implementation of the measures as well as data collection and reporting, etc.

As for the process, it will encompass the following steps:

Evaluation of the previous Youth strategy and consultations with young people (finished);
Preparing the Situation analysis in all areas of concern for young people, involving overview of the main issues, main interventions and main gaps;
Decide on the approach to the design of the strategy (concept, principles, areas, transversal issues, methodology);
Work group establishment and capacity building (work group will be consisted of governmental representatives – line ministries and civil/youth sector);
Design of the strategy;
Consultations with young people and other stakeholders (the consultations will be realised in the phase of designing measures as well as in the phase of public consultations on the draft strategy);
Adoption of the strategy by the Government

The process will be led by two national consultants, engaged by the Directorate for Youth and Sports, while UN will provide international expert advice.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under direct supervision of the Project Coordinator on the Joint UN Youth Programme, and overall guidance of the UN Coordination Analyst, the consultant will:

Provide a short guidance report on the contemporary international standards and developments in the youth policy (including best mechanisms for the youth policy development and implementation, lessons learned internationally, compilation of best practices regarding the measures in specific areas of youth policy that had proven impact);
Provide inputs/feedback on the zero draft of the Situation Analysis on Youth, which will be developed by national consultants;
Provide expertise and support on the specificities of the process of strategy design (concept of the strategy, principles, areas, transversal issues, methodology);
Assist/cooperate with national consultants in choosing the strategic planning methodology to be used for the design of the strategy;
Support national consultants and the working group in applying the methodology;
Provide inputs/feedback on the final draft of the Strategy;
Advise on mechanisms for the implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the strategy impact.

The international consultant will perform all his/her tasks in cooperation with two national consultants engaged by the Directorate for Youth and Sports, who are leading the process of the strategy development.

The expected deliverables:

The Report on the contemporary international standards and developments in the youth policy development and implementation, with clear recommendations that would be relevant and useful to Montenegro, by 25th October;
Inputs/feedback on the zero draft of the Situation Analysis on Youth, by 30th October 2015;
Inputs for the strategic planning methodology for the design of the Strategy, by 10th November 2015;
Facilitate at least two training sessions during the planning meeting of the working group on international youth policy standards and strategic planning methodology to be used for the design of the strategy, by 25th November;
Inputs/feedback on the final draft of the Strategy and regular advise on mechanisms for the implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the strategy impact throughout the whole process of strategy design, until 30th March.

Inputs:

The Consultant will be provided with the Recommendations for the new Youth Strategy development, based on the Evaluation of the previous Youth Strategy and consultations with young people, other relevant research and analysis available, as well as the Zero draft of Situation Analysis on Youth.

Reporting:

The consultant will be responsible for written regular reporting to the UN Coordination Office and Project Coordinator, and it should contain sufficiently detailed information that would allow for the appraisal of effectiveness of the assignment’s activities to date.

Time duration and travel:

The consultant will be engaged under Individual Contract, for a total of 20 consultancy days, in the period from October 2015 to March 2016. The Consultant is expected to work from home and in Montenegro during the assignment duration. The nature of the tasks involves presence in Montenegro for maximum 5 working days during the assignment (up to 3 days in Podgorica and 2 days elsewhere in Montenegro). All travel related costs, inluding living allowances for days spent in Montenegro, should be included in the financial offer.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;
Excellent time management skills;
Excellent organizational skills with developed attention to detail;
Proven ability to: Research, analyse, evaluate and synthesize information,
Produce compelling reports and convey complex concepts to workshop participants,
Work well under pressure and manage conflicting priorities;
Think strategically;
Express ideas clearly and concisely;
Work both independently and in teams;
Demonstrate self-confidence combined with sensitivity to gender and culture.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University Degree in Social Sciences, Economics, Finances, Business, Public Administration or similar.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years of relevant working experience in youth policy at the national and/or international level, preferably with international organisations active in youth policy field, such as UN, EU, CoE;
Sound experience in capacity development, results-based management, strategic planning, facilitation of workshops;
Excellent computer skills.

Language:

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English language.

Criteria for selection:

Combined Scoring method will be used. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the inidividual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: (i) responsive, compliant, acceptable, and (ii) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria weigth - 70% (Background and education 10%; Relevant previous experience 20%; Substantial knowledge/Required competencies 30%; Required language 10%);
Financial criteria weight - 30%

Only offerors obtaining a minimum 490 points for technical criteria will be considered for the financial evaluation.

For more information on procurement methodology for Individual Contractors, please refer to Procurement Notice.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications by October 6, 2015 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain a duly completed Personal History Form (P11) that can be downloaded from http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html.

Only the short-listed applicants will be contacted and requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work and travel envisaged in the section "Description of Responsibilities".