UNDP Jobs - 60969- Individual Consultant - Preparation of Mountaineer

Individual Consultant - Preparation of Mountaineering Regulations and Guidelines

Location :

Kampala, UGANDA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

09-Nov-2015

Application Deadline :

02-Nov-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

30 Working Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

30 Working Days

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

Globally tourism is one of the world’s fastest growing industries with a multiplier effect for the rest of the economy. The contribution of Travel and Tourism to the global economy rose to 9.5% GDP ($7trillion) in 2014. Tourism has increasingly become a major source of economic growth, employment and revenue for Uganda. Over the last decade, the tourism sector has demonstrated high potential for generating revenue and employment at a low cost, implying a high return on investment. The sector’s total contribution to GDP in 2014 was 9.9% (Ugx 6,395.4 billion) compared to 7.9% (Ugx 5,495.0 billion) in 2013 and 8.8% in 2012 (Ugx 4,993.6 billion) . According the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism sector in Uganda directly supported 247,000 (3.6% of total employment) up from 182,500 jobs (2.8% of total employment) in 2013. Further, receipts from tourism have tremendously increased from USD 802 million in 2010 to USD 1.2 billion in 2013 (World Bank, 2015).

In recognition of the potential of tourism to contribute to economic transformation, employment creation and poverty reduction, the government has in its Vision 2040, the long term national planning framework, recognized that in the short to medium term, the tourism sector will become the mainstay of the economy making the highest contribution to foreign exchange earnings, tax and non-tax revenue, and employment and to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Government of Uganda has also identified tourism as one of the primary growth sectors and a key driver of social economic transformation and creation of sustainable livelihoods in the National Development Plan II 2016/17-2020/21. The growth and development of the sector is guided by Uganda Tourism Act 2008; Uganda Wildlife Act 2000; Tourism Policy, 2015; the Wildlife Policy 2014; and the Uganda Tourism Development Master Plan 2014 – 2024 among others.

Tourism in Uganda is heavily nature-based and is primarily focused on wildlife and landscape. The country is endowed with several mountains including the snow-capped Rwenzori mountain – the only block mountain in the rift valley. Other mountains in Uganda include Elgon, Moroto and the Virunga ranges among others. Several national parks in Uganda are located on the foothills of mountains and thus offer opportunities for mountaineering activities such as mountain and rock climbing, hiking and nature walks. The history of mountaineering in Uganda dates back to 150 AD the Alexandrian Greek geographer Ptolemy and the first non-African explorer to reach the summit was the Duke of Abruzzi in 1906. Later in 1946, Rene Bere formed the East Africa Mountain Club that aimed to explore the mountains bio diversity and introduce the sport of hill walking and related skills of alpinism. The club initiated the mapping of most of the mountains and rocks in Uganda.

The Uganda Tourism Act was passed by Parliament in 2008 to: reform, consolidate and streamline the law relating to tourism; provide for licensing, regulating and controlling the sector; and to give effect to the implementation of the tourism policy of Government among others. However, regulations and guidelines to operationalize the Act have not been developed. The lack of a regulatory framework for the development of this mountaineering has predisposed many adventurers to security and safety risks, but has also constrained potential development and promotion of this sector.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

Uganda Wildlife Authority has attempted to develop mountaineering and rock climbing activities for the mountainous attractions within the protected areas. However, mountaineering outside the protected areas has not been developed nor is it regulated. The growth of mountaineering activities is constrained by inter alia: the lack of regulations guiding its development; lack of safety and security standards for mountaineering tourism; inadequate basic infrastructure to support mountaineering and limited promotion of investments in the subsector. In this regard, UNDP is seeking the services of a qualified consultant (s) to support the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) in the development of a regulatory framework to ensure safety, attract investment and promote competitive enterprise engagement. In particular, the consultant will support the preparation of Regulations and Guidelines for mountaineering in accordance with international best practices.

The consultant (s) will undertake the preparation of the Regulations and Guidelines that will among others:

Provide an operational definition of the scope and categories of mountaineering and rock climbing tourism activities and enterprises;
Define the framework and minimum requirements for registration and licensing of enterprises offering mountaineering and rock climbing tourism activities;
Describe the minimum basic safety security standards and operational guidelines for mountaineering and rock climbing tourism activities;
Provide for appropriate sanctions and penalties for enterprises failing to comply with minimum safety and security standards; and
Provide information on the investment incentives, financing options, training and skilling requirements (training guide) as well as certification for mountaineering and rock climbing tourism enterprises (Investor’s guide).

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:
The key deliverables of this assignment include:

Acceptable inception report on the assignment within five (5) work days of signing of the contract detailing the understanding/ interpretation of the TORs; the methodology of carrying out the assignment; work plan and implementation schedule as agreed upon with UNDP and Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities;
Acceptable draft Mountaineering Regulations and guidelines in line with the specifications described in the scope of work;
Acceptable final draft Mountaineering Regulations and guidelines in line with the specifications described in the scope of work (incorporating comments and inputs from the validation workshop).

Deliverables/ Outputs:

Acceptable inception report on the assignment as per deliverable 1, 7 working days after signing of the contract;
Acceptable draft Mountaineering Regulations and guidelines in line with the specifications described in the scope of work as per deliverable 2, 25 working days after signing the contract;
Acceptable final draft Mountaineering Regulations and guidelines in line with the specifications described in the scope of work(incorporating comments and inputs from the validation workshop) as per deliverable 3, 30 working days after signing the contract.

Note: All deliverables to be reviewed and approved by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities; Team Leader - Growth and Poverty Reduction, UNDP; Project Manager.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will work closely with the project team and shall report to the Team Leader - Growth and Poverty Reduction Programme, UNDP and Project manager who will be responsible for ensuring the overall technical quality of the deliverables, and compliance with the terms of the assignment.

The required format for all the reports generated shall be agreed with the MTWA and UNDP upon the inception of the assignment.

All costs needed to achieve the deliverables set forth in this RFP are to be included in the financial proposals from the offerors (transport, professional fees, communication, consumables, living allowances, etc.) except logistical costs related to the organization of the validation workshop.

Duration of the Work:

The expected duration for the assignment is thirty (30) work days equivalent from date of approval and acceptance of contract by both parties.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

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;
Ability to act professionally and flexibility to engage with government officials, development partner representatives and the private sector.

Core Competencies:

Excellent communication skills, organized (dealing with many stakeholders);
Planning/organizational skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree in Tourism, mountaineering and rock climbing, geography or related fields.

Experience:

At least seven (7) years of relevant demonstrated experience in mountaineering and rock climbing tourism operations.
Sound knowledge of mountaineering and rock climbing safety and security regulations and demonstrated understanding of the global tourism industry and trends in context of Uganda and the East African region;
International experience in conducting similar assignments and understanding of the global tourism industry and trends in the context of the East African region is desirable;
Analytical and conceptual ability, communication skills.

Price proposal and schedule of payments

All costs needed to achieve the deliverables set forth in this RFP are to be included in the financial proposals from the offerors (professional fees, communication, transport, living allowances, etc.) except logistical costs related to the organization of the planning meetings and validation workshop.

20% Inception report as per deliverable 1;
40% Submission of acceptable draft Mountaineering Regulations and guidelines in line with the specifications described in the scope of work as per deliverable 2;
40% Submission of acceptable final draft Mountaineering Regulations and guidelines in line with the specifications described in the scope of work (incorporating comments and inputs from the validation workshop) as per deliverable 3.

Duty Station:

The consultant's duty station shall be Kampala. The contractor shall be expected to report on the progress of the assignment on a bi-monthly basis.

Notes:

The term “All inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal;
Individuals on IC are not UN staff are therefore not entitled to DSAs. All living allowances required to perform the demands of the TOR must be incorporated in the financial proposal, whether the fees are expressed as daily fees or lump sum amount.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Application Procedure

Interested individual consultants must submit/upload an electronic application of 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. [If applicable. A methodology is recommended for intellectual services, but may be omitted for support services].
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=26029

Annexes (to be downloaded from UNDP Uganda Website, procurement notices section: www.undp.or.ug)
Annex I - Individual Contractor General Terms and Conditions
Annex II – Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor Assignment