UNDP Jobs - 66026- National Technical Advisor for the Consolidated Pr

National Technical Advisor for the Consolidated Programme Supported to the Round Table and the National Planning Processes

Location :

Vientiane Capital, LAO PDR

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jun-2016

Application Deadline :

16-May-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

202 working days between 1 June 2016 – 30 May 2017

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

Background

Lao PDR is a Least Developed Country (LDC) located in Southeast Asia and comprising a relatively small population of approximately 6.5 million inhabitants. Poverty reduction is one of the key priorities outlined in the National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP). Poverty rates decreased from 27.6 percent in 2008 to 23.2 percent in 2012-2013. The 7th NSEDP (2011-2015) set out targets aimed to achieved sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty, while gradually transforming Lao PDR into a more open, private sector led economy and prioritising the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The 8th NSEDP sets the national vision of meeting the eligibility criteria of LDC graduation by 2020. Despite evident progress, inequality remains a concern, as evidenced by the increase in Gini coefficient from 32.6 in 2002 to 36.2 in 2012[1]. Disparities between urban and rural areas are particularly manifest. Thus, it is essential to ensure the country’s balanced growth and to address the potential impacts of its key initiatives, especially in terms of preventing rising inequality and benefitting the poorest.

2016 is an important crossroad in Lao development journey with the Chairmanship of the ASEAN, a transition from the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) to the implementation of the new 8th NSEDP and a transition from the MDGs to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the implementation of the outcomes of the 12th High Level Round Table Meeting and the Vientiane Declaration on Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, and the launching of the National Human Development Report on LDC graduation. These constitute important milestones for the Government with support from its development partners toward the graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2020.

Lao PDR has also been selected as a pilot country for the SDG implementation. Therefore, identifying strategic means of implementation is the main priority for the Government which will be done within the framework of the 8th NSEDP. In particular, the Government acknowledges the imperative of greater partnership - an intensive engagement in support of implementation of all the goals and targets, bringing together Governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors and mobilizing all available resources. The scale and ambition of the new agenda require the inclusion of new partners such as national parliaments, regional and local authorities, academia and volunteer groups.

One of UNDP’s flagship programmes with the Government of Lao PDR in support of these objectives is the programme on ‘Realizing the MDGs in Lao PDR – consolidated Programme of Support to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) for the Achievement of the valuable Goals of the Seventh NSEDP 2011-2015/6’ (the programme has been extended by one year to 2016).

Duties and Responsibilities

There are 9 tasks in total of this assignment for a National Technical Advisor from mid-2016 to mid-2017. These tasks are clustered by three objectives of the assignment (six tasks for the objective 1 – Round Table Process; three tasks for the objective 2 – the national planning and policy research and two tasks for the objective 3 - the design and formulation of the new programme) Summary of each task is highlighted as follow:

Objective 1 - Round Table Process

Task 1.1 - An effective follow up and implementation of the policy areas as discussed during the 12th High Level Round Table Meeting (2015 12th HL RTM) and the Round Table Implementation Meeting (RTIM 2016)

Guide DIC and SWGs to report on the follow up and actions on policy areas as discussed emerged from the 12th HL RTM (2015) and the 2016 RTIM;
Support DIC to ensure that the policy areas are reasonably translated into actions and implemented at national, sectoral and provincial levels;
Identify and monitor the progress of key activities for 2016 and 2017 Round Table Process (work plan, concept note, roadmap, and other related documents).

Task 1.2 - Technical input for the review of the Round Table Process in Lao PDR (to be carried out in early 2016), and the formulation of the next five year UNDP supported programme in this area (to be carried in mid-2016) & its implementation in 2017

Support DIC and UNDP in the RTP review (Early 2016) and formulation of the supported programme for the next five years (Mid-2016);
Draft 2016 progress report of the UNDP-supported programme to Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Round Table Process, the National Planning and policy research and MDG implementation, including the transition to the SDGs;
Draft annual work plan for the implementation of the new UNDP supported programme to MPI and MOFA;
Provide technical inputs for the organisation of various meetings and reviews relating to the UNDP supported programme in 2016 and 2017.

Task 1.3 - An effective linkage between the RTMs/RTIMs and the SWG mechanism

Coach and provide guidance to DIC’s Desk Officers who manage SWGs to ensure what discuss at the national level are actually translated into sectoral level and vice versa;
Provide technical inputs for the organisation of meetings of Chairs and Co-Chairs of SWGs;
Provide quarterly update (or regular update as needed) on issues relating to the linkage between the RTMs/RTIMs and SWG mechanism.

Task 1.4 - The development of the VD Country Action Plan (2016-2025) (To be carried out in 2016) and its implementation from 2017 onwards.

Provide technical inputs to support DIC for drafting and crafting the VDCAP (2016-2025) and its monitoring framework;
Facilitate the finalisation of the VDCAP (2016-2015) prior to the 2016 RTIM;
Support and provide technical inputs for the application of the VDCAP (2016-2025) at national, sectoral and provincial levels (end of 2016 and 2017);
Train and support DIC colleagues for an annual review of the implementation of the VDCAP (2016-2025) (to be carried out in 2017).

Task 1.5 - Technical input to support the Government of Lao PDR participating in the global partnership for effective development cooperation and its application for the Lao context

Provide technical support and train DIC for carrying out the 2nd global survey on global partnership for effective development cooperation;
Draft briefing notes for DIC and MPI management on various issues at the country level relating to greater partnership for effective development cooperation;
Support DIC to develop a long term country development cooperation strategy (2016-2025) (to be carried out in 2016) and its application at all levels (to be carried out in 2017);
Support DIC to revise the Prime Minister Decree No. 75 on the ODA management based on the recent development of the country partnership for effective development cooperation (to be carried out in 2016) and its application at all levels (to be carried out in 2017).

Task 1.6 – Capacity development on the effective development cooperation issues

Provide trainings to DIC technical staff on aid coordination and greater partnership for effective development cooperation;
Act as resource person to support DIC in dealing with national and international counterparts on issues relating to greater partnership for effective development cooperation.

Objective 2 - The National Planning Process (Monitoring and Evaluation of the the 8th NSEDP implementation) and Policy Research

Task 2.1 – The application of the 8th NSEDP M&E framework at the sectoral and provincial levels and the reporting on the 8th NSEDP implementation including the SDGs.

Provide technical support to Department of Planning (DOP)/MPI for the roll out of the 8th NSEDP M&E framework;
Support DOP/MPI for a preparation of an annual report on the implementation of the 8th NSEDP (2016 and 2017) which could be used as main background document for the 2016 and 2017 RTIMs;
Support DOP/MPI and MOFA for the SDGs reporting and monitoring based on the 8th NSEDP M&E framework.

Task 2.2 – The linkage between the national planning and budgetary processes

Provide recommendations for creating a better linkage between the national planning and budgetary processes;
Facilitate south-south cooperation and exchange for the application of outcome based national planning and budgeting.

Task 2.3 – Policy research

Support key Departments within MPI to identify key policy areas which need proper analytical work and research and provide suggestions and support on how the research and analytical work could be carried out;
Provide support on the strategic dissemination of the recommendation of the 5th Human Development Report;
Provide suggestions on what would be follow up actions on the latest Human Development Report on the LDC graduation.

Objective 3 - The design and formulation of the UNDP supported programme to Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Achievement of the country’s priorities and the post agenda.

Task 3.1- Supporting during the design key outcomes, outputs and indicators of the new programme after the result of the strategic review and assessment of the current consolidated programme;
Task 3.2 – Providing suggestions on the restructure of the team support for the new programme to ensure the full implementation of the programme with the use both financial and human resource in effectiveness and efficiency manner.

Moreover, in the above context of furthering aid effectiveness, the national consultant will support and advise the UN Country Team on the gradual realization of the core elements of Delivering as One.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Shares knowledge and experience;
Plan and prioritizes work activities to meet organizational goals;
Builds and sustains relationships with key stakeholder groups and project team;
Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate;
Demonstrates excellent and effective written and oral communication skills;
Demonstrate respect to knowledge and culture and religion in a multidisciplinary working environment;
Applies the required depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise to meet job demands;
Uses information technology effectively as a tools and resource;
Demonstrated flexibility and adaptability in taking on this type of consultancy.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Technical Competencies

Good facilitation and coordination skills;
Good political and networking skills;
Strong research, analytical and written skills;
Result oriented, patient, and hands-on with good team work skills;
Knowledge of Lao PDR’s development situation and key related issues;
Knowledge of UNDP rules and procedures, desirable but not necessary;
Excellent computer skills (word, excel, power-point, internet, and other related matters);
Strong data collection and analytical skills;
Capacity development techniques;
Mature personality with experience working in mixed cultural teams;
Strong interpersonal skill and experience in relation building.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced Degree in Economics, Public Administration and Governance, Development and Public Policy, or Political Science.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years’ experience in development related activities, advisory role on effective development cooperation, politics, governance, project/programme management, and capacity development;
Strong research skills on issues relating to development, foreign aid, policy economy, economic development, public policy and other related fields;
Experience in carrying research and preparing policy briefs;
Experience in managing multi-stakeholder engagement and politics is desirable;
Prior experience with government, UNDP/UN agencies and other international organization is desirable;
Knowledge and experience in the Round Table Process, Sector Working Group mechanism, MDGs/SDGs, partnership for effective development cooperation and other related matters.

Language requirement:

Lao national with excellent verbal and written English skills and demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a multi-cultural environment

Requirements for submission of proposals:

All interested and qualified candidates should submit proposals as per following instruction:

Conditions and Procedures for electronic submission - Official Address for e-submission: lao.procurement@undp.org , Proposals sent to another email account will not be considered.

Free from virus and corrupted files
Format : PDF files only and duly signed , where Financial Proposal must be password protected
Marking of proposals:

Technical proposal including CV, P11:

Candidate’s name Technical Proposal IC_ National Technical Advisor to support MPI

Financial:

Candidate’s name Technical Proposal IC_ National Technical Advisor to support MPI

Max. File Size per transmission: 5 MB
Max. No. of transmission: Preferred one transmission but if size of transmitting files exceeds 5 MB max up to [three] transmissions. For example (one transmission of Technical Proposal, second transmission for Financial proposal and third transmission for other documentations (if applicable)
No. of copies to be transmitted : [one]

Mandatory subject of email: Name of the candidate (submitting proposal), Technical and Financial Proposal for IC_ National Technical Advisor to support MPI

To secure your financial offer please SET-UP A PASSWORD for the Financial Proposal which will be requested as follow:

a) The password for Financial Proposal will be requested from the candidate(s) if s/he is successful in the Technical proposal evaluation. Only those who achieved the minimum score on the technical evaluation will be requested to provide the password to the financial proposals. It is strongly suggested that candidates make a note of the passwords and keep with them in a safe place. If we are unable to open the file because of forgotten password(s) the proposal will be disqualified. Candidates may send as many emails as needed; however, the size of each email should not exceed five megabytes (5MB). As an email can take some time to arrive after it is sent. We advise all candidates to send email submissions well before the deadline,

b) Please be aware that application e-mailed to UNDP will be rejected if they are received after the deadline for bid submission. Candidates are solely responsible for ensuring that any and all files sent to UNDP are readable, that is uncorrupted, in the indicated electronic format and free from viruses and malware. Failure to provide readable files will result in the proposal being rejected.

Please Note: Any proposal sent to the private email addresses of any procurement staff will not be accepted.

In order to make submission please read the attached relevant documents which are also available on our web-site here http://www.la.undp.org/content/lao_pdr/en/home/operations/jobs/:

TOR (Annex I)
Individual Contract & General Terms and Conditions (Annex II);
OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY (Annex III)

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Separate file for Technical and Financial Proposal as per Annex III “OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY”, financial proposal must be protected by password

Explaining why you are the most suitable for the work;

Providing a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work including the work schedule for the delivery of outputs/deliverable;
CV including past experience in similar project and contact reference of at least 3 references for whom you have rendered preferably the similar services;

Note: The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon monthly outputs, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. UNDP accept travel costs not exceeding of an economy class air ticket.

Cumulative analysis: The award of the contract will be made to a consultant who 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:
Technical Criteria weight; [0.7]
Financial Criteria weight; [0.3]

Only a consultant obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical rating would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Note: Any request for clarification must be sent in writing to the following e-mail: kiettisack.senephansiri@undp.org with CC to anongly.phimmasone@undp.org

A pre-proposal conference will be held on: 10 May 2016 from 10.00 am at UNDP Country Office, Patuxai room on the third floor.

UNDP Lao PDR will respond in writing by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants.

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be notified.

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more detailed information about UNDP Lao PDR please visit our website at http://www.la.undp.org/lao_pdr/en/home.html