Background

Demonstrating the relevance of innovation as a critical design principle for programming is a key priority for the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP). Particular emphasis has been placed on nurturing innovative tools, techniques and approaches and the use of technologies for development. As a result, RBAP established the Innovation Fund to support Country Offices in the region to advance the innovation agenda by providing the creative space and discretionary resources to prototype innovative solutions and experiment with new ways of working to tackle complex development challenges outside the traditional business cycle.

The Bangkok Regional Hub is a regional hub focusing on providing policy and programmatic support to UNDP activities in the Asia and Pacific region. Throughout UNDP´s programmatic focus areas, it assists Country Offices in development and implementation of initiatives and at the regional level, it conceptualizes and implements activities in partnership with a wide range of partners. The structure of the Regional Centre is composed of policy/programme teams consisting of specialists and advisors that work cross-thematically and issues-based through Development Solutions Teams in support of country and regional level activities and supported by the Operations Team. The Regional Centre administers the Innovation Fund established by RBAP and supports applicants from the Country Offices.

This initiative is a way to deliver on the new corporate Strategic Plan’s call for more “agile” programming. Building on notable innovation successes in the region, RBAP is doubling its efforts in this area to open up opportunities for UNDP staff to get first hand, on the job experience of new development tools and to provide the space to scan for available expertise, experiences and partners outside UNDP beyond “the usual suspects”, working out aloud via online communications and engage in upfront risk management through prototyping by reaching out to new partners to co-design innovate solutions.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will report to the Knowledge and Innovation Specialist, and work in close collaboration with the Knowledge and Innovation and Regional Communication Advisor.

Advisory services (60%)

? Provide support to the UNDP Country offices and country-level initiatives to adopt innovative design approaches and technologies for development work. This entails, among others: researching technical options that meet Country Offices’ needs; advise on the design and implementation of solutions; keeping abreast of design and technology trends and solutions that can be applicable to UNDP work;

? Analyse innovations and follow design and technology trends and make recommendations on how they can be prototyped;

? Provide design  services for the technical aspects of UNDP work in the region;

? Provide technical assistance to UNDP’s regional communications team on the integration of new design and innovative technologies;

? Support the regional communications team in promoting, designing and hosting events for key communications products;

? Support on designing graphics suitable for all innovative communication mediums;

? Maintain the network of potential consultants experienced in application innovative technologies, such as data visualization, web development, mobile applications development, data mining, usability testing, etc;

? Identify opportunities for new partnerships and collaborations;

? Develop project with relevant partners and coordinate with internal/external stakeholders.

Innovation team support (30%)

? Design and develop internal and external web applications as required by the team;

? Provide necessary design support to all supervised systems;

? Proactively suggest new design and communication applications; Conduct research on innovative thinking and practice;

? Design and develop digital communications strategies and content;

? Design and develop innovations, communications and public-private partnerships outreach materials and knowledge products (i.e. PowerPoint presentations, brochures, etc.), as needed;

? Provide leadership and training on user research and design thinking for internal staff and potentially external partners;

? Track and document innovative strategies/ best practices/ new approaches/ latest trends around design for social innovation and digital media;

? Organize and prepare training for the teams involved with design-related projects;

? Ensure knowledge transfer of research projects to internal and external stakeholders;

Innovation Design & Communications Consultant , within the scope of his/her responsibility, will:

1. Answer requests from Country offices and regional teams within the scope of work, duly and timely;

2. Support innovation, design and communication efforts with technical expertise by supporting design of prototypes and specifications and evaluating them and “working out loud” through different mediums;

3. Provide regular updates on the emerging new design and communication technologies and advise on their applicability and value to development;

4. Facilitate design workshops and user journeys;

5. Develop blogs, infographics and other visual content to document and share.

Specific deliverables will be agreed upon with the Supervisor at the beginning of each month, in writing. Payments will be made once a month upon submitted satisfactory progress report against deliverables and approved daily timesheet submission providing details of time spent on respective deliverables, their timely execution and acceptance by the Supervisor

Competencies

• Conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise;
• Rapid prototyping and evaluating;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
• Adaptation and application of knowledge/innovation in different context;
• Client orientation;
• Demonstrated creative flair, originality and a strong visual sense;
• Excellent communication skills and good coordination skills;
• Excellent writing skills and good presentation skills;
• Conceptual innovative design in the provision of technical expertise;
• Strong analytical, reporting, designing and writing abilities;
• Adaptation and application of knowledge/innovation in different context;
• Rapid prototyping and evaluating;
• Demonstrated organizational and planning skills;
• Critical thinking and self-motivation;
• Safeguard ethics and integrity;
• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgement;
• Self-developing and initiative-taking;
• Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
• Fast learner and encourage the learning of others;
• Informed and transparent decision making;
• Professional interest in development and public sector issues.

Required Skills and Experience

Education :

•  Masters's degree in computer science related or a similar technical discipline science).

Experience:

• 3+ years of professional experience in the field of innovative design and communication technologies, digital content development, data visualization or similar;
• Experience in developing and maintaining modern web/mobile applications;
• Good understanding of usability principles for user interfaces;
• Proficiency in HTML/CSS/JS & CQ5;
• Working knowledge of programming in PHP is required, knowledge of ColdFusion is an asset;
• Excellent knowledge of design & development;
• Good knowledge of social innovation and project management;
• Experience in interpreting insights into potential design and innovation opportunities and solutions;
• Strong experience with rapid prototyping methodology;
• Good digital design and social media skills an asset;
• Proved experience in handling a variety of  internal business clients;
• Experience in Asia and Pacific is an asset;

Language requirements:

• Good command of English both written and spoken.

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

• Daily Fee ( in USD);
• Bangkok based with some travel required in the region based on demand from Country Offices and priorities defined by the Regional Hub. any unforeseen travel will need to be approved by the supervisor and the consultant will be reimbursed according to UNDP policy.

EVALUATION

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria 1: Relevance of Education : 10 points;
Criteria 2: Relevance of experience in the area of specialization required, i.e. in design, social innovation approaches and innovative communications tools : 40 points;
Criteria 3: Relevance of experience in development and knowledge of partners networks: 20 points.

Submission of offers

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Technical proposal, including a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II;
• Personal CV and 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;
• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Annexes :

Annex I – Individual IC General Terms and Conditions;

Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC;

Annex III – Personal History Form (P11).

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to procurement.th@undp.org.