Background
Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 as a de-facto divided island. On 26 April 2004 the Council of the European Union stated its determination to "put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community". Against this background, the Commission implements an aid programme for the Turkish Cypriot community based on the Aid Regulation (EC No. 389/2006). The programme is managed by the Commission's Structural Reform Support Service. The programme aims to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Based on a long-standing partnership and UNDP previous experience in implementing large and medium-size EU funded urban upgrading and infrastructure projects in the northern part of Cyprus, the European Commission requested UNDP to continue supporting this type of infrastructure projects through the establishment of a new instrument called “Local Infrastructure Facility”.
The Facility will help identify, screen, mature, prepare for tender, and implement local infrastructure investments, targeting the funding on competitive basis to ensure best value for money and providing support also to those communities with a lower technical and administrative capacity. This will in turn result in a greater positive impact on the standard of living of local populations and increase the visibility of EU interventions in the priority areas.
Capacity Building
There are 28 local communities/municipalities in the northern part of Cyprus with different magnitudes, capabilities and capacities.
The capacity building component of the LIF programme is aimed to support local communities with a lower technical competence to identify, propose, develop and implement projects, to increase their chances of successful applications in the future.
Activities under this output aim to increase the administrative and technical capacities in relation to projects and know-how transfer to the local communities and their related partner organisations.
The aim is to increase the capacities of the local communities to identify their infrastructure needs, devise and develop project proposals.
Additionally, to increase their capacities for preparation of tender dossiers and supervise infrastructure projects.
Moreover, the capacities to operate, maintain & upkeep and manage completed projects.
Objectives of the Assignment
Using UNDP Capacity Assessment Guidelines and its relevant components (http://content-ext.undp.org/aplaws_publications/1670209/UNDP%20Capacity%20Assessment%20Users%20Guide.pdf ), the objective of the assignment is to assess the capacities of each and every local community/municipality, identify the technical needs/gaps, devise training programmes/curricula and implement in a structured manner these training programmes.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall direction of the Senior Programme Manager and direct supervision of the LIF Project Manager the capacity building expert will:
- Meet each local community
- Carry out discussions with heads of local communities and relevant personnel
- Obtain information, data and documents for the existing administrative setup of the local communities
- Obtain information, data and documents of the current technical capacities of the local communities
- Establish the needs assessment of each local community
- Make a presentation to the local communities on the assessment needs
- Devise draft ‘programme of activities/implementation methodology’ for the capacity building of the local communities to be implemented within the following months/years
- Make a presentation to the local communities on the programme and obtain their feedbacks
- Take part in the first round ‘call for proposals’ and associated proposal/development cycle.
- Finalise the ‘programme of activities/implementation methodology’ based on the feedbacks obtained
Deliverables/Outputs
The expert shall submit the following outputs:
- Report on needs assessments of each of the local communities
- Report on the capacity building programme details
- Elaborate a ‘capacity building program of activities/implementation methodology’.
- Start – up of the capacity building activities and provision of assistance to each of the local community during the first round call for proposals and associated project proposal/development cycle.
- Report on the technical first round call for proposals and associated project proposal/development cycle, and modification of ‘capacity building program of activities/implementation methodology’ as necessary.
Outputs shall be submitted in one hard copy and one digital version.
Timelines:
The assignment will be completed in two stages;
Deliverables:
- Deliverables/outputs 1,2 and 3; during the period of July – September 2019
(it is estimated that about 40 working days would be required to carry out the tasks/activities in order to achieve the defined deliverables/outputs)
- Deliverables/outputs 4 and 5; Capacity building start-up activities and provision of assistance to the local communities during the first-round call for proposals and associated project proposal/development cycle (deliverables/outputs 4 and 5) during the period of October 2019 – December 2019
(it is estimated that about 25 working days would be required to carry out the tasks/activities in order to achieve the defined deliverables/outputs)
Competencies
- Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
- Sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, race, nationality and age;
- Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.
- Functional Competencies
- Excellent analytical and research skills;
- Excellent communication skills (spoken, written and presentational);
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in and with teams;
- Ability to set priorities and manage time effectively.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, management, business administration, economics or any other related field
Experience:
- At least 10 years of postgraduate relevant professional experience
- At least 5 years of experience involved in capacity building of entities
- At least 2 proven experience in conducting needs assessments for capacity building of local community structures (irrespective of size and magnitude)
- Proven experience in conducting at least 2 training sessions to local communities
- Experience of the Cyprus context will be an asset
Language Requirements:
- Excellent English skills (both written and verbal)
- Knowledge of Turkish Language is an asset
Application:
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:
- CV: Submission of CV
- References: Contact details of 3 references.
Financial Proposal: Applicants requested to submit financial proposal for the deliverables/outputs defined in this term of reference as:
- A financial offer shall be provided seperately for deliverables/outputs 1,2 & 3 and deliverable/outputs 4 & 5; The financial offer shall cover all expenditures including fees, health insurance, vaccination, international (all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel) or local travel (place of residence to office and office to place of residence), cost of living and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services. Leave benefits (annual, sick, paternity, maternity) are not applicable to Individual Contractor and absent days including weekends and office holidays are not payable.
Logistics of the Assignment; The expert shall arrange her/his own mobility to and from the offices of the local communities from his office. UNDP LIF Office can be used for the presentations. The expert can also work in the UNDP LIF office.
Renumeration:
Payments shall be made in two installments against the completion and acceptance of the outputs of the assignment as follows;
- Deliverables/Outputs; 1,2 and 3
- Deliverables/Outputs; 4 and 5
Evaluation / Selection Process
All applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies set above. Candidates fully meeting the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below.
Technical Criteria (CV review and interviews) – 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points
CV review: 20 points:
- Educational qualification as defined in the ToR (10 points)
- Experience as defined in the ToR (10 points)
Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the CV review (who will score at least 14 points) will be eligible to be invited for an interview/desk review.
Desk review/Interview: 50 points
- Relevant work experience in capacity building need assessment – 20
- Experience in developing and implementing training based on the needs assessment programmes relevant to the ToR – 20
- Experience of the Cyprus context – 10
Only those individual consultants who obtained at least 70% of points from the interview and written test (35 out of 50) will be considered for financial proposal evaluation.
Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.
Financial scores will be calculated using the formula [lowest offer / financial offer of the candidate x 30].
UNDP applies the “Best value for money approach” – the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualification and financial proposal.
Payment Term:
Payable upon submission of the deliverables/outputs upon approval of UNDP.