Emplois au PNUD

In April 2008, Nepal conducted the election for a Constituent Assembly (CA) which as a first step, proclaimed the country a Federal Republic. The CA was mandated to draft a new constitution and establish the framework for the first post-conflict general election and possibly, for local government elections. While the CA did not complete its mandate of drafting the new constitution within the May 2012 deadline, discussions are ongoing among the political actors on next steps in Nepal’s peace process and possible elections.  

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the international donor community remain committed to assisting the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) to continue to deliver its mandated functions. Recognising that the election of the 2008 CA was only the first crucial step of the peace process in Nepal, UNDP initiated an Electoral Support Project (ESP) in 2008 aimed at institutional strengthening and professional development of the ECN.  The Phase II of the project commenced in 2012 extending more comprehensive operational support for the next series of elections. The ESP support aims at building sustainable and enduring institutional and professional capacity of the ECN, of its Secretariat and its district offices that could be easily and effectively deployed in future elections. The ESP (2008-2016) consists of two phases: Phase I (2008-2011) focused exclusively on long-term electoral capacity building during the first three years following the CA election and was drawing to a completion at the time of the Project’s second revision.  Phase II (2012-2016) focuses on operational support for future electoral cycles.

A key area of support in ESP Phase II is technical assistance on civic/voter education and external relations. To assist the project in effectively carryout this support, the project is seeking to recruit an international Civic/Voter Education and External Relations Advisor to provide technical assistance to ECN counterparts on the development and implementation of its civic/voter education and external relations activities.

Objectives:

The objective of the assignment is to provide technical assistance to ENC in its preparations for upcoming set of elections in the field of civic/voter education and external relations. The incumbent will be required to actively provide advice and inputs in civic and voter education strategies and plan, design and production of public outreach materials, maintain external relations with electoral stakeholders- donors community, media, and civil society etc. This support is envisioned through the electoral cycle including in the pre-election, during election and post-election period.

Description of the assignment:

To provide technical assistance to ECN counterparts on the development and implementation of its civic/voter education and external relations activities.The Consultant shall be based in the ECN Building, Kathmandu.

Period of assignment:

The duration of the Long Term Assignment (LTA) will be from 15 August 2012 to 31 July 2014 covering a total of 150 days of working period.  Upon signing of an LTA, a separate Individual consultancy contract will be signed for each assignment during the LTA period on “as and when requested” basis. The actual schedule and duration of support will be defined based on the election timeline and in consultation with the incumbent. If the elections to the Constituent Assembly are held in 22 November 2012, service of the consultant will be extensively required prior to the elections.

Scope of Work/Deliverables:

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor and in close cooperation with the ESP team and ECN counterparts.  

• Review ECN’s current strategy, plan, information materials and methodology for the civic/voter education and public outreach.
• Provide technical advice and assistance to ECN's Civic and Voter Education section on formulating and implementing of comprehensive civic/voter education, public information, and external relations plans and strategies including rationale, budget and other required resources, timeline and delegation of responsibilities. 
• Examine efforts and provide strategic guidance to ECN to devise civic/voter education targeting socially excluded and various marginalized groups in the electoral process.
• Develop civic/voter education, public outreach materials (leaflet, brochures, audio/video materials etc.) and its dissemination plan.
• Devise civic/voter education related training program for ECN and other electoral stakeholders both at national and field levels.
• Build the capacity and ensure transfer of skills and knowledge to the ECN counterparts on efficient management of civic/voter education program and external relations.
• Conduct relevant training/workshops to the concerned division/section of ECN in key areas of civic/voter education and external relations.
• Develop standardized reporting formats, regular reports and progress updates, briefing, bulletin for both ECN and donors community. Also develop Monitoring and Evaluation plan for the implementation of civic/voter education, and public outreach activities.
• Support ESP management in procurement processes for civic/voter education related goods and services.
• Provide strategic guidance to ECN in formulating official external relations program as means to effectively communicate key messages to the widest electoral stakeholders.
• Advise ECN in the development of media and communication strategy and plan.
• Provide technical support to the ECN on voters’ awareness assessment and impact assessment studies/surveys.
• Other support as requested by the ECN & duties as assigned by the project management team.

The International Consultant will be obliged to prepare a final report at the end of each assignment period that should compile achieved results, evaluation, recommendations for further actions, as well as practical reference points.

Quality Assurance:

• Chief Technical Advisor\International Project Manager will be primarily responsible for monitoring consultant’s progress on a regular basis as he/she will work under the direct supervision of the International Project Manager;
• Payments will be made only after receiving a report towards the end of the individual contract period;
• Overall performance of the consultant will be evaluated towards the end of the contract, following UNDP’s standard evaluation form: “UNDP PERFORMACE EVALUATION FORM FOR INDIVIDUALS HIRED UNDER IC.’

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the project;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly and equally.

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge and expertise in democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization;
• Demonstrates strong intellectual and operational capacity in providing and coordinating advisory services to stakeholders in electoral processes, specifically to EMBs and civil society organizations;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;

Education:

• Advanced University degree preferably in the field of public relations, journalism, communications, politics or related field

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience with civic/voter education, external relations or training in relation to electoral processes
• Prior election experience in post conflict countries will be an asset

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English with professional writing skills is required.

Document to be included when submitting the proposal:

Application and required documents:

a. Proposal:

To be included as part of the proposal:

• Mandatory (max. 300 words): A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work;
• Mandatory (max. 1000 words): A brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work.

b. Financial Proposal:

Financial proposal indicating a daily fee (UN DSA and most economic and direct Air Ticket cost will be reimbursed as per actual)

c. UNDP Personal History form: downloadable from: http://www.undp.org.np/vacancy including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Note:

1. Applicants of 62 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy
2. The candidate has to be an independent consultant (If the candidate is engaged with any organization, the organization employing the candidate will be issued with a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) to release the employee for the consultancy with UNDP).
3. Due to sheer number of applicants, the procurement unit will contact only competitively selected consultant.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative analysis
 
When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should 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 a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; 70%
* Financial Criteria weight; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical:

• Criterion A: At least 7 years of experience with civic/voter education, external relations or training in relation to electoral processes (20%)
• Criterion B: Prior election experience in post conflict countries  (10%)
• Criterion C: Substantive experience in formulating and implementing comprehensive civic/voter education packages, public information and external relations plans, programmes and strategies, with focus on elections etc. (20%) 
• Criterion D: Knowledge/Experience in consultancy work (10%)
• Criterion E: Experience in developing media strategic and plans (10%)

Financial: Lowest financial proposal: 30%

Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical). The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

((Lowest Bid Offered:)/(Bid of the Consultant)) x 30

*"Lowest Bid Offered" refers to the lowest price offered by bidders scoring at least 70% points in technical evaluation.