UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. With offices in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

Working in the Philippines for over 40 years already, UNDP continues to strengthen the country’s capacities at the national and local levels to promote democratic governance, sustainable management of natural resources, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and management, and resilience and peacebuilding. In all its programmes, UNDP integrates human rights and gender equality, advocating that everyone should have equal access to the benefits of development.

In supporting various projects and programmes, UNDP Philippines wishes to contract a number of transcribers on long term agreements (LTAs) to produce transcriptions of various digital sound recordings of meetings.

Transcribers should attend certain meetings and work from digital sound recordings of meetings transmitted electronically to their work-stations. They may, to varying degrees, work from the original speech, interpretation is given at the meeting or a written translation provided by a delegation.

Combining the skills of transcription, translation and editing, verbatim reporters ensure the substantive accuracy of all statements, while maintaining a uniformly high standard of style. They correct grammatical errors, clarify the order of presentations without changing the meaning, check quotations and insert references, and check facts and details against the documentation of the body concerned and all databases available.

Under the Long-Term Agreement (LTA), the Transcribers may work remotely or be assigned anywhere in the Philippines, depending on the requirement. The LTAs can be availed of by other UN agencies in the Philippines under same terms and conditions.

Institutional Arrangement

The Transcriber shall report to the Project Manager of the hiring unit or his/ her authorized representative/s.

All submissions for the release of payments shall have a hard and soft copy of the documents. The final report will be reviewed by the Project Manager, who will provide comments and endorsement of the report.

Validity of the Roster / LTA

The initial contract would be for one year an option for renewal in the subsequent years which is contingent on a satisfactory performance evaluation. The roster / LTA will be valid for maximum period of 3 years. UNDP may issue long term agreements (IC contracts) for selected consultants or National Professional Services Agreement (NPSA) depending upon the need of various projects.  LTA holders are not guaranteed any contract amount during the validity of the LTA, and engagement will be on an on-call basis.

Duration of Contract

The LTAs will be for an initial duration of 1 year, which may be renewed up to 3 years, subject to satisfactory performance evaluation of the Consultants. LTA holders are not guaranteed any contract amount during the validity of the LTA, and engagement will be on an on-call basis.

Duty Station and Travel

• The consultants will be required to work either from their own homes or UNDP required location depending on specific requirement offices. 
• For completion of the activities/deliverables, the consultant will be responsible for her/his own equipment, tools or software (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection.
• There is no expectation of any travel, however if require/requested by UNDP, the consultants would make their own arrangements for travel and lodging.
• Payment of travel costs including tickets (based on economy class ticket only), lodging, etc. should be agreed upon, between UN/UNDP and the consultant prior to travel. 
• All travel related expenses, including allowances should be within the UN DSA rate, will be reimbursed on actuals, upon submission of original receipts.

Roster / LTA Contracting modality and Call-off mechanism: 

• All the selected candidates will be put on a roster, valid for 3 years.
• The LTA to be signed will be an all-inclusive lumpsum amount (for events or meetings)
• UNDP does not warrant any quantity of services will be purchased during the term of the LTA as this will depend on forthcoming needs. 
• Once the LTA is signed, if there is a specific requirement/event/meeting to be transcribed, the focal person in the UN/UNDP hiring unit would contact the top-ranking LTA holder (ranking to be set up as per evaluation method and criteria section below). Should this transcriber not be available for the event, UNDP will contact the second ranked transcriber and so on.
• Upon receipt of this communication, the LTA transcriber would have to confirm their availability for the assignment. If positive, s/he would inform UNDP of the expected travel/lodging costs (if applicable if the event requires travel). Upon review of the same, UNDP will send the transcriber a written communication confirming the requirement in the form of a work order or purchase order sent by email. The order will include details on the location of the event, number of hours/days for work and other practical details. Price in the order will be based on daily/hourly fee included in the LTA contract and on the agreed travel costs. After the work order has been sent, no further costs would be reimbursed by UNDP (increased number of work days/hours, or increased travel costs) unless there is prior written authorization by UNDP.
• After the work order has been sent, no further costs would be reimbursed by UNDP (increased outputs, or increased travel costs) unless there is prior written authorization by UNDP.
• Once the services are completed and have been approved by the hiring unit, the consultant will send the following for payment purposes: a) complete invoice indicating number of pages and travel costs (if any); b) supporting documentation (bills/vouchers) for reimbursements of travel costs if applicable; c) copy of the UNDP order for the assignment.
• The roster may also be used by UNDP HR team to select consultants on National Professional Service Agreements (NPSA). Those contracts will be based on the time-input provided by the selected consultants. The fee under NPSA modality will follow the pre-defined remuneration scale prescribed by NPSA policy.

Contract management:

UNDP will regularly monitor the performance of these LTA holders, based on the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• KPI 1: Responsiveness: transcriber should respond and confirm their availability for the event within 1 day of UNDP’s notification by email.
• KPI 2: Timeliness of submission of reports to UNDP
• KPI 3: Quality of reports are as per work order submitted.
• KPI 4: Accuracy of payment documentation. Transcriber shall provide complete payment documentation including accurate invoices with correct quantities, unit price, complete travel bills/vouchers for reimbursement, etc.
• KPI 5: Communication and Reporting. Transcriber shall communicate and provide reports in a timely and professional manner

UNDP would conduct performance reviews of these LTAs every six (6) months, which might include meetings with the LTA holders and feedback from other stakeholders.

If the consultant fails to meet UNDP’s performance requirements detailed above, s/he will receive in the first instance a warning to improve their performance. Continued failure to meet performance requirements may result in termination of the LTA.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The Transcriber must send an all-inclusive financial proposal based on an all-inclusive lumpsum of an audio/video recording for transcription in Philippine Pesos.

In the event that hiring unit requires the services of Transcriber on a daily basis, the hiring unit may select any two LTA holders to be submitted to HR for processing of short term NPSA. The all- inclusive daily fee under NPSA modality will follow the rates prescribed in the NPSA portal. 

Payment will be made upon submission and acceptance of the final report by the UNDP.

LTA Objective and Set-up

The overall objective to set up Long-Term Agreements (LTAs)   with individuals to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNDP and other UN Agencies in the Philippines  engage the services of a Transcriber, as the need arises.

Scope of Work

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager of the hiring Project/UN Agency, the Transcriber is expected to provide transcription services resulting in a narrative or report of meetings and events, including, but not limited to, the performance of the following tasks:

1. Guided by the event programme, the IC will transcribe the audio and/or video file recording of the event or meeting and submit Word File.
2. The IC will be required to clean or edit the transcription by omitting verbal clutter that neither contributes to nor changes the meaning of what was said (repetitions, “um”, etc.).
3. Comply with the following general rules in carrying out the transcription

a) Sound Events that Interrupt Dialogue.

When background noise occurs, use brackets around a short description of explanation of the sound. This can include silence or a specific tone. Try to be as descriptive as possible in 1-3 words. For example:

i. Background noise - When there is background noise that is not speech, indicate it with a note.

a) [laughter], [applause], [phone ringing] and [music] are all acceptable tags that indicate what is happening in the speaker's environment.

ii. Silence - In the case of a jarring or prolonged silence, leave a [silence] note.

a) If a speaker cuts off or stops and is notable, use [cuts off] or an ellipsis with no spaces. For example:

"I really think... She is mad at me.”

iii. Tone indicators - If a speaker is angry or is using a joking tone, include an [angry] or [joking] note before the word/phrase.

b) Showing Uncertainty.

Indicate when you are uncertain of a spoken word or a phrase by placing brackets,"[ ]", around one of the following indicators before each word/phrase in question:

i. [crosstalk] - Use this note when two speakers are talking over one another. Try to get as much from each speaker as possible.

For example, if a patient is talking and the doctor interrupts with a question that is answered, do the following:

Patient: The pain is in this area [crosstalk] below the knee.

Doctor: How strong?

Patient: I would rate it around a six.

The doctor interjected before the patient finished, but we do not want to split the sentence into two paragraphs. Therefore, the patient's sentence is completed, and then the doctor's question is inserted into a new paragraph.

ii. [inaudible][00:00] - Use this when you are not able to guess what was said.

It is very important that you use this instead of leaving words out without letting us know.

Additionally, please make sure to mark the time (or time range) of the inaudible language.

iii. [foreign] - Use this note when a language other than English or Filipino is being spoken.

iv. [phonetic] - Use this note when you are unsure of the spelling of a word, title or name, but can make out the sounds. After using this note, you will spell the word out phonetically, to the best of your ability.

Use this note instead of [inaudible] if you can make out parts of a word but not the whole thing.

Use this note for unfamiliar words you’re not sure how to spell, such as scientific or medical terms.

c) Timestamps.

Each transcription requiring timestamps must include timestamps at every change in speaker.

Place timestamps in brackets - [00:30]. The timestamp should be placed after the speaker's name and before the transcribed language is shown.

d) Change in speakers.

A new paragraph must begin with every change in speaker.

e) Identify the speakers…as guided by the programme.  Note: During forum discussions, remind facilitator to ask for the identity (i.e., name, institution, position) of the speaker on the floor.

4. Proofread and copyedit the transcript for spelling and typos before submission.

Deliverable/output

Following the performance of the tasks outlined in the Scope of Work above, the transcriber is expected to deliver the following outputs: 

a)            First draft of a clean, proofread, and edited transcription of the audio file in English language in Microsoft Word format. If material is not in the English language, transcriber needs to transcribe it in the original language and translate to English.

Deadline: 3-5 days after the meeting/event/workshop

b)            Final draft of a clean, proofread, and edited transcription of the audio file in English language in Microsoft Word format, reflecting any actionable feedback or revisions from Project Manager.

Deadline: 3-5 days upon receipt of feedback from Project Manager

Corporate competencies

• Must have strong leadership and project management skills
• Must have an extensive background and understanding of the Philippine DRR, recovery, and resilience policies, programmes, and activities
• Must be detail-oriented
• Has excellent analytic skills especially in understanding complex information to produce evidence-based comparisons and conclusions.
• Excellent written and spoken English is required.

• 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.

Functional and technical competencies

• Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
• Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Proposers will be evaluated based on the Combined Rating (technical + financial) methodology. The ranking of Transcriber shall be made based on proposals that are

1. responsive/ compliant/ acceptable; and
2. having received the highest cumulative score out of set of weighted technical criteria
3. Financial criteria as per below weightages (technical-financial): 70%-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.

It is anticipated that UNDP will sign LTA agreements with multiple Transcribers to take care of various ongoing requirements at the same time.

To obtain the over-all financial quotation, UNDP will sum the cost components above (refer to the Financial proposal form – total cost). 

Technical Criteria for Evaluation

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

Documentation required

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

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability.
• 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.
• Past Experience : Two (2) non-confidential sample works from previous transcribing work, preferably with UN, Bilateral/ Multi-laterals, International NGOs or government agencies
• Financial proposal,  stating Hourly Fee in Pesos (PHP) required to complete the assignment. Travel and other unforeseen cost should NOT be included in the financial proposal, at this stage.
• Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

The following templates / Annexes and IC General Terms & Conditions can be downloaded from http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU:

• General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contract
• P-11 form
• Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC Assignment, including Financial Proposal template

For any clarification, please write to procurement.ph@undp.org. Please note that only applications submitted to UNDP Jobs (on-line) will be accepted.

In view of the volume of applications, UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.