Background

UNDP operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. It works internationally to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP was one of the main UN agencies involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. To accomplish the SDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP has worked in India since 1951 in almost all areas of human development, from systems and institutional strengthening to inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods, as well as sustainable energy, environment, and resilience.

In India, NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for supervision and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in India. It is responsible for identification of national targets and assigning them to the Ministries/Departments concerned and for seeking the participation of State Governments for their participation in implementation and monitoring of the 2030 agenda through the localization of SDGs. UNDP has been extending technical support to NITI Aayog for the localization and integration of SDGs, Transformation of Aspirational Districts and the Atal Innovation Mission, to name a few. UNDP’s programmes continue to focus on building strong institutions through innovative participatory mechanisms to progressively deliver universal access to basic services for the last mile impact, leaving no one behind, complementing the works of United Nations Agencies engagements with NITI Aayog including the UNRCO technical support on SDG Index and Women Economic Forum etc.

Recognizing the relevance of policy advocacy for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, UNDP launched a Policy Unit in 2020 to honor the mandate of national development agenda. The Unit leads UNDP India’s research and advocacy on Global Goals and the national development agenda, with a special focus on environment and climate change, skill development, and strengthening systems for SDG localization. We seek to onboard a Research Associate to join our growing, dynamic Policy team. The Research Associate will work under the direct supervision of the UNDP Senior Economist.

Objective of assignment:-

As an integral member of the UNDP Policy Unit, the Research Associate will be expected to bring the highest degree of quality, work ethic, and consistency to deliver tasks which will include providing research support on various projects to the Policy Unit. Details on the scope of work is given below.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible for the design and implement targeted policy research using both primary and secondary data. She/he will write and present high-quality evidence-led policy briefs, reports and summary documents that will be shared both internally and externally, including to key donors and government counterparts. The consultant will also be expected to participate in and drive the development of new and novel concepts related to relevant policy discourse and the national development agenda, assist in evidence-led design of projects, to maintain transparent and detailed documentation, foster active learning within and outside the team on relevant policy and advocacy topics and perform any other relevant work assigned by the supervisor.

Expected outputs and deliverables

1. Policy Unit Research lead on the ongoing study on the landscape analysis of employment and skills in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat.
2. Concept note and detailed methodology on the expansion of the multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) to include environment and gender. .
3. Finalisation of the roadmap for sustained economic growth in context of post COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, including public finance analysis
4. At least 4 policy briefs on core UNDP CO pillars in partnership with Team Leaders and stakeholders

Competencies

• An understanding of India's development challenges, the federal structure, and key development policy debates is required.
• Ability to brainstorm, design and implement primary data collection, and to draft, tailor and communicate analytical results to a variety of stakeholders is crucial.
• Ability to conduct secondary research with a rich knowledge of reliable sources and data platforms (both government and non-government) is essential.
• Excellent working knowledge to Microsoft products such as Word and PowerPoint is essential while having knowledge of other products such as Access, Outlook and SharePoint is desirable.
• In-depth knowledge of spreadsheet programs (such as Microsoft Excel), their analysis packages and visual representation modules is essential.
• Good working knowledge of data analysis software such as STATA/R/Python with the ability to learn at a rapid pace as required is essential.
• Good knowledge of econometric concepts including, but not limited to, tests of significance, correlations, causation identification and regression analysis is desirable. Knowledge of sampling methodologies will be considered an advantage.
• Experience with data visualization platforms will be considered an advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in economics, development studies, public policy, or other relevant social sciences is required.

• A master’s degree in any of the above fields will be considered an advantage.

Professional experience

• At least five years professional work experience with think tanks/ private sector/government/international agencies on issues related to economic and social development is essential.
• Experience in designing and carrying out data-driven research with excellent writing skills is essential.
• Experience in writing high quality evidence-backed articles, op-eds, policy briefs in a collaborative setting is desirable.

Language Requirement:  Excellent verbal and written English skills. Strong verbal, writing and reading skills in Hindi will be an added advantage.

Evaluation criteria:-

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as Responsive to the requirement. 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 (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical criteria (70%)

Criteria 1: Academic qualifications (15%)

• A bachelor’s degree in economics, development studies, public policy, or other relevant social sciences is essential. A master’s degree will be considered an advantage. (15 marks)

Criteria 2: Professional experience (15%)

• At least five years of demonstrated professional work experience with think tanks/ private sector/government/international agencies on issues related to economic and social development is essential. (5 marks)
• Experience in designing and carrying out data-driven research with excellent writing skills is essential. The consultant should demonstrate at least 1 such project/report. (5 marks)
• Experience in writing high quality evidence-backed articles, op-eds, policy briefs in a collaborative setting is desirable. The consultant should demonstrate at least 1 such document which is different from the one mentioned above. (5 marks)

Criteria 3: Expertise and research credentials demonstrated through written test (20%) and interview (20%)

• A written test will be held with the consultant to assess expertise and credentials related to deliverables. Only candidates that have scored a minimum of combined 20% in criteria 1, and 2 (i.e., 21 marks out of 30 marks) will be shortlisted for an interview. (20 marks for written test and 20 marks for interview).
• Only those that score a minimum of 70% in the overall technical evaluation (i.e., 49 marks out of 70 marks) will be requested to submit financial quotes.

Financial Proposal:-

Technically qualified consultants i.e., consultants who score more than 70% (49 marks) with respect to the above-mentioned technical evaluation criteria will be requested to submit their lump sum rate. 

Consultant should not specify their consultancy fee on their CV or with the submission. The CV will not be evaluated further in case the consultant submits the same.

Payment Scheduled: Payments will be deliverable linked per the following schedule of payments:

• Duty station: New Delhi; This position will work out of the UNDP India Delhi office in line with the CO’s hybrid working norms
• Undertake field travel (as and when requested by the supervisor/team);

• The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• The consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to reliable internet connection;
• The consultant is expected to be available for consultations and be in reliable email contact for a set number of hours that align with Government/UNDP business hours;
• The consultant will carry out his/her tasks under the overall guidance of the lead focal point (in this case Senior Economist, Head Policy Unit, UNDP India);
• Payments will be made based on the agreed financial proposal (contract is based on daily fee) and released upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating deliverables achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the lead focal point.