Background

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNFPA Global Mission for Women and Girls:

UNFPA advocates for women and girls, promoting legal and policy reforms and gender-sensitive data collection, and supporting initiatives that improve women's and girls' health and expand their choices in life.

Organizational context:

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) presents an ambitious, complex, and interconnected vision that developing countries around the world have committed to working towards. Realizing this vision will require mobilizing a diverse range of public and private resources to contribute to sustainable development outcomes. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which outlines a framework for financing the 2030 Agenda, calls for integrated approaches to finance that are driven at the national level.  The Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) concept, developed by UNDESA is the system of policies and institutional structures that government uses to mobilize the investments necessary to achieve a national sustainable development strategy. In Malaysia it entails  (i) supporting further development of a national SDG Roadmap 2021-2025 and associated monitoring framework and evaluation (M&E) strategy; (ii) undertaking a development finance landscape analysis (the Malaysia 

Development Finance Assessment); (iii) developing SDG costing and for budget tracking tools for Malaysia; and (iv) developing a national SDG Financing Strategy.

The INFF programme contributes to SDG 5 ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through identifying strategic initiatives, financing options and capacity building needs that advances its objectives. The Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) framework is a public policy tool for assessing the impact of policies and budgets from a gender perspective and for ensuring that policies and their accompanied budgets do not perpetuate gender inequalities but contribute to more equal society for women and men, girls and boys. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) identified GRB as central to the achievement of gender equality. BPfA specifically calls on governments to “incorporate a gender perspective into the design, development, adoption and execution of all budgetary processes as appropriate in order to promote equitable, effective and appropriate resource allocation and establish adequate budgetary allocations to support gender equality.

Gender responsive budget will need to be developed and institutionalised at national and state level. National and state level capacities for gender responsive budgeting need to be developed and sustained. Gender responsive budgeting need to be institutionalised in the various line ministries and agencies of government. In this context, UNDP is looking for an individual consultant to undertake a study ““Gender-sensitive Analysis of SDG Finance Flows in Malaysia and Strategies for Implementing a Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) Framework”. The consultant will be working together with the INFF’s main consultants, as well as UNDP and UNFPA Malaysia to deliver the project outcomes.

Objective of Assignment 

The overall objective of the assignment will build on the existing national structures and international practices in gender and social budgeting to deliver a comprehensive report provided a gender-sensitive analysis on development finance trends in Malaysia as well as recommending steps to integrate GRB into financing frameworks in the country; helping to build the capacity of national and state level budget officials in this regard.

The Consultant’s will build upon two major reports undertaken by UNDP i.e. Development Finance Assessment  and SDG-Aligned Costing and Budgeting Guidelines. Gender budgeting is a continuous process in strict correlation with the national budgeting process, together with the Ministry of Finance Malaysia. The proposed approaches will be rights-based, multi-sectoral, and linked to institutional capacity building at both policy and operational levels to enhance impact.

Duties and Responsibilities

The assignment is foreseen for a maximum period of 6 months with a maximum of 40 working days. This consultant will work from a remote location, but will be attending meetings, workshops, and other engagements virtually or at Putrajaya UNDP office.

Under the direct supervision of the UNDP Malaysia Deputy Resident Representative and with close collaboration and overall guidance from UNDP Senior Development Economist, UNFPA Programme 

Analyst, UNRCO Senior Economist, GRB International experts and government stakeholders, the consultant will:

1. Compile and analyze data and policy document and analytical literature on gender including budgetary analysis to build an understanding of the development finance policy and institutional landscape and its impact on gender
2. Identify opportunities for mobilizing new sources of finance and strengthening the alignment of public and private financing with gender equality objectives.
3. Using GRB principles, create gender-aware public expenditure reviews, gender-aware revenue assessments and/or gender beneficiary needs assessments on the experience of men and women users of public services and how these meet (or fail to meet) their needs.
4. Undertake/participate in INFF activities e.g., meetings, consultations, focus group discussions, at project and organizational levels with the participating UN Agencies and key stakeholders from government agencies, local financial institutions and private sectors, and provide inputs to the relevant reports.
5. Engage with Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the Ministry of Finance as well as other relevant state agencies to identify gaps and opportunities for institutionalizing GRB
6. Prepare GRB guidelines and capacity building training modules to integrate GRB into national and state budget processes.   
7. To conduct a series of online training/discussion sessions for the Ministry of Finance on GRB, including to adjust and validate online and face-to-face training modules for Training for Trainers as appropriate

Important References from the UN System:

• Technical Guidance Note: Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Integrated National Financing Frameworks
• COVID-19 and fiscal policy: Applying gender-responsive budgeting in support and recovery
• Gender responsive budgeting in practice: A training manual
• Handbook on costing gender equality

PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

The financial proposal shall specify a lump sum and the financial proposal should include a breakdown of this amount (including all related costs such as travel costs within Klang Valley, per diem, etc.). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract of maximum 40 working days.

The total professional fee shall be converted into a lump-sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the schedule of payment linked with deliverables and at the end of assignment.

Payments are subject to reports/deliverables duly approved by the Deputy Resident Representative with advice from Senior Development Economist. UNDP reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. 

The consultant may be required to travel outside of Putrajaya for project activities or attend the events relevant to the project within Malaysia and subject to travel restrictions. All travels (envisaged or unforeseeable) need to be planned with and authorized by UNDP Deputy Resident Representative. Travel expenses (flight tickets, daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and terminal expenses) shall be arranged and paid according to UNDP travel policy. 

Schedule of payment

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards (human rights, peace, understanding between peoples and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation (UNDP core ethics) impartiality.
• 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 Competencies:

• Professionalism: Ability to apply sustainable development theories, concepts, and approaches. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic resources on the internet, intranet, and other databases. 
• Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style, and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. 

Management and Leadership

• Proven leadership skills as a team leader.
• Ability to undertake multiple tasks.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, focuses on impact and result and responds positively to feedback, timely responses to queries.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrates openness to change/comments/suggestions and ability to manage complexities

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualification:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Economics, Finance, Investment, Public Finance, Public Policy, Gender, Development, Accounting, or other Social Sciences fields.

Working Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in the field of gender and public finance at national level, in particular, on integrating SDGs in budgeting processes, gender responsive budgeting, costing, performance monitoring & evaluation and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to engage in strategic analysis, and in-depth sectoral analysis.
• Accounting, especially public sector accounting, financial and management/ cost accounting experience, and skills would be an advantage.
• Excellent knowledge of data collection, analysis and statistics tool are essential.
• Excellent writing skills required, as demonstrated by previous high-quality research/analytical reports on relevant topics.
• Ability to lead consultations with senior government officials from ministries of finance, line ministries and supreme audit institutions required.
• Proven experience/satisfactorily implementation of similar assignment in the past
• Demonstrate negotiation skills and experience of engaging with strategic partners (national and subnational government, parliament, public finance institutions, UN Agencies, IFIs, bilateral and multilateral donors, the private sector, civil society, media).

• Ability to make impactful presentations, design and deliver audience-focused trainings

Language Requirement:

• Proficient in English and Bahasa Malaysia, and an ability to summarize and present findings, especially to government counterparts.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual applicants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Document 1: Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability 
2. Document 2: Technical Proposal:on how your qualifications, experience and list of track records can lead to successful deliverables of this assignment within the required timeframe, and provide a methodology and approach on how you will approach and conduct the assignments;
3. Document 3: Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per the payment breakdown above.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution and expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under the Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. The consultant should also indicate any travel and related costs, e.g., meetings, etc.
4. Document 4: Personal CV or 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 
5. Please submit this information in one file as Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4. The system will only accept ONE (1) attachment, please merge all documents and submit them as one file.
6. Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application.
7. Candidates who fail to submit all the information requested above will be disqualified.

How to Apply:

• Kindly download the Letter of Confirmation of interest and availability, Financial Proposal Template, and General Terms & Conditions mentioned above at https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=93653 
• Read and agree to the General Terms & Conditions.
• Click the ‘apply’ icon and complete what is required;
• Scan all documents into 1 (One) pdf folder and then upload;
• For clarification questions, please email procurement.my@undp.org. The clarification question deadline is three (3) days before the closing. When emailing for clarification questions, please put "MyIC/2022/023" as the subject matter.

EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. 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%

Technical Evaluation (70%)

Qualification, Experience, and Technical Proposal (70 marks):

1. General Qualification (25 marks).
2. Proven experience/satisfactorily implementation of similar assignment in the past (45 marks)

Financial Evaluation (30%):

The following formula will be used to evaluate the financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated