1. BACKGROUND 

 Over the last four decades, Saudi Arabia has achieved and sustained remarkable progress along the socioeconomic development pathway at all fronts, as it spanned all sectors of the economy. As a result of this, the Kingdom has been able to move from an underdeveloped status to a very high human development country with all the means of a promising and sustainable future. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for instance, increased from SAR 156 billion in 1969 to SAR 942 billion in 2011 and SAR 2,575 billion in 2017, putting the economy among the top 20 global economies in terms of size. 

Based on the annual ranking of the Human Development Index (HDI) of the Human Development Report, Saudi Arabia has steadily moved from the middle-income category in the 1990s to the very high-income category in 2017 at 0.853 value of HDI [1]. 

Likewise, the population of Saudi Arabia increased from 7 million in 1974 to 32 million in 2017. According to official statistics [2], population growth averaged 4.9% per year during the period 1974-1992, but this rate declined to 2.4% for period 1992-2004. The 2004 national census indicates that two-thirds of the population of Saudi Arabia live in three regions: Riyadh, Makkah, and the Eastern region. Around 80% of the overall population is estimated to reside in urban areas. This high level of urbanization poses a host of challenges to development and its sustainability. The three pillars of sustainable development: economic development; social development; and environmental protection, are integrally linked to urbanization. 

The Saudi Vision 2030 represents an ambitious blueprint packed with long-term goals and expectations grounded in the strengths and capabilities of the Kingdom. The vision is expressed in three themes of a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. A thorough review of the three themes and their underlying issues of national concern would reveal a holistic approach to development that encompasses the three dimensions of sustainable development: the social, the economic and the environmental.  Prior to this, in September 2015, the World Leaders endorsed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the core of a global development agenda towards 2030. The SDGs, bundled in an integrated, and indivisible set of 17 goals, 169 targets and 205 indicators, are a global resolve to take ‘the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path [3]’. 

Looked at from the broader perspective of sustainable development, the Saudi Vision 2030 and the SDGs are similar in their respective timeframes and their multi-dimensional approach to development. They agree on the urgency of mainstreaming ambitions into the national strategies and policies as well as to respond to the call for wide-ranging participation of the concerned communities in producing sustainable development results and in reaping their benefits. The analysis of the mapping of the Saudi Vision 2030 against the SDGs demonstrates a handful of synergies and complementarities, a fact that justifies close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the UN System toward the achievement of development sustainability, be it in terms of the Saudi Vision 2030 or the SDGs. These synergies and complementarities would avail the UN System of comparative advantage in a development landscape which is congested with big players and marked by demands for effectiveness, efficiency, and excellence.

Saudi Arabia has expressed commitment to achieving the SDGs. It recognizes that both the SDGs and the Saudi Vision 2030 call for inclusive processes of development whereby all stakeholders get involved, not only in the realization of achievement but in sharing its benefits as well. For any meaningful engagement of all stakeholders, though, there is a need to design policies with the concept of inclusiveness in mind. That requires considering all aspects of inclusiveness, ranging from equity to empowerment, opportunities, and participation to satisfaction.

UNDP’s comparative advantage in helping address the major challenges facing KSA lies in providing support for national policy formulation and strategy development based on international experiences and strengthening national , regional and local institutional capacities to achieve the goals and targets in both key international development frameworks (SDGs, NUA) and national development frameworks — in particular, Vision 2030, Visual Realization Programmes (National Transformation Programme, Quality of Life Programme) in addition to Regional and Local Development policies, strategies and plans. UNDP also support local authorities and institutions to achieve the strategic goals development plans.

UNDP Saudi Arabia Urban Development portfolio includes the development and management of a portfolio of   projects for sustainable urban development . The portfolio will contribute to the formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of development projects relevant to socio-economic strategic planning and policies as well as urban planning and public realm in addition to capacity development programs for local governance, urban economy, city and regional planning and localisation of SDG.

 SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

• Provide key technical expertise in supporting  Smart Cities activities Under the guidance of the UNDP Saudi Arabia  Urban Development Portfolio team
• Ensure, Technical soundness and Quality assurance for Smart Cities activities such as data-driven and evidence-based decision making on policy and strategy, Smart and Sustainable Cities Indicators, Urban Innovation, Digital Transformation of urban services, Big Data application for cities  
• Work closely with  key  project partners, ensuring optimum participation and engagement with multiple  stakeholders involved in  Infrastructure Development, City Strategies, Spatial Frameworks and Urban Indicators frameworks
• Facilitate capacity building and training support, strategy planning and conduct consultation as needed on Smart Cities activities.
• Set priorities among key tasks to ensure successful delivery of frameworks, guidelines, databases, and policy briefs
• Closely collaborate with other  contracted professional consultants appointed on specific programs  
• Provide key narrative, M&E, work plan, and budget contributions for quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports.
• Ensure efficient and active sharing of learning and knowledge management contents including providing support in reviewing and editing reports, documents, papers, and Project outputs  related to Smart Cities , Big Data, and Digital Transformations such as studies, guidelines, benchmarking studies, indicators, review of deliverables 
• Propose strategic opportunities in expanding services and accessing new partnerships for  Smart Cities local and regional programs
• As requested, assist in organizing and leading seminars, conferences, and meetings to strengthen the institutional and governance capacity of  key national partners to effectively implement and administer the smart cities component of Urban Programs, Urban Monitoring Frameworks and/or Spatial frameworks
• Identify and incorporate lessons learned from Smart Cities programs national /regional or international and identify global case studies and best practise
• Develop detailed project implementation plans for specific Smart Cities projects and activities
• Provide project deliverables review/monitoring support including a checklist on socio-economic plans
• Advocate for use of indicators in evidence-based decision-making for urban monitoring and reporting frameworks
• Conduct participatory workshops on manuals and procedures across different geographical scales -  regions, cities, Amanas, municipalities, neighborhoods and districts or specific urban areas

1. Duration of Assignment:

Total contract duration 12 months. With a possibility for extension based on the need, performance, and funds availability. 

Travel:

 UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and exclude working from home arrangements.

 Include any official travel expected to be associated with performing the functions.

 Any change to the preliminary travel plan/schedule above, in such cases, UNDP will cover travel costs in accordance with corporate regulations and rules.

 If unforeseen travel outside the assigned duty station is requested by UNDP/ and not required by the Terms of References (ToR), such travel shall be covered by UNDP/ in line with applicable rules and regulations and upon prior written agreement. In such cases, the consultant shall receive living allowances not exceeding the United Nations (UN) Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate for such other location(s).

 Note: A written approval from UNDP and relevant authorities will be required to facilitate the consultant's travel to other locations than Riyadh on official missions where necessary.

1. Duty Station and Expected Places of Travel, if any: 

The assignment will be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and at the assigned national partner location- Full or partial remote arrangements are available for specific activities  

5. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant will report to the UNDP Urban Development Program

Working Arrangements:

• All mission travels must be approved in advance and in writing by the Supervisor. 
• The consultant will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies.
• The consultant is responsible for required health and life insurances related to work or travel

6. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

All proposals must be expressed in a lump sum amount. This amount must be “all-inclusive”. Please note that the terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the Proposal.

Payments shall be made to the expert upon successful completion and certification by UNDP that services have been satisfactorily performed, based upon the actual number of working days. 

Payment shall be made as a deliverables-based lump sum payment, to be paid in instalments. The schedule of payment will be distributed upon satisfactory submission of the deliverables listed in the table hereunder:

People Management:

• Empowers team managers to act independently
• Holds units accountable for setting challenging goals
• Sets high peer standards for measuring success and provides encouragement 
• Anticipates and solves organizational conflicts
• Models best corporate practices and highest ethical standards
• Creates an atmosphere of trust; builds acceptance and seeks diverse views, cultures, and individual needs within the team
• Actively mentors and develops leaders

People Skills:

• Promotes a learning and knowledge-sharing environment
• Facilitates the development of individual and multi-cultural/team competencies

  Managing for Results:

• Plans and prioritizes work activities to meet organizational goals 
• Strategic approach to problem-solving

Partnering & Networking:

• Builds and sustains relationships with key constituents (internal/external/ bilateral/ multilateral/public/private, civil society) 
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of the project
• Demonstrates ability to handle working relationships with senior officials, academics, and technical experts.

Innovation &Judgment:

• Conceptualizes and analyses problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate 
• Generates creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations 
• Devises new systems and processes, and modifies existing ones, to support innovative behaviours 
• Provides technical backstopping to the short-term consultants and coordinate and facilitate their operations.

 Managerial: 

• Focuses on impact and result for the client 
• Coordinates/collaborates with all key stakeholders and build strong networks/ partnerships
• Effective team leader with strong conflict resolution skills 
• Establishes priorities for self and other members of the team; schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources 
• Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills 

Behaviour: 

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability 
• Treats people fairly without favouritism
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude 

QUALIFICATIONS and REQUIREMENTS  

Education:  

• Master’s degree in Information and Communication Technology / Smart Cities / Urban Planning or related fields
• A relevant in-depth Multi-Disciplinary Background in Sustainable urban development  is essential.

 Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in related fields.
• Experience in evaluating and conducting result-based management.
• Strong communication Skills
• Strong teamwork skills
• Ability to work effectively independently 
• Strong technical skills in Smart cities strategies, programs, and Indicators on a local level
• Technical Know-How in Monitoring and reporting frameworks for smart cities
• Technical Know How in the use of big-data in evidence-based decision making 
• Knowledge of smart cities component for detailed spatial frameworks / local area plans
• Self-Management and ability to meet tight deadlines
• Excellent negotiation and influence skills   

Languages:  

• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills in English and Arabic language. 

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Recommended Presentation of Offer Interested individual consultants must submit the following to demonstrate their suitability for the assignment.

a) Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;

b) Personal CV or UNDP 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;

c) Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under 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.

d) Design portfolio, including a,) a brief description of why the individual considers her/himself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) at least five examples of mastery of basic design principles including typography, line, form, color, pattern, contrast scale, weight; creative data visualization capacity, multiple language designs, multiple audience designs and/ or advocacy/campaign designs.

I. Evaluation

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Step I: Screening and desk review:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology.

Technical Criteria (CV review and Desk Review/Interview optional) – maximum 70 points. Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the CV desk review (who will score at least 49 points) will be considered for the next stage of evaluation, i.e. financial evaluation.

Applications will be first screened and only candidates meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

•            Master’s degree in Information and Communication Technology / Smart Cities / Urban Planning or related fields

•            A relevant in-depth Multi-Disciplinary Background in Sustainable urban development  is essential.

•            Minimum of 10 years’ experience in related fields.

•            Experience in evaluating and conducting result-based management.

•            Strong communication Skills

•            Strong teamwork skills

•            Ability to work effectively independently 

•            Strong technical skills in Smart cities strategies, programs, and Indicators on a local level

•            Technical Know-How in Monitoring and reporting frameworks for smart cities

•            Technical Know How in the use of big-data in evidence-based decision making 

•            Knowledge of smart cities component for detailed spatial frameworks / local area plans

•            Self-Management and ability to meet tight deadlines

•            Excellent negotiation and influence skills  

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

UNDP applies the “Best value for money approach” – the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’

qualification and financial proposal.

Financial proposal – Maximum 30 points

• Duly accomplished Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II)

PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

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. Financial proposal should include all relevant cost (consultancy fees, all envisaged travel costs, living allowances, etc.).

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)

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

Interested applicants are advised to carefully review this advertisement and ensure that they meet the

requirements and qualifications described.

UNDP reserves the right to reject any incomplete applications.

Please be informed that we don’t accept applications submitted via email.

Interested Offerors are required to submit an application via UNDP Jobsite system as the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP Jobsite system. Please note that UNDP Jobsite system allows only one uploading of application documents, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your online application submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an email acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application if necessary. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload a maximum one document.

Any request for clarification/additional information on this procurement notice shall be communicated in writing to UNDP office or send to email mohammed.abbas@undp.org with a copy to nora.alzahid@undp.org While the Procurement Unit would endeavour to provide information expeditiously, only requests receiving at least 3 working days prior to the submission deadline will be entertained. Any delay in providing such information will not be considered as a reason for extending the submission deadline. The UNDP's response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) will be posted in the Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice page as provided above. Therefore, all prospective Offerors are advised to visit the page regularly to make obtain update related to this Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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

The interested offeror must read the Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice, which can be viewed at 

https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=95360