Lao PDR faced serious shortages and price fluctuations of medical supplies during the pandemic of COVID-19, as the country is wholly dependent on imports. The critical need for supply and quality control of medical devices in the market has appeared as one of the challenges for sustainable socio-economic development in Laos. To adapt to this situation, the Government of Lao PDR has the ambition to capture this opportunity to promote the high-quality local production capacity of PPE and improve the quality assurance of the items available in the market. 

In addition, the quality of imported and domestically produced medical devices and supplies in the market vary significantly due to the limited regulation and surveillance capacity. The government acknowledges the critical need to enhance its regulatory capacity by developing PPE Manufacture Establishment Guidelines, National Medical Device Registration Regulations, and PPE Inspection Guidelines and tools. 

To tackle the adverse impacts of the pandemic, UNDP Lao PDR has supported the Government of Lao PDR with a comprehensive portfolio to respond to COVID-19 directly. In this context, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health, UNDP Lao PDR initiated this project by providing financial and technical support to enhance the domestic production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and a quality management system for PPE production and better market access. 

The project is implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Food and Drug Department (FDD), Ministry of Health.

OBJECTIVE 

UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin our commitment to mainstream social and environmental sustainability in our Programmes and Projects. The objectives of the standards are to:

• Strengthen the quality of programming by ensuring a principled approach;
• Maximize social and environmental opportunities and benefits;
• Avoid adverse impacts on people and the environment;
• Minimize, mitigate, and manage adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible;
• Strengthen UNDP and partner capacities for managing social and environmental risks; and
• Ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement, including through a mechanism to respond to complaints from project-affected people

During the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) conducted for this project, the protection of labour rights of the factory workers and preventing adverse impact to the surrounding environment were identified as the major risks. This assignment is aimed at ensuring the working conditions and occupational safety and health meet the requirements in the following national regulations (environmental impact will be assessed by another consultant):

1. National Labour Law (2013)
2. Decree on Labour Safety and Health (2019)
3. UNDP Health, Safety, and Working Conditions Standards
4. Other relevant ILO standards and guidelines

In this regard, UNDP is seeking to hire an experienced national consultant to assess the baseline conditions and plan for integrating labour rights considerations into the project’s planned activities.

SCOPE OF WORK

The successful applicant will be expected to be responsible for the following:

• Review relevant national legislations, standards, and guidelines on labour rights of the Government of Lao PDR or international organizations, including UNDP, ILO, and ASEAN.
• Undertake assessments through consultations with the potentially affected individuals (including factory workers and managers) to identify potential impacts of the project in terms of labour rights at the project site (State Enterprise Pharmaceutical Factory No.3).
• Identify the extent to which labour is an issue for the project, and if necessary, develop mitigation measures to address labour issues, building on any available national legislations or international standards. Special attention must be paid to gender issues.
• Develop the Environmental and Social Management Framework for labour, including Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), outlining the steps that should be followed during the project implementation

• Writing Skill - Quality of the writing sample (Please attach one writing sample of your completed task relevant to this assignment to your application)

• University degree in labour laws, gender, human rights, business administration, sociology, or a relevant field. A Master’s degree is preferred.  
• At least 5 years of experience in one of the following: SES, project monitoring & evaluation, or stakeholder engagement planning.
• At least 1 year of experience in labour rights assessment and protection in Lao PDR, preferably with factory workers.
• Proven experience in analyzing and integrating gender dimensions into project design or implementation.
• Proven experience and knowledge of safeguard principles or environmental and social impact assessment of UNDP or other international organizations.

LANGUAGE :  Excellent analytical, writing, advocacy, presentation, and communication skills in English and Lao are required

Requirements for submission of proposals 

All interested and qualified International or National Individual Consultants should apply online using the following links: 

UNDP Lao PDR Country Office website at https://www.undp.org/laopdr/jobs

In order to make your submission, please read the relevant documents available at the links below 

1. TOR RPS_275_2022 (Annex I) 

1. IC General Terms and Conditions _ Annex II; 

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: 

1. P11 Form or CV Education and work experience, including past experience in similar projects and up to 3 contact references; 
2. Financial proposal:  Detailed financial proposal: Lump sum offer with clear cost breakdown against each deliverable. Please use this template OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY _ Annex III.
3. Writing Sample: Please include one writing sample of your completed task relevant to this assignment.

Instructions for online submissions: 

• Step 1:  Please prepare all required documents electronically; 
• Step 2: Combine all documents in ONE SINGLE FILE (preferably in PDF however Word format can be also accepted) and upload to the UNDP Jobs using the links above; 
• Step 3: After that you will receive an auto reply from the UNDP jobs if your offer is received successfully. 

Incomplete proposals or proposals received after the deadline will be rejected. 

Note:  Any request for clarification must be sent in writing before the submission deadline to the following emails: surith.sengsavang@undp.org