Background
The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) is mandated to promote, coordinate and support South-South cooperation throughout the United Nations system and globally. Among its functions, UNOSSC serves as the substantive secretariat of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, the main policymaking body on South-South cooperation in the United Nations system and a subsidiary body of the General Assembly. The High-level Committee undertakes, inter alia, intergovernmental reviews of progress in the implementation of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, the new directions for South-South cooperation and the Nairobi outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation. UNOSSC organizes the biennial sessions of the Committee and prepares reports that inform deliberations at those meetings. It supports Member States as they set the policies, rules and procedures to enhance the implementation of South-South cooperation; monitors progress in that implementation; and assists Governments of developing countries in strengthening their institutional capacity and procedural arrangements for undertaking South-South cooperation. It drafts the report of the Secretary-General on the state of South-South cooperation in consultation with various United Nations bodies as well as relevant non-United Nations partners. It also promotes the mainstreaming of South-South cooperation into programming processes, producing inter-agency instruments such as operational guidelines; mobilizes financial resources for South-South cooperation; and implements specific projects and activities. To inform, facilitate and scale up the implementation of South-South cooperation, UNOSSC organizes the annual United Nations system-wide Global South-South Development Expo. The Expo, which brings together development practitioners and representatives of the United Nations system, government, the private sector and civil society, showcases selected successful development solutions, a means of sharing information on the wealth of knowledge and capacities of the South. UNOSSC further produces publications on topics that are particularly relevant to countries of the South such as the series South-South in Action and shares up-to-date information on UNOSSC activities on its website and via social media. It also serves as Fund Manager for, among others, the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund), the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF), the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation (UNFSSC) and the India-UN Partnership Development Fund.
In responding to its mandated functions, UNOSSC produces an important number of official United Nations reports as well as the documentation of solutions, outreach materials, conference/Expo texts and several other types of materials. In 2022, it is anticipated that preparations for the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40 Conference) will also create a need for editorial services in view of the UNOSSC role as the secretariat for the Conference. For this output, there is a need to ensure quality writing in terms of logical development of ideas; accuracy of facts and of the messages to be conveyed; correct English spelling, grammar and punctuation, including conformity to UNDP and United Nations editorial style and terminology; and consistency in formatting. UNOSSC is thus seeking the services of an editorial consultant to undertake the tasks described below. The incumbent will work with the individual staff members responsible for the products requiring editorial services.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Communications Specialist, the consultants will be responsible for the following while ensuring confidentiality of the material and working within the required deadlines:
Editing of documents, including, but not limited to, publications, reports, collections of case studies, memorandums, letters, video story boards, brochures, briefs and concept notes.
The incumbent will:
Ensure that the text is grammatically correct, logically structured and appropriate in language, tone, style and format for the intended audience;
Ensure stylistic consistency and clarity of expression, rewriting, where necessary, in keeping with the spirit of the original text to make certain that policies and messages are conveyed accurately;
Ensure accurate, consistent use of terminology and spelling as set forth in the United Nations editorial manual and the Oxford English Dictionary and in keeping with the UNDP and the United Nations house style;
Check facts and raise any related questions with the staff member(s) responsible for the text;
Ensure that all references and other sources are accurately and consistently indicated and that footnotes are consistently numbered and appropriately positioned and formatted;
Ensure that photos, figures, charts, graphs, boxes and tables are appropriately positioned andnumbered, correctly identified and cross-referenced in the text and that data from them are accurately reflected in the document;
Ensure that the information in the list of abbreviations and acronyms correlates with usage throughout the text;
Ensure that the formatting of the entire text is consistent; and
Rectify any typographical and/or mechanical errors in the text.
Proofreading and quality control of typeset and blue-line versions that require such input, contributing to the design and production process as needed. The incumbent will:
Ensure that the typeset and blue-line versions correspond to the original documents in terms of text and formatting, indicating corrections and/or making suggestions for improvement;
Ensure the proof-read designed layout files are complete, print-ready files.
Deliverables/Expected Outputs:
For each assignment, UNOSSC shall agree in email with the contractor on specific deliverables and timelines that will be binding for the contractor. The final document(s) must be delivered in MS Word, PowerPoint, or Excel files, as required and provide 2 copies: track changes and clean versions.
The editor is also expected to deliver terminology glossaries generated per project as the office is trying to build up UNDP/UNOSSC terminology databases.
Annual Reports (Project level report, Annual Reports of the office, IBSA Report, India-UN Fund Report, etc.)
Thematic reports
Publications (South-South in Action, Good Practices, brochures)
Official Correspondences (letters, memorandums),
- Other UNOSSC documents related to its work
Competencies
- 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.
Functional Competencies
- Outstanding command of written and spoken English is required; Excellent writing and editing/reviewing skills;
- Demonstrate strong written communication, research and analytical skills and ability to rapidly integrate information from various sources;
- Excellent understanding of the style, structure and form of official United Nations documentation;
Knowledge of current UNDP activities and willingness to follow established brand guidelines;
Ability to work using track changes in Word and PDF files is required;
Technical skills in production, editing, and ability to write quickly, clearly and concisely in English;
Ability to adhere to tight deadlines and respond to all communications from UNOSSC.
Required Skills and Experience
Academic qualifications:
- At least advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in Communication, English Literature, Journalism, Philosophy, International Development, Social Science or other comparable discipline is required.
Experience:
- Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in editing, writing, proofreading, including significant experience with print publications and technical documents in the areas of international development - required.
- At least 4 years of experience in editing for a UN agency and/or other international organizations - required.
- Proven record of edited reports, publications or technical documents on South-South cooperation is an asset.
- Prior experience working on South-South and triangular cooperation research and programmes - desired.
- Experience working within the United Nations system and Member State Governments - preferred.
Language:
Professional proficiency in English with demonstrated excellent writing and analytical skills is required.
Knowledge of another United Nations official language is an asset.
Duration of Work / Contractual Arrangements:
The overall objective of this agreement is to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNOSSC can engage the services of Senior Editor;
The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for executive of the tasks under this assignment;
This ICFA shall come into effect for a period of one year from the date of signing the agreement by UNOSSC and will be extendable annually based on performance and availability of funds;
UNOSSC will be producing many knowledge products and policy reports in 2023-2025; however, no guarantee of minimum assignments will be given in advance;
- The deliverables will be a high-quality print-ready, professionally edited documents, reports and other communication materials under each assignment of this ICFA.
Application Procedure
The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):
A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
- Kindly provide a web-link to minimum 3 samples of editorial work you have done demonstrating the quality of your work similar to this assignment.
- Please submit this information in one file as Document 1, 2 and 3.
- Candidates who fail to submit all the information requested above will be disqualified.
- Please do not include your financial proposal at this stage. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a financial proposal.
Financial Proposal using template provided.
Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.
Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.
- The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
- The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
- This consultancy is a home-based assignment, with possible visits to the UNOSSC office in New York
- In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
If the 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 a 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.
Only technically qualified candidates will be invited to submit a financial proposal via E-tendering. Instructions will be provided further in the process.
Financial Proposal
After review of applications, technically qualified candidates will be contacted by UNDP separately and requested to submit a Financial Proposal.
- Financial proposals must be all inclusive and must be expressed on the basis of “a daily fee” in USD based on an 8-hour workday.
The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; cost of travel from the home base to the duty station and vice versa, where required; living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
Payment will be made upon submission of a certificate of payment request, at a schedule agreed based on deliverables, indicating outputs achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.
Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply for this assignment.
Due to the large number of applications, we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFER:
Applicants are reviewed based on required skills and experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.
The selection of the best offer from the shortlisted candidates will be based on a combined scoring method – where the qualifications and experience will be weighted a maximum of 70 points and combined with the price offer, which will be weighted a maximum of 30 points.
Method: Cumulative analysis method will be used to evaluate proposals.
- When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the ICFA will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as responsive, compliant, and acceptable, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to this solicitation process. Kindly refer to the evaluation criteria and scoring provided below.
Technical Criteria weight: 70%
Financial Criteria weight: 30%
Technical Evaluation – (70 points, 70%):
The technical evaluation will comprise of desk review (50 points) and interviews (20 points).
All applicants will be initially screened against the minimum qualification requirements as specified above. Responsive candidates will then be further evaluated against the following criteria and shortlisted applicants invited for the interviews:
Desk Review of Technical Criteria as Evident in the submitted application (50 points)
- Criteria 1: Relevance of experience with editorial content development, including publications/reports, featuring content on South-South cooperation, sustainable development and global development topics. Maximum Points: (20 points);
- Criteria 2. Prior experience in writing, editing, and proofreading of United Nations and/or Member State Governments reports, publications and technical documents. Maximum Points: (15 points);
- Criteria 3: Quality of writing and editing samples. Maximum Points: (10 points). This will be evaluated based on the samples provided in the application package.
Criteria 4:Fluency in another United Nations official language an asset. Maximum Points: (5 points). (Relevant additional languages: Spanish, French and Arabic; fluency in 1 additional language: 2.5 points, fluency in 2 additional languages: 5 points).
The top three candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (35 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the desk review (50 points) shall be considered for the interview.
Interview (20 points)
The total obtainable score on the interview is 20 points, bringing the total points for the technical evaluation to a maximum of 70 points. A minimum 14 points (70% of total points obtainable during the interview) are required to pass the interview.
Only those candidates who obtain a total technical score of 49 points and above on the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation and will be asked to submit a financial proposal.
Financial evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)
The following formula will be used to evaluate 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
Framework Agreement
UNDP plans to enter into the Long-Term Agreement (LTA) with the TOP ranked successful Individual Contractors to assure resources availability at the required time fame and/or increased demand for services requested. The service of who will be used on an intermittent and repetitive basis when needed and based on the fixed unit price. Other prospective applicants that are not contracted, at the UNDP’s discretion, may be placed in the roster of consultants to be used based on an on-call basis for similar services.
Please note that the LTA does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the LTA contract is signed, and that such an agreement is non-exclusive. When a specific need arises, the successful Individual Contractor/s will be approached and be provided with a specific TOR and deliverables (and time frame) but still within the scope of the responsibilities stated in the LTA. The successful Individual Contractor(s) is expected to provide Confirmation of Interest on the specific services required at the agreed LTA Daily Rate Consultancy Fee. Financial commitments will only be established each time a Purchase Order for the specific services/TOR for Individual Contractor is committed.
This LTA has a cumulative ceiling amount that may accrue to the individual contractor during the life of the LTA, but said amount shall remain as an upper limit, and must not and cannot be interpreted nor understood as neither a financial commitment nor guarantee of business volume.
Contract Award
Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.
Institutional arrangement
The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the communications Specialist and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.
Payment modality
- Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
- The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7 hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.