Background
The UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and CIS is looking for an experienced international consultant to design and facilitate a set of on-demand capacity building activities for the staff of Ministries of Foreign Affairs and development agencies from Europe and CIS to be held in 2014.Many of the countries have recently joined the OECD/DAC (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland). Even more thought, in order to be meeting the high standards of aid delivery, they need the support from the international community to strengthen their capacities. During the last year´s technical workshop jointly organized by WBI, UNDP and European Commission in partnership with the Corvinus University of Budapest (June 13-14, 2012, Budapest), a thought out assessment of existing capacity building practices and needs of European emerging donors was carried out. A strong demand was expressed by countries’ representatives from the region to carry out capacity building. See more in the Annex I Concept Note.
Capacity building for emerging development cooperation providers in Europe and CIS:
In 2014, UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and CIS is planning to design and conduct 5 on-demand capacity building activities for emerging development cooperation providers in Europe and CIS. The participants will primarily include staff of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, line ministries, development cooperation agencies. The need for such activities has been expressed by two emerging development cooperation providers from among the EU Member States (Czech Republic and Romania), but the activities will be open to representatives from other countries as well.
The envisaged capacity building activities will comprise 5 thematic modules identified and specified in consultation with participating institutions and based on a review of needs and existing practices in management and programming of official development assistance in the participating countries (see Concept Note).
Each activity will consist of a technical training conducted by the consultant and/or another external consultant and a knowledge exchange/peer-learning component with development agencies, ministries and non-state entities as observers, particularly from among the more experienced development cooperation providers. Each activity should be intensive and practical in nature and be carried out in approximately 2.5-3 days (+/- 1 day) and will be designed for 20-30 participants (maximum capacity to be advised).
The preliminary list of thematic modules to be addressed by the set of capacity building activities in 2014 is as follows:
- Introduction to Project Cycle Management (PCM) (January 2014), Prague;
- Communicating Development Results (March 2014), Bucharest;
- Strategic Programming for ODA (country and sector strategies), Identification of Projects (May 2014), Bratislava
- Project Formulation, Monitoring and Evaluation (June 2014), Bucharest;
- Knowledge Management / Mechanisms for Knowledge Sharing (October 2014), Prague The basic format for the agenda of the capacity building activity is to be advised by the consultant, incl. optimal length (excl. the first training, where the length is set for two full days). The issue of ensuring sustainability in development projects should be addressed in one of the trainings as a cross-cutting issue.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant will need to be available from mid December 2013 to undertake the following tasks, under direct supervision of the Team Leader, Emerging Donors and New Partnerships:- Design the plan of 5 capacity building activities in cooperation with the UNDP team and representatives from participating countries;
- Develop detailed training programme for the 1st module; “Introduction to Project Cycle Management”, based on a review of existing practices, terminology, guides and legislation related to PCM in the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Russian Federation and Kazakhstan (upon availability). This will include the structure of the technical training (see Annex II Schedule template for PCM training) and suggested knowledge exchange/peer-learning component (incl. its content, i.e. experience cooperating with the private sector etc.), facilitation method, list of relevant literature, and suggested training materials. The activity will be conducted at the premises provided by one of the participating institutions based in Prague. Logistical arrangements for participants will be provided by the UNDP team;
- Conduct the capacity building activity no.1 “Introduction to Project Cycle Management” as a trainer, utilizing latest teaching methodologies to ensure achievement of expected outcomes and outputs;
- Gather participant feedback and produce a mini-summary report on activity no.1 in order to ensure training effectiveness (including recommendations for following activities/modules).
Delivery date:
Estimated by 31 December 2013 (home-based).
Payment:
1st installment – 50% of the lump sum upon receipt of the document of sufficient quality approved by UNDP
Mini-summary report in English on capacity building activity no. 1 (up to 3 pages), incl. attached evaluation forms filled by participants, and recommendations.
Delivery date:
Estimated by 30 January 2014.
Payment:
2nd installment- 30% of the lump sum upon receipt of the report of sufficient quality by UNDP.
Design of 5 capacity building activities preliminary set for 2014 in English (approx. 5 pages).
Delivery date:
Estimated by 15 February 2013
Payment: 3rd installment - 20% of the lump sum upon receipt of the training programme and conducting of the activity
Competencies
- Excellent communication, facilitation and presentation skills in English;
- Strong organizational awareness, client orientation and government advisory skills;
- Strong drafting and reporting skills in English.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:- Advanced (MA) university degree in the area of social sciences, public administration, international relations, international development, or relevant field.
- At least 5 years experience in the areas below;
- Direct experience in the design, leading and facilitation of trainings, workshops and capacity building activities in the field of international development, related to project cycle management, results-based management, project/programme design, and/or monitoring and evaluation;
- Advisory support to wide range of beneficiaries (governments/NGOs/agencies) in ECIS on the formulation, implementation, management and monitoring of development cooperation and official development assistance strategies, or similar consultancy assignments;
- Previous experience in working with international organizations, working with UN agencies will be an asset.
- Proficiency (verbal and written) in English;
- Other ECIS languages will be an asset.
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
- a) responsive, and
- b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Technical Criteria: 70% of total evaluation – max. 50 points:
- Education in the area of social sciences, public administration, international relations, international development, or relevant field - max. 12 points;
- At least 5 years of direct experience in the design, leading and facilitation of trainings, workshops and capacity building activities in the field of international development, related to project cycle management, results-based management, project/programme design, and/or monitoring and evaluation - max. 12 points;
- At least 5 years advisory support to wide range of beneficiaries (governments/NGOs/agencies) preferably in ECIS countries on the formulation, implementation, management and monitoring of development cooperation and official development assistance strategies, or similar consultancy assignments - max. 12 points;
- At least 5 years experience working with international organizations - max. 10 points;
- Language skills - max. 4 points.
Application procedures
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:
- Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position;
- Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
- Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (fee and number of anticipated working days, international travel, per diems, translation costs if any, and any other possible costs);
- Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://europeandcis.undp.org/home/jobs
Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
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.
Annexes:
Annex I - Concept Note for description of the thematic modules and the set of capacity building activities
Annex II - Schedule template for PCM training