Background

UNDP is the global development network of the United Nations, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in more than 170 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP’s work on trade and development has increased significantly in the last five years as it has prioritized capacity development for trade from the perspective of human development. UNDP seeks to address three core development needs, namely (i) the capacity to compete internationally by overcoming institutional, human, and other supply side bottlenecks; (ii) the capacity to negotiate, interpret and implement trade agreements in a manner which prioritizes poverty reduction and human development concerns; and (iii) the capacity to integrate pro-poor policies in national development strategies or trade mainstreaming.
 
It is critical, to sustain progress towards the achievement of development objectives including the Millennium Development Goals to develop the State and societal capacities to design and implement strategies that minimize the impacts posed by external shocks. Without the right enabling environment, well-functioning organizations and educated and skilled personnel, countries lack the foundation to plan, implement and review their own national and local development strategies. Consequently, UNDP has adapted the UNDP Capacity Assessment Methodology to support national trade-related organizations. Capacity development is the process through which individuals, organizations, and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time.
 
The Government of Sierra Leone has requested UNDP assistance in strengthening critical capacities in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and its subsidiary organizations, required for the implementation of the Action Matrix of the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Update (DTISU) that was formulated and validated in 2013. The Action Matrix is structured around six priority areas for action: i) trade policy and institutions; ii) facilitating trade and improving domestic logistics services for lower trade costs and efficient supply chains; iii) enhancing sub-regional integration for addressing issues of common interest; iv) harnessing the potential of sustainable tourism for employment generating growth; v) strengthening agricultural value chains for promoting value-added exports; and vi) building effective marine management and protection systems for a competitive fisheries sector.
 
Functions and scope of work
 
The objective is to assist the Sierra Leone Ministry of Trade and Industry, including main subsidiary entities –i.e. Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency and Sierra Leone Standards Bureau- identify its trade-related institutional capacity constraints in relation to the implementation of the Action Matrix of the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Update and to develop an action plan to overcome them in order to strengthen organizational performance and contribute to making trade a strong driver of inclusive growth and economic transformation.
 
A capacity development team, comprising 2 UNDP experts and a national consultant will work with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the EIF National Implementation Unit in completing the exercise. The team will use UNDP’s methodology to identify existing capacities and gaps and formulate a capacity development response. The methodology privileges a participatory approach to promote ownership by national stakeholders of the exercise and uses a variety of tools including semi-structured interviews, surveys, coaching, etc.
 
Impact of Results
 
The assignment will directly contribute to making the Sierra Leone Ministry of Trade and Industry overcome trade-related institutional capacity constraints by enhancing organizational performance and contribute to making trade a strong driver of inclusive growth and economic transformation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities and key results

The national consultant will assist the UNDP team and key officials at the Ministry of Trade and Industry with every step of the capacity development exercise. The support required involves both substantive engagement with UNDP team and national stakeholders as well as ensuring the practical and logistical arrangements are taken care of.  More concretely, the national consultant will be responsible of the following tasks:
  • Identify, collect and synthesize relevant background policy documents and other relevant information necessary to inform the capacity development exercise. This includes in particular, details about the mandate and organizational structure of key institutions; functions of each unit/department; and cooperation mechanisms with relevant state and non-state actors and stakeholder groups;
  • Make necessary arrangements to organize consultations with national stakeholders in government, private sector and civil society groups, as necessary, including one-to-one interviews, group sessions, etc.;
  • Contribute to the development of the methodological tools used during the exercise, i.e. – defining the content (questions) and format (worksheet, questionnaire);
  • Help review/pilot/use the assessment tools with key stakeholders;
  • Participate and support UNDP team in the rolling out of the capacity development exercise (the team will undertake at least two mission in country) and ensure follow up actions and engagement with stakeholders takes place in a timely fashion - i.e. provide clarification, answer questions, collect documents, etc.;
  • Help to design and facilitate the validation of the capacity development action plan produced by the team.

Competencies

Corporate 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;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Functional Competencies:

Technical Support:

  • The suitable candidate demonstrates sound understanding of trade and development issues. Knowledge of capacity assessment tools and organizational theory is an additional asset.

Planning and Management:

  • The candidate demonstrates talent in the field of coordination, with proven skills in facilitating the work of experts’ missions and task forces.

Communication:

  •  Ability to write and speak fluently in English.

Teamwork:

  • Ability to establish and maintain good working relations with colleagues in multi-cultural environment, supervisors, officials, Commission members, and civil society representatives. Excellent interpersonal skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education
  • Advanced university degree (Master degree or equivalent) in economics or social sciences. A University degree combined with relevant working experience may also be considered.
Experience:
  • Minimum 5 years of experience in trade and development issues in government, consultancies or development programmes;
  • Good understanding of trade and regional integration issues in Sierra Leone confirmed by research and/or consultancy work;
  • Experience in working with Sierra Leone public organizations;
  • Proven ability to work with public officials at different levels of seniority;
  • Hands-on experience in setting a mission agenda, organizing interviews and events;
  • Ability to interpret results and provide practical recommendations.

Language:

  • Strong and proven verbal and written presentational skills in English.
Duration of the consultancy
  • The assignment is expected to be completed over a period of five months with an estimated effective workload of 30 days. The information below provides a summary of activities conducted by the team along with a tentative timeframe. Flexibility from the consultant is required as certain tasks might need to be postponed and thus the contract period could be extended.
Engage stakeholders
 
Input: request for support, UNDP Capacity Development material, literature review, scoping mission’s findings, capacity development team time
Output: detailed concept note for the capacity assessment/action plan
  • Establishing capacity development team March 7;
  • Literature review and ex-country consultations March 7;
  • Scoping mission and in-country consultations (one week)March 23-29;
  • Detailed concept note validated with the beneficiary organization April 13;
Assess capacity assets and needs
 
Input: detailed concept note for the capacity assessment/action plan, assessment mission’s findings
Output: draft capacity needs assessment and action plan.
  • Main assessment mission (two weeks)May (TBD);
  • Drafting of the capacity needs assessment and action planMay-June (TBD.
Validate capacity development responses
 
Input: draft capacity needs assessment, stakeholders and peers comments, and capacity development team time
Output: validated capacity needs assessment and action plan.
  • Validation of the capacity needs assessment and capacity action plan June-July (TBD;
  • Finalization of the capacity needs assessment and capacity action plan July-August (TBD);
Payment Modalities
 
This consultancy will be undertaken using UNDP’s Individual Contractor (IC) modality where the contract amount is a fixed output based price, regardless of the contract duration. The lump sum contract amount will be paid in three installments based on the three main deliverables due by the team.
  • (20% of the lump sum) Capacity assessment concept note that adapts existing UNDP capacity assessments tools and methodologies to the context and needs; the note is produced by the team in the immediate aftermath of the scoping mission;
  • (50% of the lump sum) Capacity assessment and action plan draft report. The report is produced by the team in the immediate aftermath of the main advisory mission;
  • (30% of the lump sum) Validated capacity assessment and action plan report by national stakeholders.
Evaluation of Criteria and Weighting
 
The expert will be evaluated against a combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum score is 100% out of a total score for technical criteria equals 70% and 30% for financial criteria. The technical evaluation will include the following:
  • Background and minimum educational qualification as defined above-10%;
  • Practical previous experience relevant to the TOR - 30%;
  • Substantial professional knowledge and experience in coordination and engagement with public officials -50%;
  • English language fluency -10%.
Application Procedure
 
Qualified and interested candidates are hereby requested to apply. The application should contain the following:
  • Completed P11 form;
  • Financial proposal.