Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 177 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners that can bring about results.

The Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) is UNDP's policy Bureau and backbone of the global practices. BDP has a key role to play in helping country offices to accelerate human development through strengthening the practice areas within UNDP’s programmes.BDP supports the development and design of projects that are responsive, effective and contribute to the national-level policies and results. Driven by demand, BDP provides tools, analysis and capacities for country offices to make a real difference in UNDP’s practice areas.

BDP supports UNDP's 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 3 thematic areas: Sustainable Development Pathways, Inclusive and Effective Democratic Governance, and Resilience. HIV, Health and Development Approach: UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF), and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP's work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization's core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies.UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals. For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment. UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient (PR) in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the PR role over time.

In the 26 countries where it currently holds the PR role, UNDP is responsible for the financial and programme management of Global Fund grants as well as procurement of pharmaceutical, non-health items and required services. UNDP‘s management role consists in implementing grants, ensuring financial accountability, and developing the capacities of national and international stakeholders.

Given the importance of the partnership with the Global Fund, UNDP continues to strive towards providing high value-added services to governments and the Global Fund, both in its role as the PR, and, increasingly, as a significant technical partner to governments implementing Global Fund grants. In all areas of implementation, UNDP provides capacity development services to relevant institutions, sub-recipients and implementing partners. UNDP has a dedicated team to support the partnership with the Global Fund (Partnership Team), a Cluster within the HIV, Health and Development Group, Bureau of Development Policy (HHD Group).

The GF has changed its funding model in order to make a bigger impact on the three diseases. The new funding model (NFM) was designed to have predictable funding, to reward ambitious vision, to work on more flexible timings and with a smoother, shorter process that ensures a higher success rate of applications. During 2014, a number of countries where UNDP is interim PR or providing support, the Country Coordinating Mechanisms will be coordinating stakeholder consultations, submitting Concept Notes and completing the grant making process with the signing of grant agreements. To support this process UNDP will engage a consultant to provide technical support and leadership to UNDP Country Offices involved in the NFM process.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Desk review of relevant documents, stakeholders' reports and donor guidelines in-country missions;
• Close collaboration with the Partnership Team, technical agencies and other stakeholders as required by GF policies;
• Documented process of participatory and transparent country dialogue for NSP and concept note development;
• Ensuring an up to knowledge of the GF processes and procedures for the NFM, which continue to evolve.

• Review the results of ongoing National Program on HIV/AIDS, or Malaria or Tuberculosis prevention and control in the country and analyze priorities of the next Strategic plan based on findings of the mid-term reviews and available evidence of effectiveness and relevance of ongoing disease control interventions;
• Review NFM guidelines of GF and align strategic planning and concept development process with donor requirements;
• Organize consultations and stakeholders' meetings to discuss priority areas and interventions for the National Strategic Plan and concept note;
• Support and coordinate work of the National Technical Working Group (TWG) through regular coordination and advisory support;
• Ensure coordination of strategic planning and resource mobilization process with in country partners (Government, CSOs, multilateral and bi-lateral agencies) to identify their roles and responsibilities under concept note (i.e. sub-recipients, Principal Recipients, Technical assistance partners, etc...);
• Ensure participatory approach and engagement of CSOs, vulnerable communities and disease-affected people in policy development, strategic planning and decision making for concept note development;
• Assist in organizing follow up meetings on regular basis and at least 2 stakeholders' workshops, indicatively one to discuss the revised Strategic plan, and one to discuss the draft concept note;
• Complete editorial review of the concept note to ensure all sections are consistent, organized. and prepared in a timely manner;
• Write in close collaboration with the National TWG, UNDP Country Office, Partnership Team, HHD Group, all sections of the National Strategic plan for HIV/AIDS, Malaria or Tuberculosis and a concept note.

• Ensure that the Plan and the concept note are in line with international standards, the GF guidelines and recommendations of GF country team, quality standards, recommended key strategies, activities and requirements.
• Ensure that inputs from key stakeholders are solicited and incorporated into the proposal;
• Ensure that strategies included in the NSP and the concept notes are sufficiently supported by relevant existing data and evidences that justify the interventions;
• Ensure coherence between the roles and responsibilities of the proposed implementing partners (PR/SRs).
• Include financial gap analysis for HIV/AIDS or Malaria or Tuberculosis program based on existing data of the national spending account studies and other sources;
• Prepare/gather and incorporate all needed annexes and supporting documents, as per the GF requirements.
• Closely collaborate with the costing unit of the UNDP GF programme management team for development of work plan and budget;
• Place special emphasis on development of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation performance framework for the NSP, the concept note and grant making.

• Review the existing M&E systems and identify strengths and weaknesses;
• Guide the process for identifying the key performance questions and parameters for monitoring NSP and NFM grant performance;
• In collaboration with key stakeholders develop appropriate indicators and targets for the objectives for each of the prioritized service delivery areas;
• Complete the performance framework and complete the M&E sections of the concept note;
• Align the approved implementing partner’s M&E plans with the NFM PF;
• Ensure the capacity development plans for the national partners is annexed to the concept note or referenced. 

• Work plan for the period of consultancy with detail time schedule, activities and required resources;
• Inception report (max 5 pages) detailing the roadmap and approach to be used (NSP and NFM Development Framework and grants making);
• Country Dialogue: An organizational plan for country dialogue meetings to prepare NSP, NFM concept and grant making. Accordingly write minutes and present to UNDP and stakeholders;
• Concept Note Submission: A drafted disease Concept note to GF NFM based on guidelines and recommendations of the donor, identified and scientifically proven priorities and recommendations on international technical agencies (WHO, UNAIDS, etc) - June 2014;
• Grant Making: Developed, negotiated and approved new grants documents, including budget and work plan, procurement and supply management plan, monitoring and evaluation plan, performance framework.

• Technical Evaluation Criteria: 70%;
• Financial Evaluation Criteria:  30%.

• General Qualification/ Academic background (10 points);
• Professional Experience in the area of specialization (30 points);
• International management and technical assistance experience (20 points);
• Language proficiency (10 points).

Competencies

Organizational 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: 

• Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products.  

Project and Resource Management:   

• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs.  
• Strong organizational skills.  
• Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs.  
• Sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to manage competing priorities.  

Partnership building and team work: 

• Excellent negotiating and networking skills.  
• Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment.  

Communications and Advocacy:   

• Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and Speak clearly and convincingly;
• Strong presentation skills in meetings with the ability to adapt for different audiences;
• Strong analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
• Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly;
• Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills;
• Outstanding management, communication, facilitation and inter personal skills;
• Proven ability to manage multiple and complex interdisciplinary technical teams;
• Proven ability to analyze, interpret and synthesize information/data from different sources;
• Excellent writing skills and competency in computer applications;
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and to work effectively under pressure, including in a multi-cultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:  

• Masters degree in Public Health or any relevant field.  

Experience:

• This assignment will require a senior expert with extensive broad-based experience of working in the HIV and AIDS sector or Malaria or Tuberculosis, particularly in developing countries;
  
• Minimum seven (7) years of experience in planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of health programs at the national and international levels;
• Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the Development or knowledge management field; 
  
• Proven successful experience with strategic planning and development of national policy documents;
• Proven track record of writing successful Global Fund or donor proposals;
• Solid and demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the local, regional and global responses to HIV and AIDS or Malaria or Tuberculosis.  

Language Requirements:

• Proven written and oral English and/or French language skills.

Guidelines for Application:

 Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of references (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please share this P11 instead of your CV.

Financial Proposal* - specifying a daily rate in USD and, if applicable, a lump sum for round-trip travel costs to join duty station/repatriation travel. 

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. rent of dwelling, fee, health insurance, vaccination, visa costs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged costs (except of the unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any) must be included in the financial proposal. Unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any, will be paid separately according to UNDP rules and regulations.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

 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.