Antecedentes

The Poverty Group (PG) of the Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) is the institutional anchor of UNDP’s work on poverty reduction and MDGs support. It provides core services designed to support global, regional and national efforts to reduce poverty and reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of: technical and policy advice, policy analysis and advocacy and knowledge brokering. Within the Poverty Group the Inclusive Green Growth (IGG) Team covers issues of inequality, inclusive growth, vulnerability and resilience, social protection and sustainability.          
  
The IGG Team at the Poverty Group is developing a work programme that includes developing signature products to respond to the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017 on issues of inequality, inclusive growth, employment, and social protection. Some of these products include the follow-up to the Inequality Report: Humanity Divided: Confronting Inequality in Developing Countries, an Inequality Mapping and Diagnostic Tool (IMAD), as well as social protection assessment tools in collaboration with other agencies.

Deberes y responsabilidades

 Objective
The primary objective of the consultancy is to provide technical, research and analytical support related to the development of the IGG work programme – specifically for quantitative and analytical work related to issues of inequality and inclusive growth, including issues related to the measurement of inclusive growth; the role/impact of fiscal policy on inequality; and policies needed to transition to inclusive growth pathways.  
Specific Deliverables
  • Provide technical and analytical support for the work on inequality, as follow-up to the recently published report Humanity Divided: Confronting Inequality in Developing Countries, as well as for new initiatives, such as the Korea Development Debate 2014, and for initiatives involving other multilateral agencies and research institutions and networks.
  • Provide quantitative analysis on inequality by region using available international databases including – but not limited to – the Solt Database, the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Database and the Standardized World Income Inequality Database (SWIID) to tailor the key messages of the inequality report to different regions. 
  • The consultant will also be available to provide technical and project management support to the IGG Team as needed. Including: (i) providing inputs for requests from the executive office or other bureaus on inequality and inclusive growth; (ii) provide support to other projects within the IGG team as they relate to social protection and the IMAD; and (iii) represent the IGG team as needed for other relevant meetings and activities.

Timeframe and Location

The work will be conducted over a 7 month period (2 June to 31 December 2014). The contract will be issued for 7 month subject to job performance. The position will be located in the New York office and consultant will be required to report to the office daily.

Travel

UNDP will cover flight cost and living expenses if travel is requested.  All travel arrangements will adhere to UNDP travel rules and regulations.

Reporting

The consultant shall report to IGG Team Leader.

Competencias

Functional Competencies
  •  Strong background in inequality and macroeconomics analysis on issues of inclusive growth, vulnerability and resilience;
  •  Excellent analytical, quantitative and writing skills;
  • Sound grasp of substantive and policy issues related to current inequality and development debates;
  • Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities;
  • Effective team player, good communication and inter-personal skills, ability to be part of a culturally diverse environment, ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
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
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:
  • Master’s or Ph.D degree in Development Economics, Economics of Inequality and Poverty, or closely related field .
Experience:
  • Minimum 3 years of professional experience, part of which in conducting research in development issues required;
  • Experience working in an international agency and/or UN System and the development agenda;
  • Experience in working groups inside and outside place of work;
  • Experience in contributing to working papers, journals, articles as a result of original research;
  • Contribution to the topic of economics, development, inequality, and social protection. 
Language Requirements:
  • Excellent command of English (oral and written);
  • knowledge of another UN language/s would be an asset.
Financial proposal
  • Applicants must submit financial proposal separately to the email address: tiffany.moore@undp.org by the same deadline as the job vacancy. Financial Proposals must clearly state in email subject line: Financial Proposal for Inclusive Growth Consultant application. Applicants who do not submit financial proposal will be disqualified. The daily rate must be fixed rate. Those who apply with a "range" will also be disqualified. The rate will cover a 7-hour working day plus one hour for lunch that is not included in the daily rate. The daily rate provided in the financial proposal should not cover travel arrangements and living expenses.
  • Consultant will be paid on actual days worked based on daily rate pending satisfactory performance and approval of Team Leader/Supervisor.
Evaluation Process for Candidates (Desk Review by Panel - Interview Optional)

The evaluation process will be a cumulative analysis which is based on technical and financial scores. The candidate who scores the highest from the combined scores between 70% of technical + 30% financial shall be awarded the contract. Candidates will be shortlisted based on educational background and relevant experience. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% for the technical requirement (or 490 points) will be considered for financial evaluation.
 
Scoring:
  • Technical Criteria weight: 70% (or 700 maximum points)
  • Financial Criteria weight: 30% (or 300 maximum points)
The scoring will be based on the following criteria:
  • Master’s or Ph.D degree in Development Economics, Economics, or closely related field: 10% or 100 points
  • Experience in conducting research in development, quantitative and analytical skills: 20% or 200 points
  • Strong knowledge of Inclusive Growth, Macroeconomics, Income Inequality, Social Protection, Economic Development and UN System Development Agenda: 20% or 200 points
  • Strong knowledge and use of data validation checks, data indicators, tables , charts, plots, and other data comparison and trends: 10% or 100 points
  • Writing skills, author and/or contributor to working papers, periodicals, journals, articles, books: 10% or 10 points
Maximum total for Technical Criteria – 70% or 700 points
Maximum total for Financial Proposal – 30% or 300 points
Total combines scores for Technical and Financial – 100% or 1000 points

If a desk review is conducted, candidates will be notified at final stage when P11 and reference checks are required to make determination of final selection.