Background

Azerbaijan’s economy has grown at an impressive pace over the last decade which has led to considerable improvements in the many key socio-economic indicators and a significant decline in poverty rates from 46.7% (2002) to 5.3% (2013). Azerbaijan is in the high human development category. In 2013, GDP expanded by 5.8%, due to stabilization in oil production and high growth in non-oil sector backed by public investment. Oil and gas sector still accounts for about 70% of the state budget's revenues.

The country has already met, or is well on its way to meeting, many of the MDGs, including halving extreme poverty and hunger (already reached in 2008), achieving universal primary education (already attained in 2008), eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education and reducing the spread of tuberculosis. Some indicators, e.g. maternal health and child nutrition, while improving, still require continued attention as they remain below the average for the upper-middle-income countries.

The mid-term review (MTR) of the current UNDAF for 2011-2015 was conducted in November 2013. The MTR concluded that ‘the UNDAF in Azerbaijan is seen as an important instrument for the UN System; however, the UNDAF is not at the forefront of agencies’ thinking and is more on the shelf than on the desk of UN agencies’. Findings of UNDAF evaluation conducted in March-April 2014 echoed the MTR conclusions.

The Government hosted a Joint Strategic Prioritization Workshop on 12 June to formulate the next UN-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework (UNAPF) for 2016-2020. The Government and UN in Azerbaijan, in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, will align the UNAPF with national priorities that are articulated in the ‘Azerbaijan: Vision 2020’ strategic plan and will follow up the recommendations generated by the post-2015 national consultations as well as the conclusions from the UPR, CEDAW, CRC, CRPD, CMW, and ICPD Beyond 2014 review processes.

In this context, the UNCT seeks a seasoned international consultant to help develop the next UNAPF, with its focus on policy and strategy coherence, development effectiveness and organizational efficiency, and mainstreaming the five programming principles -- Human Rights-Based Approach, Result-Based Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Capacity Development and Environmental Sustainability -- which will help strengthen the quality and focus of a concerted support of the UN system to national priorities.

The UN System in Azerbaijan has comparative advantages and strives to make significant contributions to addressing development issues, as part of the next UNAPF, which is due to commence in January 2016.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and supervision of the UN RC/UNCT, the consultant will assist in the development of the next UNAPF (2016-2020), which would entail supporting the following tasks:

• Review draft UNAPF Results Matrix and Monitoring & Evaluation Framework, which will be formulated by the UNAPF Results Groups during June-August;
• Ensure that the design and focus of the UNAPF meet the following criteria: UNAPF is results-oriented, coherent and based on the UN comparative advantages; the expected results and UNAPF outcomes are feasible and realistic, and in addition that technical expertise, human and financial resources are available; UNAPF responds to the issues of national capacity development and promotes ownership of programmes by the national partners; UNAPF incorporates the 5 programming principles; UNAPF integrates the concepts of gender equity and equality, and other cross-cutting issues are reflected in the common programming; UNAPF acts as a partnership and coordination framework; UNAPF acts as a mechanism to minimize transaction costs of UN support for the government and UN agencies; UNAPF acts as a framework for the development and implementation of common services, linking financial and operational aspects, and joint communication; and UNAPF M&E Framework is developed and elaborated, deriving from UNAPF results matrix (indicators, baselines, targets, means of verification, risks and assumptions);
• Help facilitate the UNAPF Validation Workshop tentatively scheduled for the end of September or early October; and
• Draft and finalize the UNAPF, in consultation with the Government, partners and other stakeholders, under the guidance of the RC/UNCT.

• Review draft UNAPF Results Matrix and draft M&E Framework.
• Country visit and support for facilitation of the UNAPF validation workshop (end-September or early October): The consultant will visit the country and provide support for facilitating the validation workshop to develop the UNAPF document, in consultation with the UNCT, the government, development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders;
• Drafting the UNAPF: The consultant will produce draft UNAPF document for the UNCT’s feedback. The revised document will be shared with the regional PSG;
• Final UNAPF: After reviewing the feedback received from the UNCT and PSG, the consultant will finalize the UNAPF document.

Competencies

• An understanding of and ability to abide by the values of the United Nations;
• Promotes the UN vision, mission, and strategic goals;
• Awareness and sensitivity in working with people of various cultural and social backgrounds.

Functional competencies:

• Profound knowledge of the UN system and UN common country programming processes (CCA/UNDAF);
• Specialized experience and/or methodological/technical knowledge, including data collection and analytical skills, mainstreaming HRBA and gender considerations into programming, and
• RBM principles, logic modeling/logical framework analysis, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, and participatory approaches.

Required Skills and Experience

Payment will be made only upon delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.