UNDP Jobs - 52978- Capacity Development Baseline and Planning Consult

Capacity Development Baseline and Planning Consultant

Location :

Bangkok, Thailand with possibility to travel to Greater Mekhong Sub-region countries

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

06-Feb-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

February - June 2015 with maximum 40 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

February - June 2015

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The United Nations Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons project acts as Secretariat to the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (the COMMIT Process), established in 2004. In the decade since the signing of the COMMIT MOU there has been increasing development of capacity in the anti-trafficking sector through the COMMIT Process and more broadly in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). This has corresponded with an increase in the capacity of anti-trafficking efforts globally, a growing recognition of the problem, and a more informed Anti-Trafficking response. The COMMIT Process is unique in its inter-governmental approach leading the fight against trafficking in persons in the sub-region and has matured over the past decade, increasing its efforts to address the phenomenon at different levels.

At the core of the COMMIT structure in each of the GMS countries is a COMMIT Taskforce composed of representatives from the different agencies involved in the anti-trafficking response, often with different roles and levels of engagement from country to country. This includes ministries and agencies responsible for public security, social welfare, labour, justice, women’s and children’s affairs, and others depending on the country. The different profiles are a result of a range of factors including: the different government structures, the contexts and patterns of trafficking in the country, the diverse socio-economic profiles, as well as the national priorities for development. With these differing roles and responsibilities in each national profile and the range of resources available in each, the COMMIT Process has developed varying levels of capacity in the different areas of anti-trafficking area, from law enforcement and labour protection, to social welfare and victim protection. There are systems in place for the safe return and reintegration of victims in response to some bilateral patterns, while in others these are yet to be developed.

Recognizing the implementation of anti-trafficking efforts through the COMMIT Process and in the GMS countries outside of the COMIT Process, there is also understanding of the need for greater investment and progress in the response. It is acknowledged that the phenomenon of human trafficking continues to be of significant scale and concern, with developing dynamics. It is therefore important to assess the capacity and structures to counter-human trafficking in the GMS through, and alongside, the COMMIT Process, and determine where further capacity development is required and where it would achieve most results.

2015 will see the initiation of the 4-year COMMIT Sub-regional Plan of Action IV (SPA IV), seeking to make a significant contribution to more systematic progress in the anti-trafficking sector in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). In order to determine the success of this plan and develop a monitoring and evaluation framework, a baseline is required to ultimately demonstrate what has been achieved. The baseline for the SPA IV will require an understanding of the current capacity of COMMIT and anti-trafficking structures in the GMS countries, as well as identifying the areas in each country that will be the focus of development.

In support of the further progress of the COMMIT Process, a strategy for the capacity development will be produced and implemented.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective:

This assignment is intended to provide a baseline and framework for the development of a capacity building strategy for the six governments within the COMMIT Process with a specific focus on handing over the Secretariat functions to national and regional structures. UN-ACT Regional Management Office (RMO) will oversee this assignment while the primary clients will be the COMMIT Taskforces and thereby the GMS countries. Specifically, this activity will involve:

Development of a methodology assessing the capacity of the COMMIT Process and anti-trafficking structures in the GMS, based on UNDP’s standard capacity assessment methodologies and tools;
Based on the methodology developed, conduct a baseline assessment of the capacities of the COMMIT Process and anti-trafficking structures in the GMS;
Development of a strategy for capacity development and priority actions, methods and targets for capacity development until 2018.

Scope of Work:

UN-ACT will support the GMS governments’ anti-trafficking infrastructure with a focus on a sustainable and self-reliant COMMIT Process, through building long-term capacity to fight human trafficking. A first step will be to conduct a baseline assessment to determine current capacities for anti-trafficking efforts in all six countries: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. The assessment will be based on the framework developed based on UNDP’s methodology to measure capacity. This baseline will focus specifically on the following two areas:

The enabling environment, the rules, laws, policies, power relations and social norms that govern civic engagement (anti-trafficking laws and policies);
The organizational level, the internal structure, policies and procedures that determine an organization’s effectiveness (the agencies and departments responsible for the anti-trafficking efforts in each of the countries).

The baseline will look at the capacity of the following three aspects of the COMMIT Process:

Institutional arrangements;
Knowledge; and
Accountability

It will analyze the degree of capacity that is already existing to combat human trafficking in the six governments’ structures, under the COMMIT Process and beyond, and identify where capacity development is needed to meet the needs of anti-trafficking efforts and the COMMIT Process. It will determine where resources will most effectively be used to move towards the goals of sustainability and self-reliance, and identify potential priority action areas. The capacity development plan will also provide a baseline for measuring progress of the implementation of the COMMIT Strategic Plan of Action IV.

Capacities to assess:

There are technical and functional capacities that are relevant to the COMMIT Process and in achieving the results of the SPA IV. A scoping exercise will be conducted as a first step in the assessment to determine the areas of focus and parameters of the analysis. It is however expected that the technical capacities will focus on the areas of the SPA IV: Policy and Cooperation, Prevention, Protection, and Prosecution. The functional capacities will be determined through the initial scoping exercise and in light of the ToRs for the COMMIT Secretariat.

Expected output and deliverables:

The major outputs expected of the Capacity Development Baseline and Planning Consultant will include the following:

A scoping report with finalized Terms of Reference, capacities to assess and initial findings;
A detailed workplan and methodology for implementing this assignment;
A draft report with the findings of the capacity assessment with recommendations;
A draft capacity development strategy for the six governments within COMMIT Process;
A finalized report of the capacity development plan and baseline based on the above.

Competencies

High level of analytical skills;
Excellent writing and editing proficiencies;
Outstanding communication skills;
Cultural, gender, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
High level of integrity towards the Project and the UN’s broader mission, values and ethical standards;
Skills in Windows-based computer applications.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in social sciences, development, or related fields.

Professional Experience:

At least five years of professional experience working in capacity assessment, capacity development, institutional development, and monitoring and evaluation, preferably with a thematic focus on human trafficking and/or development and human rights;
Familiarity with the UNDP capacity development approach is an asset.

Language skill:

Fluency in spoken and written English.

Contract duration:

The assignment will be up to a maximum of 40 days part-time, February – June 2015.

Duty Station:

Bangkok, Thailand.

Travel:

Depending on the methodology agreed with the consultant, this may require travel to the Greater Mekong Sub-region countries.

Institutional arrangement:

The consultant will report directly to UN-ACT’s Regional Project Manager according to the workplan and methodology agreed.

Price proposal and schedule of payment:

The Consultant must send a financial proposal based on lump sum amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all cost components required to perform the deliverables identified in TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) and any other applicable costs to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. Payment will be output based and made when the following are delivered to UNDP satisfaction:

Scoping report and detailed workplan : 20% of the total contract amount;
Draft assessment report and capacity development strategy: 60% of the total contract amount;
Final Report: 20% of the total contract amount.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the wish to travel on a higher class, he/she should do so using their own resources. In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation method and criteria:

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on cumulative analysis. The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial (30%) criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria for evaluation (Maximum 500 points):

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as :

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (70%) and financial (30%) criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria for evaluation (70% - maximum 500 points)

Years of hands on experience in Capacity Development Baseline and Planning - 50% (Maximum 250 points);
Education - 30% (Maximum 150 points);
Availability - 20% (Maximum 100 points).

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 350 technical points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Documents required:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II;
Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
Technical proposal, including a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

Annexes:

Annex I : P11 (To downlaod : http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_20219_745021616.doc).

Annex II : Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and Financial proposal (To downlaod : http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_20219_656013539.docx).

Annex III : Individual consultant general terms and conditions ( http://webapp3-docs.undp.org/procurement_notices/notice_doc_20219_788015243.pdf).