UNDP Jobs - 54137- Planning and Liaison Advisor, Ministry of Health a

Planning and Liaison Advisor, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare & Ministry of Finance and Development Planning

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

16-Mar-2015

Application Deadline :

02-Mar-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months

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 most widespread Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic is currently ravaging the three West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 16,000 people have been infected in the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Ebola is a serious infectious illness, which can prove fatal.

In the context of the Ebola crisis, declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO August 8 2014, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working with authorities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to coordinate payments for thousands of treatment centre staff, lab technicians, contacts tracers and burial teams, as part of the UN Payment Programme for Ebola Response Workers (PPERW) and Ebola Crisis Response & Resilience Program (ECRRP). Payment of Ebola Response Workers is a Core Government Function, required to meet the government’s commitments to its population and ensure its leadership of the recovery process.

The government of Liberia has demonstrated its commitment to halting the spread of the deadly Ebola virus from eroding the development gains it has achieved over the years, and there is an urgent need to support the Government’s institutional and human capacity to concurrently address the socio-economic issues alongside the EVD response. The UNDP Liberia Country Office (CO) as a valued, trusted and reliable partner, is providing support as a response to the National Ebola strategy of the GoL. This support has been channeled in the form of technical and financial support with partners to ensure that Ebola Response Workers are paid in full and on time.

To promote a reliable information exchange across the organization, UNDP, as the lead UN Agency responsible for the PPERW, wishes to secure the services of a Planning and Liaison Advisor to work on secondment to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) in Monrovia, Liberia.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Planning and Liaison Advisor will work at MOHSW with close links to UNDP PPERW/ECRRP teams. This responsibility is focused on advisory services to support the MOHSW’s planning processes for salary payments, including internal verification of workers lists, accuracy and detail as well as supporting the MOHSW with communications internally in the MOHSW (Administration Unit) including with the IMS, and externally with the MOFDP, banks and County Health Teams as needed related to the payment of Ebola Response Workers (ERWs). Specifically, the Planning and Liaison Advisor will perform the following functions:

Act with the MOHSW as a link with the MOFDP to support the execution of payment programme including:

Payment planning processes (numbers, amounts, lists of personnel etc.);
Verification of ERW names, categories, etc.;
Payment execution oversight and reporting;
Provide payment planning and execution capacity support the of the MOHSW (including training;
Support the design and deployment of ERW Database/Information Management System (IMS), interfacing with IT service providers, internal stakeholders and implementing partners through the development cycle (User management, Beneficiary List Management, Payments Processing, Payment Reconciliation and Reporting & Analytics);
Analyse and interpret data from Information Systems for PPERW and generate accurate and comprehensive reports;
Liaise with the relevant coordination mechanisms and other implementing partners to update maintain solid information with approved and updated ERW data (supported by Information Management Officer in UNDP/UNMEER);
Recommend other methods and technology maximize the efficiency of payment processes, planning and managing information.

Expected output and deliverables:

Detailed plans for monthly salary payments to Ebola Response Workers (logistics information, geographical locations, financial information);
Verification reports on lists developed and produced with the MOHSW to verify the authenticity of the payment lists and payments i,e, ensure no double payments of workers; minimise errors in the lists and the payments;
Reports on the payment process in the field, including off-site payments. The reports will provide lessons learned from each payment (county level) and recommendations to improve the payment planning and execution for the next payment round.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context. Identify creative and practical approaches for payments to overcome challenging situations;
Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and planning of programmes;
Communication and interpersonal skills required for collaboration with MOHSW officials as well as various officials working with MOHSW on payments;
Ability to advise effectively and mentoring.

Corporate competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.
Promotes the vision mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A minimum Master’s degree in Public Health Administration or equivalent;
Additional training related to payments in crisis situations and/or livelihoods is highly desirable.

Skills & Experience:

Minimum five years of experience in international humanitarian and development environment;
knowledge of planning processes, awareness of working in national government institutions, awareness of protection and recovery programming is desirable;
Knowledge of payroll management;
Excellent MS Office skills are required.

Language:

Fluency in English is required.

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be forwarded the UNDP Procurement Notice.

Criteria for Short listing:

Relevant qualification & education - 20 points;
Proposed work plan & approach - 50 points.
Relevant work experience - 30 points;

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:
Cumulative analysis:

Award of the contract will 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 and financial criteria.

* Technical Criteria; [70 points].

* Financial Criteria; [30 points].

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total rating will be considered for the financial evaluation.