UNDP Jobs - 70145- International Consultant: Sustainability of Nation

International Consultant: Sustainability of National HIV and TB Responses, Laws and Rights-Related Issues in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Location :

Home based with possible missions, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Jan-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated February - 31 December 2017

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 110 working days

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

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. UNDP is a founding co-sponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, 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.

While globally the number of new HIV infections is decreasing, the region of Eastern Europe and the Central Asia (EECA) is home to a fast growing HIV epidemic: rising from an estimated 970,000 people living with the virus in 2001 to 1.5 million in 2015. Levels of treatment in the region are low with estimated 21 percent of those in need of antiretroviral therapy receiving it in 2015.

UNDP has been acting as interim Principal Recipient (PR) of Global Fund HIV and TB grants in a number of countries of the region, which is an interim arrangement till one or more national entities (government and/or CSO) are ready and able to take over grant implementation. While supporting countries in implementing grants and ensuring timely delivery of services, UNDP also helps develop the capacity of national entities to take over this PR role.

Among the key drivers of the Global Fund’s Funding Model is a transition to sustainable domestic financing of disease responses. This has immediate implications for many middle-income countries with concentrated HIV epidemics, including an end of their eligibility for Global Fund support, or significantly reduced support. UNDP has embarked on direct support to countries in sustainable HIV response financing, chiefly through modelling options under different budget scenarios.

While there has been a significant improvement in the legal environment relevant to HIV in the region, certain gaps still persist and they are closely related to the rights situation of people living with HIV, key populations most at risk of HIV infection and the legal and policy regulatory frameworks that govern national efforts in prevention, treatment, care and support. In cooperation with governments, other UN agencies, international organizations, and CSOs, UNDP works to develop the capacity of national legislators, government offices and CSOs on matters of HIV and the law. Through previous work as follow-up to the Report of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, UNDP has sought to support and develop the capacity of non-state actors to address the nexus between human rights, laws, and HIV, as well as to foster effective and efficient dialogues and cooperation between governments and non-state actors in this area. Discriminatory laws and practices continue to render key populations at higher risk more vulnerable to HIV infections and compromise their access to prevention, treatment and care services. With criminalization of HIV transmission, drug use, sex work and homosexuality across the region, people living with HIV, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men for fear of prosecution or violence often do not seek HIV–related services.

Through the regional project on “Sustainable Financing of National HIV Reponses in Select Countries in EECA”, UNDP analysed the legal regulatory framework that governs the access to HIV medicines in the context of intellectual property, registration and licensing and provided opportunities for optimization of these regimes both on national and regional levels, in the context of the Customs Union and the emerging Eurasian Economic Union. This issue was also re-enforced as important at the High-Level Ministerial Conference on Expanding Access to Affordable Quality ART and TB Treatment, Diagnostic and Care in EECA, Minsk, Belarus, November 2016. Other elements of the work on sustainable financing of national HIV responses included modelling work and analysis of and report on transition lessons learnt. Given the important role NGOs have been playing in prevention, treatment, care and support, together with European Centre for Not-For-Profit Law, UNDP carried out an analysis of legal frameworks related to social contracting of NGOs in selected countries of Europe and Central Asia.

In order to further enhance and speed up the implementation of follow up activities related to the conclusions and recommendations of these initiatives in the area of law, rights and sustainable financing of HIV responses, UNDP seeks an international consultant to support the HIV, Health and Development (HHD) Team at the Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH).

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant reports to the UNDP Regional HHD Team Leader at the IRH (Supervisor), and work closely with the Regional HHD Programme Specialist, will be responsible to:

Support the preparation, implementation and follow up of the following UNDP interventions:

Analysis of national legislation and proposed legislation of countries in the EECA region that concerns HIV and is related to co-infections (e.g. TB) as well as rights of key populations at higher risk of HIV and TB. Developing sets of recommendation to improve legislation and mitigate possible risks of rights violations;
Further completion, corrections and update of database on the regulatory frameworks on IP, registration, licensing and procurement of ARVs medicines in EECA region and supporting the UNDP contribution to UNAIDS investment cases in EECA countries (waiver systems for registration and following fast track processes for essential medicines);
Preparatory work for the implementation of Legal Environment Assessment (LEAs) on HIV and TB in selected countries (approximately 3-4) of the region (full exercise to be conducted subject to additional funding availability);
Follow up support to countries and expanding of UNDP efforts in promoting of social contracting of NGOs as key providers of HIV related services;
Support to regional organizations, representing key populations most at risk of HIV infection, such as the Regional HIV Legal Network, the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN), the East Europe and Central Asia Union of People living with HIV (ECUO) and others;
Support the nurturing of strategic partnerships (for example with Stop TB Partnership) and development of project documents, reports and recommendations;

Support UNDP’s work in policy advice and technical assistance in the field of:

Reviewing legislation, policies and practices related to HIV, TB and development in EECA countries;
Supporting country offices with technical support on IP and regulatory frameworks also in the context of planning transition of HIV and TB grants to national entities;
Translating relevant materials (from English to Russian and back), carrying out background research;

Contribute with law-related input to the Team’s efforts in promoting the sustainability of equitable healthcare systems in the region.

Deliverables:

Deliverable1 - Developed detailed work-plan for implementation of the consultancy – 1 month after signing contract;
Deliverable 2 - Conducted analysis of national legislation and proposed legislation of countries in the EECA region that concerns HIV and related co-infections (e.g. TB), as well as the rights of key populations at higher risk of HIV. Includes developing sets of recommendations to improve the legislation and mitigate risks of rights violations (2-3 countries in the region / 2-3 pages each) – 1 – 11 months after signing contract;
Deliverable 3 - Further updated and, if needed, corrected database on the regulatory frameworks on IP, registration, licensing and procurement of ARV medicines in the EECA region and supporting the UNDP contribution to UNAIDS investment cases in EECA countries (including in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Ukraine) – 6 months after signing contract;
Deliverable 4 - Updated NGO social contracting factsheets on national HIV responses (including for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) and supported the expansion of UNDP efforts in promoting of social contracting of NGOs as providers of HIV-related services – 8 months after signing contract;
Deliverable 5 - Supported national dialogue events (bringing together government, civil society and other relevant parties) in at least 2 countries to present the findings and recommendations of the updated NGO social contracting factsheets and agree on action plans for next steps – 5 months after signing contract;
Deliverable 6 - Conducted preparatory work for the implementation of Legal Environment Assessment (LEAs) on HIV and TB in selected countries (3-4) of the region. Preliminary of legislation, policies and practices related to HIV, TB and development (report of 15-20 pages) – 3 months after signing contract;
Deliverable 7 - Supported the efforts and work of regional organizations, representing key populations most at risk of HIV, such as the Regional HIV Legal Network (strong focus), the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN), the East Europe and Central Asia Union of People living with HIV (ECUO) and others – 1-10 months after signing contract;
Deliverable 8 - Supported countries and UNDP country offices with technical support on IP and regulatory frameworks also in the context of planning transition of HIV and TB grants to national entities (primarily for countries where UNDP is currently PR including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) – 2 -10 months after signing the contract;
Deliverable 9 - Translated relevant materials from English to Russian and back (approximately 4 key documents of approximately 20-25 pages) - 2 – 10 months after signing the contract;
Deliverable 10 - Prepared End of Consultancy Report (10-12 pages) – 11 months after signing contract

Payment arrangements:

Payments will be made upon submitted certification of payments and acceptance by the Supervisor.

1st payment – 1 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverable 1 – 5%
2nd payment – 3 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverable 6 – 10%
3rd payment – 5 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverable 5 – 15%
4th payment – 6 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverable 3 – 15%
5th payment – 8 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverable 4 – 15%
6th payment - 10 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverables 7, 8 & 9 – 20%
7th payment – 11 months after signing contract and finalizing deliverables 2 & 10 – 20%

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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;
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

Commitment to the principles set forth in the UN High Level Declarations on HIV and AIDS;
Very good understanding of the legal and practical aspects of HIV and co-infections in the region;
Familiarity with national healthcare systems and legal and practical issues surrounding non-communicable diseases;
Familiarity with the social determinants of health and health inequities;
Excellent organizational skills, ability to work independently, strict adherence to completing assigned tasks in a timely manner;
Quality-oriented professional, constructive approach to obstacles and delays in planned performance;
Excellent research and drafting skills;
Excellent communication and presentation skills, oral and written;
Advanced user of virtual communication tools.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

An advanced degree (masters or higher) in law, international law or human rights, public health, international relations, or other relevant field.

Experience:

Eight or more years of relevant regional experience in the field of human rights, law and health;
Of which at least three years of experience in working with legal aspects of HIV and TB issues in the EECA region;
Publications: At least three recent relevant publications (as author or co-author) in the field of human rights, law, and public health, or HIV, concerning the EECA region, in English;

Language skills:

Fluency and ability to communicate and write complex research in English and Russian;
Knowledge of more regional languages is a plus.

Evaluation of Applicants:
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications, an interview, and a financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

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

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation - max. 56 points:

Education and additional qualifications - max. 6 points
Publications (as listed in P11) - max. 10 points
Eight or more years of relevant regional experience in the field of human rights, law and health – max 20 points;
Of which at least three years of experience in working with legal aspects of HIV and TB issues in the EECA region - max 10 points;
Proven ability to work on complex issues in English (max 5.) and fluency in Russian (max 5) as demonstrated by P11 – max 10 points.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 24 points.

Application procedures:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ). Please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days and any other possible costs);
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*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. All envisaged costs (except of missions) must be included in the financial proposal. Travel costs for missions, if any, will be paid separately according to UNDP rules and regulations.

The selected candidate is responsible for obtaining necessary visas, if applicable. UNDP will strive to support the application process.
Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.