UNDP Jobs - 71554- Consultant to support UNDP’s work on intellectual

Consultant to support UNDP’s work on intellectual property, innovation and access to treatment

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-May-2017

Application Deadline :

15-Apr-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

150 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

From 1 May 2017 – 31 January 2018

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 Development Programme (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. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS supports UNDP’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 7 outcomes including strengthening institutions to progressively deliver universal access to basic services (outcome 3). The HIV Health and Sustainable development team, within BPPS, is helping to contribute towards this outcome.

HIV, Health and Development Approach

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis 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. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Sustainable Development Goals. For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP works to help countries respond to the evolving burden of disease by promoting a health-in-all sectors approach, with a recognition that what happens in sectors such as labour, finance and education may have as much bearing on health status as the levels of investment in the health sector itself.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action for development, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP-Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on SDG 3.4 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

Increasing access to affordable treatment for HIV and related co-infections in low and middle income countries remains a key aspect of UNDP’s work under the UNAIDS Unified Budget and Accountability Framework (UBRAF). The cost of treatment is often affected by various laws and policies. They are part of the complex set of factors that influence access at national, regional and international levels. As a founding co-sponsor of UNAIDS , guided by the health-related SDGs particularly SDG 3, UNDP is mandated to provide support to governments in their implementation of policies and programs that protect the human rights of people affected by HIV.

Access and Delivery of New Health Technologies for Neglected Tropical Diseases

The majority of deaths caused by infectious disease are of poor people living in low and middle income countries with many occurring in children under five. HIV, malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and other epidemics continue to devastate communities throughout the developing world. The prevalence of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), endemic in 149 countries, also remains high. As part of its work on accelerating progress on the MDGs, UNDP is committed to working with partners to achieve the health related SDGs specifically aimed to address the sector gap in research and development (R&D) funding for new global health technologies for global diseases and their availability.

The Access and Delivery Partnership (ADP) is an innovative project that supports LMICs enhance their capacity to access, introduce and deliver new health technologies for TB, malaria and NTDs. New health technologies are broadly defined as drugs, diagnostic tools and vaccines that are relevant for the prevention, treatment or cure of TB, malaria and NTDs, but have not yet been introduced in LMICs. The introduction of new health technologies can place a weighty burden on existing health systems. These burdens may include new requirements for drug regulation, supply and distribution, and health personnel training. Accordingly, the ADP focuses on strengthening the capacity of LMIC stakeholders to facilitate the development of the systems and processes required to effectively access new health technologies, and introduce them to populations in need. Led and coordinated by UNDP, the ADP is a unique collaboration among UNDP, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO/TDR) and PATH. Working together, the partners leverage the expertise within each organization to provide the full range of technical skills necessary to strengthen capacity in LMICs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be based in New York and report to the Team Leader on Human Rights, Law, Key Populations and Treatment Access. The consultant will also support the establishment of partnerships with development partners, government, UN agencies and the civil society organizations on health technology innovation and access. More specifically, the consultant will be required to undertake the following duties:

Specific Deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible for undertaking the following deliverables in collaboration with colleagues within the HIV, Health and Development Team:

Based on preliminary analysis within UNDP HIV, Health and Development Team on policy coherence and South-South cooperation on health technology innovation and access, assist in the planning and delivery of a capacity strengthening activities in Low and Middle Income Countries;
In conjunction with UNDP staff, support the organization of activities to implement the Access and Delivery Partnership work-plan;
Drawing on existing UNDP materials, support the design and implementation of capacity strengthening activities to promote the use of competition law to promote access to health technologies;
Support the finalization and dissemination of a publication on price and regulatory status of HIV treatments in priority regions;
Any other activities as required by the HIV, Health and Development Team.

Expected Outputs:

The completion of a capacity strengthening activity promoting policy coherence and South-South cooperation on health technology innovation and access in the Africa region; Expected deadline: 31 May 2017.
The completion of a training for use of competition law to promote access to health technologies in select LMICs; Expected deadline: 31 August 2017.
The completion of one capacity development seminar on treatment access and public health in a select LMICs; Expected deadline: Ongoing.
The completion of two (2) knowledge products (policy paper/brief) on access and delivery of new health technologies for TB, malaria and NTDs finalized and disseminated; Expected deadline: December 2017.
The production of relevant advice and research on access to treatment, for HIV and co-infections, innovation and enabling legal environments as required. Expected deadline: Ongoing.

Reporting:

The consultant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the set targets with the Team Leader on Rights, law, key populations and Treatment Access.

Travel:

No travel is anticipated under this consultancy. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Timeframe

The consultant’s assignment is office-based (UNDP HQ NY) and is expected to last 150 days, completed over the period from 1 May 2017 – 31 January 2018.

Competencies

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.

Functional:

Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products;
Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the access to treatment;
Relevant experience strengthening the capacity of civil society or government officials on access to treatment would be highly advantageous.

Project and Resource Management:

Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs;
Strong organizational skills;
Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs.

Communications and Advocacy:

Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speak clearly and convincingly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

An advanced degree in international trade law, intellectual property law, international affairs, public health law and a knowledge of at least one of the other substantive areas

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years relevant work experience in the area of HIV or health technology innovation or treatment access, international trade or a related field;
Fluency in English is essential. Fluency in Spanish and/or French would be an added advantage;
Work experience from a developing country highly desirable;
Knowledge of UN and/or UNDP procedures, grant applications and program implementation is highly desirable;
Excellent writing, research, analysis and presentation skills.

Language Requirement:

Excellent written and spoken English.

Evaluation

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review or an interview process. Applicants will be evaluated based on: Cumulative analysis method that combines the results of technical and financial evaluation results.

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Technical Criteria weight: 70 points
Financial Criteria weight: 30 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical part will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria for technical evaluation (70 points maximum):

An advanced degree in human rights, public health, intellectual property, international law, international affairs or a related degree (maximum points: 20)
Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in the area of HIV, public health, human rights, international affairs or a related field (maximum points:30)
A demonstrated knowledge of HIV, access to treatment, public health, international law as evidenced by a publications record (maximum points:10)
Strong writing and editorial skills (maximum points:10)

Criteria for financial evaluation (30 points maximum):
The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Payment

Payment will be certified through the Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet, certified by the direct supervisor. The rate will be based on the all-inclusive daily rate agreed with the consultant.