UNCDF Jobs - 72004- Consultant Research Analyst: Inclusive and Equitab

Consultant Research Analyst: Inclusive and Equitable Local Development

Advertised on behalf of

UNCDF

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

18-May-2017

Application Deadline :

09-May-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

approximately up to 94 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 global programme, Inclusive and Equitable Local Development (IELD) is jointly implemented by United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), UN Women and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The programme addresses structural impediments that prevent women from entering the labour market through local public and private investments, with a particular emphasis on unlocking domestic capital for women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. The 5 year programme is piloted in three Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in 2017, which include Bangladesh, Tanzania and Uganda.

IELD uses a unique three-agency partnership by utilizing each agency’s niche and comparative advantage in programming on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The programme supports governments and the private sector at the local level to design, plan, implement and sustain local public and private investments, with a particular focus on promoting women’s equal and full participation in the local economy. Its multidimensional approach contributes to the achievement of at least 6 SDGs, specifically SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).

The programme uses a Gender Sensitive Local Economic Assessment tool (LEA) tool to identify, in consultation with the local governments and communities, the most pressing bottlenecks faced by women at the local level that impede their participation in the economy. To address these barriers, the programme identifies practical solutions in the form of public and private investments. A gender criteria is used to identify most viable investments with maximum impact on women’s economic empowerment, thus increasing women’s access to local economic opportunities, entrepreneurship, and public services.

Within this framework, UNDP and UNCDF seek a consultant to support this work through specific inputs into IELD tools and technical support on programme implementation in general. The successful candidate will be based in UNCDF and will report to the Director of UNDP Gender Team based in HQ and the IELD Programme Manager on a day to day basis.

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their small businesses by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. UNCDF contributes to women’s economic empowerment by 1) supporting local governments to design, plan, implement and sustain local investments that take into consideration the differentiated and specific needs and priorities of poor women and men, with a particular emphasis on unlocking barriers to women’s economic opportunities and empowerment; 2) providing seed capital and financing for the investable pipeline of projects that promote women’s economic empowerment.
The United Nations Development Program (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 on the ground in over 170 countries. Addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment is a key aspect of UNDPs approach to achieving its core vision. Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment are seen as goals in their own right and are also central to the achievement of UNDPs development mandate. UNDP is guided in its work by its Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017 which details how UNDP works towards gender equality in each of the goals and key results set out in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017.

Under the direct supervision of the IELD Programme manager in New York, and under matrix supervision of the Director of the UNDP Gender Team, the consultant will carry out the tasks described below, with the main emphasis on the IELD technical support and programme implementation in general.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide technical and operational support for the global programme “Inclusive and Equitable Local Development” (IELD);
Support strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy;
Provide support on Economic Empowerment of Women.

List of Deliverables:

By 30 June -

With a focus on the implementation of the joint IELD programme - deliver technical backstopping for project-related documents and knowledge products, support the development of the gender-responsive technical tools, coordinate and provide technical support on country projects;
Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of proposals and substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization;
Support the activities in the framework of the SDGs, to benefit the work of UNDP on gender equality and empowerment of women as well as the strategic outcomes of IELD.

By 31 July -

With a focus on the implementation of the joint IELD programme - deliver technical backstopping for project-related documents and knowledge products, support the development of the gender-responsive technical tools, coordinate and provide technical support on country projects;
Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of proposals and substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization;
Support for organizing and coordinating an IELD event at the High Level Political Forum in New York;
Support the activities in the framework of the SDGs, to benefit the work of UNDP on gender equality and empowerment of women as well as the strategic outcomes of IELD.

By 31 August -

With a focus on the implementation of the joint IELD programme - deliver technical backstopping for project-related documents and knowledge products, support the development of the gender-responsive technical tools, coordinate and provide technical support on country projects;
Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of proposals and substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization;
Support the activities in the framework of the SDGs, to benefit the work of UNDP on gender equality and empowerment of women as well as the strategic outcomes of IELD.

By 30 September -

Full handover note delivered;
With a focus on the implementation of the joint IELD programme - deliver technical backstopping for project-related documents and knowledge products, support the development of the gender-responsive technical tools, coordinate and provide technical support on country projects;
Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of proposals and substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization;
Support for organizing and coordinating an IELD event at the UNGA72 in New York;
Support the activities in the framework of the SDGs, to benefit the work of UNDP on gender equality and empowerment of women as well as the strategic outcomes of IELD.

Competencies

Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills;
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop herself or himself professionally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

MA Degree in Gender Studies, Economics, International Relations, or a related field.

Experience:

3 years of experience in work related to gender and development, specifically on women’s economic empowerment. Experience working with local governments is an asset;
In-depth grasp of the relevance of gender in conceptualizing, articulating and debating issues relating poverty and economics in general;
Experience in drafting donor proposals, communications materials;
Good computer research and network management skills;
Prior knowledge and experience of the UN system highly desirable.

Language:

Fluency and excellent analytical writing skills in English;
Second official UN language an asset.

Evaluation of applications:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring method. The formula for the rating of the Proposals will be as follows:

Rating the Technical Proposal (TP): 70%
TP Rating = (Total Score Obtained by the Offer / Max. Obtainable Score for TP) x 100

Rating the Financial Proposal (FP): 30%
FP Rating = (Lowest Priced Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x 100

Total Combined Score:
(TP Rating) x (Weight of TP, e.g. 70%)+ (FP Rating) x (Weight of FP, e.g., 30%)

Criteria for technical evaluation (70 points maximum):

MA Degree in Gender Studies, Economics, International Relations. At least 2-3 years of experience in work related to the Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment of Women. (25 points);
Familiarity and experience in Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment of Women (25 points);
Language, research, writing and analytical skills (20 points).

Total maximum obtainable score for Technical proposal = 70 points. Only candidates obtaining a minimum score of 49 points (70%) under Technical evaluation will be considered for the financial evaluation and requested to submit the Financial offer.

Other

Payment: Contract will be based on a daily rate basis in US dollar. Payments are made to the Individual Consultant based on receipt of the Certificate for Payment (CoP) and acceptance of the work by the UNDP Responsible Staff that will be attached to the agreed deliverables.

Travel: If there is any approved travel, UNCDF will pay separately travel expenses (economy airfare, terminal expenses and per diems which include hotel and food expenses) according to standard UN rates based on evidence of approved and actual travel.

References: UNDP’s Individual Consultant’s General Terms and Conditions are provided here:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf

Application Guidelines:

Interested candidate should submit the following information as part of the application package:

When applying for this consultancy position, please apply with your official name as shown in the government issued identification document (e.g. passport and/or driver license). Contract award is subject to this verification;
Detailed updated CV including past experience in similar projects or P11 link: http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc;
One page of cover letter describing why the candidate is the most suitable for the assignment;
Confirmation of availability to take up assignments for the whole period;
Three professional references including name, affiliation and email addresses.