UNDP Jobs - 72097- Capacity Development Specialist, DARDC Project, UN

Capacity Development Specialist, DARDC Project, UNDP Timor-Leste

Location :

Dili, Timor Leste

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

22-May-2017

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

50 days

Languages Required :

English Portuguese

Expected Duration of Assignment :

50 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

The Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor Project (Dili-Ainaro Project) is aimed at strengthening the resilience of community living in the Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor to climate-induced disasters such as floods and landslides and to reduce the risk of damage to road infrastructure.

The Dili-Ainaro Road comprises a joint investment by the Government of Timor-Leste and the World Bank aiming to upgrade the road infrastructure linking Dili to the district capitals of Aileu and Ainaro. This road infrastructure and the communities living in the Dili-Ainaro Road Development Corridor (DARDC) are at risk to climate-induced natural disasters such as floods and landslides. Damage to road infrastructure is expensive to repair and restricts: i) economic development; ii) market access; iii) access to services such as education and health care; iv) evacuation during natural disasters; and v) provision of disasters relief. Furthermore, the risk of damage to road infrastructure is exacerbated because of ecosystem degradation resulting from existing land-use practices such as: i) timber logging; ii) slash-and-burn agriculture; iii) overharvesting of fuel wood; and iv) burning for hunting and fodder production.

The “Dili-Ainaro Project”, which is financed through the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) of Global Environment Facility and implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) with support from UNDP, seeks to address the expected increase in climate-induced natural disasters due to climate change and reduce the potential risks and damages to the Dili-Ainaro road infrastructure and the communities in the DARDC. The project aims to achieve this by strengthening capacities and providing investments for disaster risk management (DRM) measures using ecosystem-based approaches.

Duties and Responsibilities

Successful individual consultant is expected to perform specific activities in the phase-wise as described below:

Phase 1: Inception Phase

During the inception phase the consultant shall review relevant literature and documents provided (including the National Diagnostic Assessment for Institutional Strengthening (SEFI), past capacity assessment reports or outlines, institutional mandates, SDP 2011 – 2020, institutional vision statements, etc.)? for the key DRM stakeholders provided at the start of the assignment.
Prepare an inception report summarizing the objectives, scope and outputs of the assignment, organization and methodology for achievement of the outputs, including the schedule.
Prepare a matrix which identifies the previous aspects of capacity assessments, impact of the previous capacity assessments and identify the current needs and gaps to be addressed in the current “follow-up capacity assessment”

Phase 2: Assessment Phase

1) Capacity Needs Assessment:

Identify key stakeholders for capacity needs assessment, who are the key DRM stakeholders and the recipients of the C/DRM training in Phase 2 and Phase 3.
Develop questionnaire to assess the current level of knowledge and understanding on DRR, DRM and CCA related issues among the key stakeholders (NDMD, NDCC, MSA, MAF, SEFOPE, MoPWC, and other DRM stakeholders at the national and municipal level)
Adopt the needs assessment questionnaire for the suco chiefs and community leaders
Prepare a Capacity Needs Assessment report based on the assessment
Take stock of existing capacity development plans and initiatives on DRM, and the effectiveness of these capacity development activities in the key stakeholders identified above.? ?

2) Identify the gaps and shortcomings of the existing approach and method of capacity development and the reasons for their lack of effectiveness

3) During the assessment, make conscious and constant reviews to ensure that the linkages are adequately drawn between disaster and climate change on key sectors having significant bearing on livelihood such as agriculture, fisheries, infrastructures among others.

The key aspects to be covered, but not limited to, during the Capacity Needs Assessment include the following:

a) Institutional mandate, governance and organizational structure:

Based on the broad mandate stipulated in the Organic Law and any other relevant legal roadmap and the overall target indicated in the SDP 2011-2030, assess the following:

Existing thematic, functional, organizational and administrative structures of key DRM stakeholders namely MSS, MSA, MoI, MoPTC, MAF, SEPI and their municipal branch-outs and their alignment with the strategic direction of their respective governance framework as articulated in the respective Decree Laws, SDP 2011 – 2030 and other national policies.
Alignment of the directorates, their functional clarity, coordination mechanisms between and among the similar directorates under the same and/or different ministries
Existing thematic working groups or coordination mechanisms and their organizational structure, the policies governing them and their functional capabilities and jurisdictions.
Composition of municipal level organizational structure, the communication network – both intra-organizational and inter-organizations as well as the institutional and organisational context in which they operate.

b) Human Resource, Technical and Functional capacities

Existing skills and qualifications corresponding to the scope of work and job descriptions provided by the organization
Competencies and experience commensurating with the institutional requirements
Identification and clarity in the required skills to deliver the institutional mandates related to DRM and DRR.
Training and skills development for civil servants/public administrators on aspects such as project planning and budgeting, financial management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, communication, project and contract management and how these have contributed to the improvement in their respective capacities to deliver on its functions and mandate.
Organizational culture and commitment to the delivery of results, results based management and monitoring and evaluation.
Collaboration with other directorates within the same ministry and with government institutions or training institutions including linkages/synergies within the Civil Service Commission, National Institute of Administration (INAP), SEFOPE and other training institutions within Timor Leste and other agencies responsible for human resource capacity development.
Strengths and gaps within the existing operational capacity taking into consideration its mandate and based on new and revised Decree Laws.
Required functional capacities based on policy-makers, management, staff and all other stakeholders’ expectations and strategic needs.

c) Functional and Administrative structures and facilities

Provisions of the organizational structures and presence of conducive hierarchy at the central as well as sub-national level, mainly municipal and in few cases, Municipal Authorities to fulfill functional mandates.
Structure and functional capabilities of operational and administrative units to support the day-to-day functions of the programme units.
Level and quality of the facilities such as IT equipment, planning and decision making tools, monitoring and evaluation tools among others at the operational and programmatic levels.
Budgetary provisions to enhance the structure and facilities of the existing operational, administrative and functional roles.

d) Public Finance Management and Quality Control Mechanisms

Existing financial and administrative processes, procedures and regulations and how these processes and regulations impact on the delivery and execution of its mandate including planning, budgeting, procurement, contracting and sub-contracting and whether these are consistent with international best practices, documented procedures and internal controls.
Adequacy of financial, administrative, infrastructural, and technological resources available to execute its functions at national and sub-national levels.
Status and usability of the fiduciary risk aversion mechanisms at place.
Mechanisms of delivery tracking and provisions of accelerating or amending delivery setbacks, if any.
Mechanisms and provisions of coordinating the financial management procedures horizontally with other directorates and vertically at different levels of governance.

e) Operational policies, manuals, guidelines and provisions

Effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and appropriateness of existing operational policies and procedures.
Coherence of processes and systems with MSA strategic goals and objectives.

Phase 3: Capacity Development Phase

Based on the Capacity Needs Assessment, develop a long-term Capacity Development Strategy for DRM/CCA Stakeholders in Timor-Leste to meet the targets set in the SDP 2011-2030 and the Sendai Framework.
Based on the long-term Capacity Development Strategy, develop a costed Capacity Development Plan for the key DRM institutions at the national as well as sub-national level inter alia NDMD, DDMC, NDOC, MDOC, Directorate for meteorology.
Capacity Development Road Map for the INAP to enable INAP to become better equipped to function as thematic trainer on DRM/CCA.
Identify additional materials needed for specific target groups of the DARDC project (including Chefes de suco, district level Evaluation and Supervision (EVAS) team members, training participants from district and sub-district administrations, volunteers) and for the needs of the DARDC project and develop these materials and / or modify the existing materials for the needs of identified target groups.

Competencies

Strong analytical skills, good oral and written presentations and excellent communication with high level audience;
Ability to work with a team of diverse people with diverse cultural and ethnic background; and
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines without compromising the quality of the work.

Required Skills and Experience

I. Academic Qualifications:

Advanced degree – Master’s Degree in Management, Public Administration, Law, Political Sciences, Economics, or related fields OR Undergraduate university degree with relevant combination of professional training, certification and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

II. Years of experience:

Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in the field of management, public administration, capacity assessment including at least 5 years working with government agencies and/or international organisations.
A minimum of 3 years’ in-depth knowledge and demonstrated experience in conducting organizational/institutional capacity assessments.
Familiarity with decentralization and local governance processes, systems and structures.
Evidence of conducting at least one organizational/institutional capacity assessments and preparation of capacity development plan within the past 3 years.

III. Language requirements:

English language – excellent written and oral communication skills. In addition to excellent command of English, proficiency in Bahasa Indonesia, Portuguese or Tetum will be an advantage.

TOR and application forms (P11 and Financial Proposal template) are accessible via this link?http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=37354?