UNDP Jobs - 72567- Consultant on National Evaluation Capacities Confe

Consultant on National Evaluation Capacities Conference Support

Location :

Istanbul, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

01-Jun-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

estimated 1 July – 31 October 2017

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

up to 90 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

The UNDP Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has been organizing biennial National Evaluation Capacity (NEC) Conferences, in partnership with a host government, since 2009. The IEO and the Regional Bureau of Europe and CIS is organizing the fifth NEC Conference the week of 16-20 October 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Conference will be designed to provide opportunities to participants to present and exchange lessons, experiences and perspectives in developing and adapting national evaluation capacities in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); explore the implications of SDGs for principals, principles and practices of evaluation; and, develop partnerships to strengthen national evaluation systems. The 2017 NEC Conference is designed first and foremost to offer opportunities to share experiences and learning amongst government officials from national institutions directly and indirectly engaged with evaluation and/or the SDG agenda. Other participants will include UNDP staff, members of the European Evaluation Society, experts from other networks such as the United Nations Evaluation Group, the Evaluation Coordination Group of the multi-lateral development banks, and OECD-DAC, as well as from professional evaluation associations and other members of the wider global evaluation and development community. It is expected that there will be approximately 300 participants at the Conference.

The UNDP IEO and Istanbul Regional Hub are looking for a Consultant who will provide coordination and liaison support to the conference preparation and organization. The Consultant will help with the organization of the 2017 NEC Conference, to be based in the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub office.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Conference Assistant will report to the NEC Conference Manager (based in New York) and work under the day to day guidance of the Head of Programme Support Unit/ Results Based Management Specialist of Istanbul Regional Hub, and will be responsible for the following key tasks:

Liaison between conference partners, including UNDP and the Government of Turkey;
Close liaison with the Conference Organizing Firm leading up to and during the conference;
Provide daily updates to the NEC Conference Manager;
Draft, arrange for signature, send, file and respond to correspondence with participants, workshop facilitators, speakers, panelists and other partners including invitations, registration, confirmations of attendance, logistics notes, etc.
Manage participants’ lists including tracking payments and confirmations, for both the pre-Conference training workshops and the Conference;
Assist with administrative arrangements for bursary recipients;
Manage the agenda for the conference and workshops;
Prepare documentation and coordinate procurement processes according to UNDP rules and regulations for services for the conference;
Prepare logistics notes for conference participants, including information on the conference itself and useful information for first-time visitors to Istanbul;
Liaise with the Government of Turkey and participants on visas and related issues;
Coordinate local arrangements in Istanbul for UNDP IEO team and other participants as required;
Coordinate with partners at the Conference venue on all logistics matters including security arrangements;
Assist in monitoring the conference budget and ensure all agreements, budgets, transactions, and transfers are in order;
Prepare and coordinate the distribution of certificates for participants in workshops and the conference;
Arrange meetings (for example of the High-Level Advisory Panel for the Conference);
Assist with post-conference follow-up including thank you letters, budget reconciliations, cleaning up files and preparing them for archiving;
Assist with any other logistics aspects of the Conference.

Deliverables:
The consultant will be responsible for producing a number of deliverables expected from the assignment, including the following:

Regular updates on the preparation of the conference;
Monthly progress reports submitted to the direct supervisors.

Payment schedule:
Payments will be made in 4 installments upon submitted timesheet indicating number of days spent and satisfactory progress report against deliverables and upon their acceptance by the certifying officer/direct supervisor. The timeline for submission of deliverables will be specified by the certifying officer at the beginning of each month.

Competencies

Functional competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills and communication skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, and negotiating skills, and the ability to cope with situations which may pose conflict;
Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Proven ability to work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations within the Istanbul Regional Hub, Country Offices, IEO and external partners, etc.;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising quality, team spirit and positive working relationships;
Ability to make new and useful ideas work;
Ability to solve complex problems with minimal supervision;
Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.
Informed and transparent decision making
Ability to work with small multi-disciplinary, multi-national teams to deliver quality products in high stress, short deadline situations.

Corporate competencies:

Promotes the mission and values of the UN;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Secondary education with specialized certification in project management, administration, accounting, finance, procurement or other relevant subject.
University Degree in Business or Public Administration or other relevant subject desirable.
Specialized training on programme and project management is an asset.

Experience:

7 years of relevant experience in administration or programme support service;
Experience organizing international conferences or similar events;
Experience communicating with government officials and people from different countries and cultures;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.);
Experience in handling of web-based management systems;
Experience with UN or international organizations;

Languages:

Excellent knowledge of English and Turkish

Evaluation of Applicants:
Individual consultants are evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and a financial proposal.
The award of the contract is 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.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation: max. points: 35:

Specialised education: max. points: 5;
Minimum of 7 years of national/international experience in administration/programme support service: max. points: 10;
Excellent writing and presentation skills (as demonstrated through the cover letter): max. points: 10;
Strong and proven experience in organizing conferences: max. points: 5
Experience with UN and other international organizations: max points 5;

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation: max. points: 15

Only candidates who will get at least 70% of score in technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:
A brief cover letter describing your interest in the position and your most relevant professional experience; 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://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
Financial Proposal in USD - specifying an all-inclusive daily fee* for tasks specified in this announcement with clear breakdown including travel costs to join the duty station/repatriation travel and any other costs that would constitute all-inclusive daily fee.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials

*Please note that the professional fee is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period e.g. fee, health insurance and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...).

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.