UNDP Jobs - 73088- Individual Consultant - Development for Stigma Ope

Individual Consultant - Development for Stigma Operational Guidelines (for Indian Nationals Only)

Location :

New Delhi, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Jul-2017

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Four Months (maximum of 22 days in a month)

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

A decade long struggle of the civil society and the Government to make the legal framework of the country more enabling and responsive to the needs of the People Living with HIV bore fruit on April 11th 2017. The HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Bill (2014) finally got passed by the Lok Sabha after being marred with controversies and debates for over ten years. With the final hurdle being cleared for the Bill to be enacted as a legislation, India would soon join the likes of Fiji, Cambodia, Mangolia, Papua New Guinea China, Philippines and Vietnam to have an Omnibus of National HIV Law. The main aim of the anti-discriminatory Bill is to provide legislative framework to protect and secure the human rights of People Living with HIV. The Bill makes practicing of stigma and discrimination, a penal act.

Stigma Reduction: An Integral part of the HIV Bill

HIV-related stigma is recognized as a key obstacle to HIV prevention, care, and treatment besides adding to psychological distress for the affected. Fear of, and actual experience with, stigma and discrimination associated with HIV often negatively influence an individual’s willingness to seek HIV testing, disclose his or her HIV status to others, ask for (or give) care and support, initiate or sustain safer sex or safer injecting drug use practices, and begin and adhere to treatment.

HIV-related stigma is a complex phenomenon as attitudes towards the epidemic and those infected and affected are not new but shaped by deeply entrenched prejudices and traditional power hierarchy in society. There are multiple factors like caste, gender, sexuality, age, education and levels of knowledge about HIV etc affecting the levels of overt/ covert expressions of stigma experienced by an individual.

Stigma and discrimination continue to undermine prevention, treatment and care of people living with the HIV and AIDS. It hinders those with the virus from telling their partners about their status. It threatens their access to health care. It increases their vulnerability to physical violence. And HIV-related stigma affects people’s ability to earn a living, making it even more difficult for them to lift themselves out of poverty.

UNDP’s Work in Addressing Stigma

Stigma and discrimination is a cross cutting area of focus under the National AIDS Control Programme -Phase IV (NACP-IV). NACP-IV is committed to enhance activities to reduce stigma and discrimination at all levels particularly at health care settings.

Stigma reduction and creation of a barrier free and stigma free society lies at the core of UNDP’s efforts towards addressing HIV. In its long standing partnership with the National AIDS Control Organization, UNDP, India has responded by looking at each layer of the multi-layered phenomena called stigma. The HIV Project of UNDP India, in partnership with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, aims to reduce stigma faced by people affected by HIV by supporting community action, addressing the need to reform laws that impede effective HIV response, and improving access to entitlements and services, including sustained access to medicines.

UNDP in the last decade has continuously advocated with the government for mainstreaming of HIV and for creating an enabling environment for the People affected by HIV for increased and stigma free uptake of services.

Global and National Efforts to Address Stigma

Significant steps have been taken at both global and national levels towards evidence gathering of stigma in multiple settings. The outcome of these studies have informed the design of interventions for tackling stigma. At the global level, The People Living with HIV Stigma Index provides a tool that measures and detects changing trends in relation to stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV. It aims to address stigma relating to HIV while also advocating on the key barriers and issues perpetuating stigma - a key obstacle to HIV treatment, prevention, care and support. India was among the 70 countries where the study was conducted. The study was conducted between December 2010 to September 2011 in the State of Tamilnadu. Study findings indicate that self-stigma among the PLHIV respondents was incredibly high, with the marginalized groups expressing more self-stigma reportedly based on their sexual identity or behaviors.

National Priority in the light of Passing of HIV Bill

With the HIV Bill only a step away from becoming an Act, the National priority in the context of HIV is to expedite the implementation and operationalization of the Bill. This would require coordination and constant interactions with State AIDS Control Societies, community members, health and non health Government department and other important stakeholders to seek their inputs in effective and efficacious implementation of various elements of the of the Bill.

Work Done so Far

Stigma reduction being the core of NACP -IV is a cross cutting issue. The bill makes antiretroviral treatment a legal right of HIV/AIDS patients. The Bill makes it obligatory for the central and state governments to provide for antiretroviral therapy (ART) and management of opportunistic infections (infections that take advantage of weakness in the immune system and occur frequently). It prohibits specific acts of discrimination by the state, or any other person, against HIV-positive people, or those living with such people.

The Bill takes a serious view of the stigma arising out of the HIV infection that impacts the various spheres of life of an individual and results in her/ his denial of basic human rights. Addressing of stigma at various levels and settings is regarded as an imperative by the HIV and AIDS Bill. In light of the approval of the HIV Bill, the development of a separate Stigma Guideline is mandatory.

Foreseeing the passing of the HIV Bill , UNDP in partisanship with National AIDS Control Organization understood the development of the National Stigma Reduction Guideline as stigma reduction is the mainstay of the HIV Bill. stigma guidelines in 2016 and the same was presented to the NACO Technical Resource Group members on Stigma Reduction. The comments provided by the members have been incorporated and the guidelines has to be now developed as per the NACO agreed framework. Currently, UNDP and NACO are in the

UNDP is looking for a consultant for overall programmatic coordination with different stakeholders and information management and documentation.

Objective:

The main objective of assignment is to take lead in coordination with different stakeholders including State AIDS Control Societies, health and non-health Government departments, community members in seeking inputs from them towards effective and robust implementation of the various aspects of the HIV Bill.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main tasks of the consultant would be two fold :

I: Communication and coordination for effective implementation of the HIV Bill. This would include :

Communicate and liaise with stake holders to continually seek their inputs in operationalizing the various aspects of HIV Bill including interact with officials in National AIDS Control Organization, different service centres towards preparation of the stigma guideline;
Coordinate and organize consultative meetings, workshops etc with stakeholders and development partners as per the requirement laid by NACO;
Systematically document each consultative meeting, workshops etc and take charge of its dissemination.

II : Aid and assist the Lead Consultant ( Legal) and Lead Consultant ( Programme) towards implementation of the key critical areas. This would include :

Secondary data collection and literature review of the existing guidelines under each Division of National AIDS Control Organization to extract content related to stigma & discrimination;
Interact with officials in National AIDS Control Organization, different service centres towards preparation of the guideline;
Review and analysis of the HIV Bill and extract content related to stigma and discriminator;
Interact with officials in National AIDS Control Organization, different service centres towards preparation of the guideline;
Meeting with officials of National AIDS Control Organization and other key stakeholders as per the direction of the Lead Consultant;
Supporting the Lead Consultant in anchoring the consultation and preparing notes on the same;
Drawing up of Chapter wise draft content of the Guideline in consultation with the Lead Consultant;
Incorporating the feedback received by the Lead Consultants towards the development of the Guideline.

Any other work concerning the work assigned by the supervisor.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Keep abreast of new developments in the area of professional discipline and job knowledge;
Possess basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position;
Demonstrate extremely strong influencing and facilitation skills.
Schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources;
Monitor performance against development and other objectives and correct deviations from the course.

Corporate Competencies

Establish, build and sustain effective relationship, partnerships and alliances with government and other agencies;
Advocate effectively, communicate sensitively across different constituencies;
Identify problems and propose solutions.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in social sciences, preferably Masters in Social Work.

Experience:

6 years of experience in the field of Public health;
Experience in the HIV Sector would be desirable;
Experience in taking up similar assignments;
Demonstrated experience in development of documentation. Documentation for development sector would be preferred;
Prior experience of working with the Government.

Evaluation Criteria:

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

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

Technical Evaluation:

Educational Qualification - 10 points;
Total number of experience in the public health field - 25 points;
Experience in the undertaking similar kind of assignments - 15 points;
Working with the government system and mechanism - 20 points;

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

Technical Criteria weight - 70%;
Financial Criteria weight - 30%.

Travel:

The consultant would need to hold meetings with the relevant officials of the National AIDS Control Organization for a maximum of four times. All travel expenditure would be guided per the UNDP India norms.

Supervision and Reporting:

The Consultant would be stationed at the National AIDS Control Organization, New Delhi and would report to Director General (IEC & Mainstreaming) on a day to day basis.

Payment Schedule:

On monthly basis for the actual number of days worked on submission of the signed time sheet from the Supervisor.

Documents to be submitted:

Detailed personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) and at least three (3) professional references;
Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor Assignment (please quote your per day consultancy fee);
Updated and signed P-11 form for ICs

Above documents can be found in ‘Forms and Documentation for Individual Contractor’ column in career section. Please find link below:

http://www.in.undp.org/content/india/en/home/operations/careers/

Kindly ensure that all the requested documents are combined in a single PDF document before uploading as the system has provision for uploading only one file.

Notes

Miscellaneous charges i.e. internet, phone, relocation charges, local travel etc. would not be reimbursed separately;
Individuals working with institutions may also apply, contract would be issued in the name of institution for the specific services of individual;
Consultant may have to arrange his own computing equipment.

Please write to manikandan.srinivasan@undp.org for any clarification.