UNDP Jobs - 74047- Individual Consultant for Stakeholder Mapping and

Individual Consultant for Stakeholder Mapping and Conflict Analysis

Location :

Lilongwe, MALAWI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

04-Sep-2017

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 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

Malawi has a reputation for being a peaceful and stable country but the mass demonstrations 20th July 2011 that led to 20 fatalities and similar incidents are evidence that Malawi cannot take its peace for granted.

Over the years, the country has benefitted from the use of traditional conflict management mechanisms and practices in resolving local and national conflicts. Government, Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders have provided various forms of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. These institutions include the Judiciary, District Labour Offices, the Office of the Ombudsman, Malawi Human Rights Commission, Public Affairs Committee, National Forum for Peaceful Settlement of Conflicts, etc. While some of these institutions have played a critical role in managing national conflicts, their efforts have been impeded by two main challenges, namely; lack of enabling legislation and absence of a national peace architecture that promotes pro-active rather than reactive conflict management in the country. As a result, their efforts have mostly been ad-hoc and unsustainable.

The country’s commitment to continued use of non-violent means of resolving conflicts is specifically provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi under section 13(l) which states; “adoption of mechanisms by which differences are settled through negotiation, good offices, mediation, conciliation and arbitration”.

In furtherance of this commitment, and following the 2011 violence, the Government of Malawi invited the United Nations to provide support in building national capacities for peace and dialogue. As a result, the Government of Malawi has commenced the process of establishing a National Peace Architecture (NPA) to serve as the national pillar for peacebuilding, conflict prevention and transformation. The NPA will functionally be represented at national and district levels where these structures will be engaged in a collaborative manner with other key stakeholders in reconciliation and transformative dialogues that foster national cohesion.

Ongoing support to the government to develop a National Peace Architecture (NPA) has seen the establishment of three pilot District Peace Committees (DPCs) and finalization of a draft national peace policy, which is currently awaiting cabinet approval. National Peace Architecture is understood as a dynamic network of independent structures, mechanisms, resources, values and skills which, through dialogue and consultation contribute to conflict prevention and peacebuilding in a society. A full-fledged NPA mechanism is expected to be in place by the end of 2018, with an aim to establish DPCs in all districts of the country.

The UN is also supporting the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), an interfaith organisation, as ‘insider mediators’, playing the roles of intermediaries between national leaders, and as advocates for peace and good governance.

Duties and Responsibilities

While the NPA process has been underway for four years, it is observed that the project lacks a systematic conflict analysis based on the current context that should inform the future directions and strategies of NPA. Lack of proper analysis based on updated information could result in limited effectiveness and impact of the NPA . It is therefore high time to conduct a comprehensive analysis of conflicts that would serve as the foundation for NPA’s future programmatic directions. Hence, the purpose of this study is to present an overview of conflict situations in Malawi, including types and nature of conflicts, root-cause analysis, mapping of stakeholders engaged in or affected by the conflicts, and risks and opportunities for conflict prevention and transformation. The study will highlight potential geographical areas of conflicts (“hot spots”), identify and analyze key drivers and stakeholders of conflict, build scenarios, discover opportunities for collaboration and resource mobilization, and will conclude with formulation of recommendations to guide strategy aimed at preventing any potential resort to violent conflict and efficient resource utilization for NPA.

Objectives:

The training is expected to achieve the following objectives:
To conduct in-depth mapping analysis of conflicts and stakeholders of the country, and identify hot spots and early warning indicators of different areas.
To identify trends and key drivers of conflicts in each target area as well as root-cause analysis
To identify opportunities for NPA’s collaboration with existing stakeholders and risks related to conflict resolution and prevention initiatives.
To assess the formal landscape for resolving disputes/conflicts such as the Judiciary and Police.
To assess the complementarity of existing conflict resolution structures and determine how synergies can be maximized with NPA structures proposed in the NPA policy.

Specific Tasks:

The consultant will deliver the following results:
Design and present proposed approach and methodology of the study including target groups to be interviewed, which should be reviewed and approved by the tri-partite committee.
Conduct literature reviews and interviews/FGDs for data collection
Conduct in-depth conflict and stakeholder mapping analysis based on the data collected
Prepare a debriefing presentation to inform the findings to NPA tri-partite committee.
Prepare a detailed report on the analysis which includes recommendations

Competencies

Excellent reporting and writing skills in English is required, along with strong oral communication and presentation skills.
Other key competencies should include integrity; team building skills; mediation; and gender responsiveness.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in conflict transformation, public administration, political science, development studies or other relevant social science.

Experience:

Minimum 8 years of experience in the field of research analysis and/or impact study, the subjects of which should include peacebuilding, conflict prevention or conflict transformation;
Minimum 5 years of programmatic experience in peacebuilding, conflict prevention or conflict transformation;
The consultant should have substantial experience in conducting research analysis and/or impact study, knowledge of the Malawian context, knowledge and experience in evaluating peacebuilding initiatives/projects, preferably at local and national level;
The consultant should also be able to facilitate discussions and interviews to elicit useful information from stakeholders;
Computer competence in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet applications.

Language:

Fluent in English.

Reporting:

During the course of the assignment, the consultant will report to the team of NPA tripartite committee, namely NPA secretariat, Civil Society Organizations Task Force, and UNDP. The consultant will be expected to produce first draft report which will be reviewed by NPA tripartite committee prior to finalization of the report and incorporating feedback given. The NPA tri-partite committee will act as a National Reference Group that will provide quality assurance to the reports.

Timelines:

The expected duration of the assignment is 20 days per consultant (2 days for designing of methodologies, 12 travelling days for field assignment, 6 days for reports). Final submission of the report will be due three weeks after the completion of field assignments

Expected Deliverables:

The consultant will be expected to plan a timeframe for delivery of the work including the following activities:

An inception report that describes the methodology and work plan for the exercise; 10%.
A draft report which includes: executive summary, methodology, literature review, analysis, and recommendations; 20%.
A debriefing presentation (a validation workshop) to brief the stakeholders on the findings; 20%.
A validation workshop report on outcome of a stakeholder validation meeting of the draft Conflict Analysis Report; 20%.
A final report incorporating comments from stakeholders; 30%.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposal:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable for work;
Detailed proposal on the consultant’s understanding of the assignment and methodology to be used to achieve the deliverables;
Curriculum Vitae;
Financial proposal including all associated costs to implement the scope of work.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per dies and number of anticipated working days).

Evaluation:

Only shortlisted candidates will be considered for the Technical Evaluation. The shortlisting will be based on respective educational background and minimal requirements for work experience. The Individual consultant will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative Analysis:

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
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.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% or above on the scoring of the technical aspect of their proposal will be considered for financial evaluation.

Criteria A: Master’s degree in conflict transformation, public administration, political science, development studies or other relevant social science; 10 points.
Criteria B: Minimum 8 years of experience in the field of research analysis and/or impact study, the subjects of which should include peacebuilding, conflict prevention or conflict transformation; 20 points.
Criteria C: Minimum 5 years of programmatic experience in peacebuilding, conflict prevention or conflict transformation; 10 points.
Criteria D: Technical Proposal (approach and methodology); 15 points.
Criteria E: Excellent writing skill in English demonstrated in the proposal, including clarity, analysis, organization and presentation; 15 points.
Criteria F (Interview): (Only for shortlisted candidates) Strong oral communication, logical flow, clear and concise articulation, honesty, confidence; 30 points.

Financial; Maximum of 30 points.