Background

The United Nations Development Programme (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, as envisaged by 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We are on the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners that can bring about results.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan and help countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. The HIV, Health and Development Group is part of BPPS and supports UNDP’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan and countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda and making sure no one is left behind.

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development, as described in the HIV, Health and Development Strategy 2016-2021: Connecting the Dots, leverages UNDP’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Sustainable Development Goals.  For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of the law and legal environments in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics. UNDP also works to empower and include marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to municipal action on SDGs, sustainable responses for Health and HIV such as improving sustainability of AIDS financing, sustainable health procurement, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for key populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on SDG 3 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding.  UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as temporary Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

Linkages between health sector procurement and the environment are still only partially understood despite the fact that the important role of procurements in influencing the environmental impact of health sector operations is well acknowledged. For example, studies show carbon emissions by national health systems and global health programmes are closely linked to procurements, especially with regards to pharmaceuticals and other health products throughout their life cycle including production, use, and disposal.

The UN’s journey towards their operational climate neutrality began officially on 5th June 2007 when UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon publicly called on all UN agencies, funds and programmes to ‘go green’ and become climate neutral. Driven initially by the UN initiative “Greening the Blue' with an interest to promote climate neutrality within the UN, the focus was largely on addressing associated greenhouse gas emissions.

To promote compliance with environmental and social standards, the Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector initiative (SPHS) was officially established in May 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The initiative aims to promote sustainable procurement of health commodities and to contribute to sustainable health systems and inclusive green and ethical economies. This initiative is implemented by an informal Interagency Task Team led by UNDP, which coordinates the Secretariat. It convenes ten members—seven are UN Agencies (UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNOPS, WHO) and three are Multilateral Health Financing Institutions (GAVI, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNITAID). Together, these ten SPHS members command a cumulative purchasing power in the global health sector of around US $5 billion annually, representing a sizeable portion of the global market in pharmaceuticals and other health products. SPHS members leverage this purchasing power to actively promote sustainable procurement within their respective organisations to improve human health and reduce greenhouse gases, emissions, and chemical pollution.

SPHS Member Agencies’ engagement is based on a voluntary basis and is guided by the fundamental principles from the High-Level Statement and the SPHS engagement strategy on sustainable procurement with suppliers and manufacturers, which is based on the vision and route map of the SPHS and refers to the UN Supplier Code of Conduct.

Since its start, the SPHS initiative has been supported and coordinated by a Secretariat administered by UNDP. Within UNDP, the Secretariat is linked with the Bureau of Management Services (BMS) (procurement team, New York), the Nordic Liaison Office (UN procurement hub, Copenhagen), the Bureau of Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) (HIV, Health and Development team, New York) and the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS (RBEC, New York/Istanbul). The SPHS initiative has demonstrated how sustainable health procurement can play a significant role in reducing the environmental and social impact of the health sector. It also has great potential to contribute to inclusive green and ethical economies in the context of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Hence, starting in January 2018, UNDP HIV, Health and Development (HHD) Team at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH), as a host to the SPHS Secretariat, will roll-out a 4-year project ‘Strengthening Sustainability in the Health Sector in Developing Countries.’ The project aims to reduce harm to people and the environment caused by the manufacture and disposal of medical products and by the implementation of health programmes in developing countries.

To facilitate technical support and inputs to the work of the SPHS Secretariat and strengthen sustainable health procurement in the UN system and in strategic countries, the UNDP HHD Team at the UNDP IRH is seeking the services of an international consultant with a track record of progressively responsible experience in project/programme management, in the field of sustainable consumption and production, sustainable health public procurement or a related area.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the general guidance and supervision of the HHD EECA Team-leader, who is also the Global Coordinator of the SPHS, the international consultant will perform the following duties:

• Providing technical and programmatic support services for the implementation of the Strengthening Sustainability in the Health Sector in Developing Countries project, and the SPHS Secretariat (monitoring, reporting and provision of assistance to project working groups and committees);
• Providing technical support to leading hospitals, health systems and suppliers and manufacturers, through face to face training and webinars, to pilot sustainable procurement practices and policies; and sustainable manufacturing of health commodities;
• Facilitating the development of the Green Procurement Index for Health (GPIH);
• Supporting the organization of the 1st Saving Lives Sustainably: Asia Forum 2018 – Sustainable Manufacturing in the Health Sector;
• Raising awareness and providing technical inputs about UNDP¢s work on sustainable healthcare through international and regional venues of engagement with key stakeholders from the health sector in the project countries (leading, moderating and giving advisory inputs as delegated by the Supervisor);
• Building strategic partnerships, in the project countries, with key stakeholders from the health sector (philanthropic organizations, governmental organizations, NGOs, technical experts, academia, etc.);
• Supporting strategy and programming development of the SPHS, particularly given the principles outlined in the SPHS Route Map and the SPHS Engagement Strategy with Suppliers and Manufacturers on Green Procurement in the Health Sector;
• Delivering high-quality technical inputs for the SPHS knowledge products, and provide other advisory inputs as required;
• Leading the enhancement and maintenance of the SPHS online engagement platform (www.savinglivesustainably.org);
• Strengthening the visual identity of UNDP¢s work on sustainable healthcare and key work-streams through various communications channels (Twitter, SlideShare, Flickr, Newsletter).

Expected outputs and deliverables

• Deliverable 1 - Detailed work-plan (1-2 pages);
• Deliverable 2 - Provided technical support for the organization of the 3-day meeting for key stakeholders from the 10 project countries to identify and assess what are the current needs for capacity strengthening in sustainable health procurement;
• Deliverable 3 – 2 SPHS Steering Committee Meetings and 1 Strengthening Sustainability in the Health Sector in Developing Countries Project Team Meeting held;
• Deliverable 4 – Finalized the SPHS Annual Report 2017;
• Deliverable 5 – Initiated the development of the SPHS Annual Report 2018;
• Deliverable 6 – Organized 4 webinars/on-demand training on sustainable health procurement and sustainable manufacturing of health commodities;
• Deliverable 7 – Provided technical feedback on the Training of Trainers Manual on Sustainable Procurement, ensuring that gender-sensitive elements are included in project training programmes;
• Deliverable 8 – Provided support to the development of 3 case studies about the process of implementing sustainable health procurement policies and practices so that project countries can have access to the lessons learned;
• Deliverable 9 – Documented the number of health systems in project countries showing increased spending on sustainable healthcare products and hospitals, health systems, health ministries phasing out and substituting hazardous products;
• Deliverable 10 – Provided support to the development of the GPIH beta version;
• Deliverable 11 – Finalized agenda and participant list for the Asia Forum 2018 (3 working days; 13-15 June 2018, Manila, Philippines) – 3 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 12 – Participated as a speaker/moderator in the Asia Forum 2018 (3 working days; 13-15 June 2018, Manila, Philippines) – 4 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 13 – Participated in the relevant meetings in at least 4 countries where UNDP is implementing Strengthening Sustainability in the Health Sector in Developing Countries project – 7 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 14 – Established at least 15 strategic contacts in countries where UNDP is implementing Strengthening Sustainability in the Health Sector in Developing Countries project – 5 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 15 – Supported the roll-out of the UN Environment 10YFP Sustainable Public Procurement Health Sector Working Group – 1 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 16 – Developed 2019 SPHS Work Plan – 10 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 17 – Provided inputs for two knowledge materials (expected UNDP Guidelines on Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector and Asia Forum 2018: Catalogue on Sustainable Manufacturing of Health Commodities) – 5 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 18 – At least 20 best practices identified, documented and lessons learned shared on the SPHS platform – 4 months after signing contract;
• Deliverable 19 – Provided technical inputs for the development of 4 communications materials – 6 months after signing contract; and
• Deliverable 20 – Developed end of consultancy report sharing lessons learned and recommendation moving forward – 10 months after signing contract.

Payment:

Payments will be made upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. Payments will be made on monthly basis as indicated in the Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet approved by direct supervisor.

• Payment 1 – Deliverables 1 and 15 – 10% (1 month after signing contract);
• Payment 2 – Deliverables 2 and 4 - 10% (2 months after signing contract);
• Payment 3 – Deliverable 11 - 10% (3 months after signing contract);
• Payment 4 – Deliverables 12 and 18 – 10% (4 months after signing contract);
• Payment 5 – Deliverables 14 and 17 - 10% (5 months after signing contract);
• Payment 6 -  Deliverables 8 and 19 -  10% (6 months after signing contract);
• Payment 7 – Deliverables 10 and 13 – 10% (7 months after signing contract);
• Payment 8 – Deliverables 3 and 6 - 10% (8 months after signing contract);
• Payment 9 – Deliverables 5 and 7 – 10% (9 months after signing contract); and
• Payment 10 – Deliverables 9, 16 and 20 – 10% (10 months after signing contract).

Reporting: the consutlant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the set targets and deliverables with the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Team Leader.

Travel: No travel is anticipated under this consultancy. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Timeframe: The consultant’s assignment is expected to last 200 working days, completed over the period from 20 February 2018 – 31 December 2019.

Evaluation:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified above through a desk review. Applicants will be evaluated based on: Cumulative analysis method that combines the results of technical and financial evaluation results.

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 the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (maximum 70 points):  

• Criteria 1:  Education (Advanced University degree in Economics, Public or Business Administration or relevant area) and additional qualifications (courses, diplomas) – Maximum points 5
• Criteria 2:  At least 3 years of progressively responsible experience in the field of sustainable consumption and production, sustainable public health procurement or project/programme management – Maximum points 25
• Criteria 3:  At least 3 years of working experience with UN organization in the field of sustainable procurement in the health sector - Maximum points 5
• Criteria 4:  Demonstrated experience in cooperation with governments, private sector and academia/think tanks (as per CV) – Maximum points 20
• Criteria 5:  Demonstrated experience in development of project proposals (as per CV) – Maximum points 5
• Criteria 6:  Previous hands on experience in a coordination of a global multi-stakeholder partnership is desirable – Maximum points 5
• Criteria 7:  Fluency and ability to communicate and perform complex tasks in English (as per submitted writing sample) – Maximum points 5

Financial Evaluation Criteria (maximum 30 points):
p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional:

• Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products,
• Professional and/or academic experience in sustainable consumption and production, sustainable public health procurement or project/programme management,
• Relevant experience strengthening the capacity of civil society or in cooperation with governments, private sector, and academia/think tanks would be highly advantageous.

Project and Resource Management:

• Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs.

Communications and Advocacy:

Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speak clearly and convincingly.

Required Skills and Experience